Finally more on the CD Complete
When I A/B 'd the integre DT with
the Complete integrated amp we used
the CD Complete as a source for the test . I brought in my own loudspeakers and cables.The sound was just as I imagined very good,not to this or that, it just sounded right.
The DT was a bit more detailed and
a little more pure and even across the band,but any way I bought the Complete, took it home and set it up
and presto out came the music,
but wait where is the your there sence of presence, and the loudspeakers disapearing?
My Marantz 63 se was just not even comparing to the open and naturalness of the CD Complete.
It was perfect for the DT and the Complete some might think its not as lush or rich as other players,but I thought it sounded great all the way through various CD's. And now I am planing on buying the CD Complete to
bring my level of fedelity noticably up.
pay no atention to the ratings hear for your self. simplement musical !
bravo YVES!

Low distortion, borderline smooth

Coloration with emphasis on high frequencies

This CD player is clear without sharpness. I would not, however, characterize it as mellow or full. The overall presentation is a bit thin. It should be matched with dark components. I am taking my speakers in to have resistors put on my tweeters to accomodate the somewhat forward tone. The sound is rolled off above 18,000 Hz but has a swell in the frequencies just under this. It is curiosly non-harsh but bright at the same time. Why the engineers at YBA did this I don't know. I keep this player because of the very low distortion. Audition before you buy.

Similar Products Used:

Acurus ACD 11, Rega Planet, Jolida 603

Low distortion, borderline smooth

Coloration with emphasis on high frequencies

This CD player is clear without sharpness. I would not, however, characterize it as mellow or full. The overall presentation is a bit thin. It should be matched with dark components. I am taking my speakers in to have resistors put on my tweeters to accomodate the somewhat forward tone. The sound is rolled off above 18,000 Hz but has a swell in the frequencies just under this. It is curiosly non-harsh but bright at the same time. Why the engineers at YBA did this I don't know. I keep this player because of the very low distortion. Audition before you buy.

Similar Products Used:

Acurus ACD 11, Rega Planet, Jolida 603

Beautiful,natural soundstage.Tight imaging.Overall balanceis excellent.

Hint of sharpness on high end.

I am using this player with the matching integrated amp, so I have no frame of reference in different systems. I replaced a CAL Icon PowerBoss player with this after considerable A/Bing. I consider them to be a toss up in quality, which is a great compliment to the AR player, as I consider the Power Boss to be among the very best reasonably priced players. The power boss may be slightly more dynamic, most notably on HDCD discs, but the AR has a very engaging integrated soundstage, that really draws one to the music. The slight edge on the high end(and it is only a slight trace, in my system) can be offset by choice of cables. If you are looking for a true high end system for affordable bucks, try this AR stack with a pair of Soliloquy 5.0s speakers and Goertz cabling. Add a good sub if you have a larger room, and you will have a true high end experience. On a smaller scale, this offers most of the quality of my carefully matched $20k main system.

Similar Products Used:

Dozens of CD players and Dacs. This is my secondary system, in my bedroom.

nice looking unit. fast forward and search.

read review.

This is a review of both the Audio Refinement “Complete Integrated Amp and CD player”. After extensive research I drove 60 miles to purchase these two pieces of audio equipment. I thought I had found the perfect integrated amp and CD combination. The Complete series by Audio Refinement. What I discovered was complete disappointment. I am glad that I took the option to home audition the equipment for a week before purchasing it. If you are a serious listener this combination will not satisfy you. It is a nice looking amp and CD player for casual listening or as a second system.

. The CD player is not worth $1000.00. When you play a song. (I used a test CD from Stereophile – a good recording) with quiet passages what you experience is audible rumble. At first I thought my wife had the washing machine on. When I returned the unit to the dealer he could not believe it. We tried another “Complete CD” player with the exact same results. We then tried CD players from $400.00 to $1800.00 and there was no rumble, during these passages. Only silence,

The integrated amp sounds compressed as if all recording are done in a small place. It misses space and imaging. The bass is weak. The rhythm seems off, as if slow. When your foot should be tapping to the music you sense a delay. There is no provisions for adding an amp for there is no external connection between the amp and preamp, as seems almost standard at this price range. Sound a side; the mechanics of it are a disappointment. The cross talk between the audio input selections is beyond belief, especially at this price range. Example, if the input selection you select tuner and have the CD player on (your tuner is not turned on yet) you can hear the CD playing. It’s as if it is on mute. I believe this accounts for the distortion – poor channel separation you experience especially when you get into full classical music.
Again this is great equipment for the casual listener. Once you get past the glossy brochure, what you experience is audio disappointment. The parent company YBA made a mistake by attempting to gain access into the $1000.00 price range. This equipment is easily beat by components half the price. Also note this equipment is made in Taiwan.
Be aware that the reviews that rave about this equipment may be coming from dealers.

Similar Products Used:

sony. marantz

MY SISTEM: PLINIUS 2100i AMP : THE HIGH END BARGAIN AUDIOREFINEMENT CD COMP. : READ THIS
SONUS FABER CONCERTINO : SIMPLY THE BEST...UNDER THE CONCERTO

THE SONIC DIFERENCE BETWEEN THIS PLAYER AND THE EXCELENT AND MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE MERIDIAN 506.20 WAS MINIMAL, ALMOST SUBTLE. INDEED NOBODY KNOWS WHAT´S INSIDE THE CD COMPLETE, BUT NO ONE DENIES HIS MUSICAL ABILITIES AND STRONG HEART.
TRY ONE YOU´LL SEE

Great sound - detailed without harshness. Excellent for the money.

The high quality remote was not included.

This player was a clear winner in its price range. I did extended auditions in my home system with Rega, Creek, Arcam, Thule and Rotel; the Audio Refinement combined the best sonic qualities of the lot into one unit. It is detailed without being harsh or etched (like the Arcam and Rotel), smooth without being mushy (like the Creek and Rega) Soundstage is deep and wide without being overly forward. All in all, the presentation is very pleasing and engaging, never fatigueing.

I have since moved on to Accuphase (at over 4 times the price), but am not overjoyed to have the CD Complete out of my system. The CD Complete did everything well; it had no pronounced weaknesses. It served my musical needs with excellence for over a year; I recommend it most highly.

Be aware that the single flamingly negative review below might come from a dealer not fortunate enough to carry this product.

Associated Equipment:
Dunlavy SC-III Speakers
Handbuilt Single-ended 300b Amplifier
Handbuilt 5687 Transformer Output Line Stage
Tara Labs Air 2 Interconnects
Tara Labs Prime 1800 Biwire Speaker Cables
Tara Labs RSC Power Cord
NoiseTrapper Power Supply for CD

Exquisite detail in the music that is not harsh or bright. The bass is tight and not at all boomy, which can be mistaken for lack of bass. Quick and accurate laser pickup.

Must purchase remote separately.

The auditioning of CD players came down to the Cambridge Audio D500 and the Audio Refinement CD Complete. With the receiver we had at the time (Denon AVR-3300), it was difficult to tell much difference. Since we lacked a bit of bass in our system, we selected the D500 over the CD Complete, because of an apparent boost in the low to mid bass region.

A few weeks later, we had auditioned the Marantz SR-8000 and found it to be a much better receiver for us than the Denon AVR-3300. We had ample bass, while retaining all of the detail (and more) in our music. It was at this point that we decided to try the CD Complete again.

This time, we could tell the difference. The SR-8000 has a direct mode for analog inputs which bypasses all bass/treble controls and the bass management of the receiver. It basically goes from the analog inputs to the receiver's amp to the speakers. Nice!

The D500 seemed muddy in comparison to the CD Complete. It also lacked the detail of the CD Complete. The bass was also different. While not as "loud" as the D500, the CD Complete's bass was tight and accurate. The cello in Alanis Morissette's "Uninvited" really stands out with the CD Complete. The D500 (and most others) blurred the cello with the rest of the bass.

It has been a joy the last month to listen to CD's we have had for over 10 years. It is amazing just how much music we have been missing until we got the CD Complete. It's not perfect yet, as we are now starting to look at our interconnect cable selection. We currently are using Straight Wire's Encore II and Symphony II. Both give a different sound, so we may try a few other interconnects to see if we can fine-tune the sound further.

Those looking for a "bassy" CD player for dance, hard rock, etc. should probably look elsewhere. Everybody else that is looking for a CD player in the $500-$1000 range (and above!) should add the CD Complete to their list.

Similar Products Used:

Rotel RCD-971, Cal Audio Lab CL-5, Arcam Alpha 7 & 8, Camdridge Audio D500

Aloha,

This is an excellent player and I'd like to thank www.audiocompositions.com for allowing me to audition it for 3 weeks in my home. A great place to buy gear from with *very* competitive pricing. The $700 I paid was for a demo unit.

My gear:
Audio Refinement int amp
Ah! Tjeob '99 CDP
HHB CDR850 CDP/recorder
Meadowlark Kestrel Hot Rods
DH Labs BL-1 series II and bi-wired T14

I have been enjoying my Ah! Tjeob for quite some time now. But was curious about how the Complete CDP might mate with my AR amp. The Complete is a very nice looking player with excellent build quality. Very solid. If bought used or as a demo it represents a very good value.

CAVEAT EMPTOR:

These are going to just be my impressions as it associates my particular gear and tastes. With different associated equipment and tastes you may come up with a very different impression. Thus, as always, it's best to audition in your own home before you buy.

IMPRESSIONS:
The Complete has a very pleasant way of presenting the music. The mid and upper frequencies are done extremely well by this unit. Very natural, highs are liquid and smoothe. But for the first week I found the unit to be too "thin" for my tastes, it lacked body, especially when compared to the Tjeob. I found the bass lacking. Soundstage was well done, but not as open as I like. Upon the suggestions of Audio Refinement (EXCELLENT support by Audio Plus Services), I tracked down some used Cardas Hexlink 5 power cords on audiogon. The cords did a very good job of adding body and fullness, brought things up to a level I could live with for sure.

I did further comparisons and in the end, at least with my system, even with the added body I found the low level detail and "slam" to be lacking when compared to the Tjeob and HHB. The Complete's bass sounds a bit "truncated" or "flat" to my ears, it just didn't involve me emotionally. I couldn't "feel" the low end like I could with the other players. This was most obvious on rock recordings. BTW, I listen to a very wide variety of music, from rock, jazz, new age, bluegrass, international, classical, acoustic etc. But take the Grateful Dead's "Terrapin Station" (Cap Center 3-15-90) for instance. On the Complete I could hear the bass line, it was there but recessed. On the Tjeob there was not only a bass line but an actual bass player, kaboom! Phil is there, with the bass more balanced in the overall presentation. The Complete did very well on acoustic recordings like Rebecca Pidgeon's "The Raven" or the David Grisman Quintet's "Dawganova" but didn't really seperate itself from the Tjeob even on those bass-light recordings.

Yet even with that I agonized over returning the Complete because it does so many things well, all of which have been stated in the other Audioreview reviews. Resolution and detail were very good, imho. The Complete does so many things right, I really really really wanted to like this unit enough to keep it. But in the end I decided to, begrudgingly, return it for a refund.

Quite possibly, with the recabling of my whole system, the Complete's presentation could've been brought into more balance. The bass could've been brought into more harmony with the excellent mid and upper ranges. But that's an expense I was not willing to make, especially on the eve of DVD-A/SACD. And Audio Refinement told me YBA designed the bass like that on purpose, thus I don't think it was entirely my system. Essentially it comes down to different tastes.

Perhaps I've been listening to the Ah! Tjeob for too long and got used to the open tubey groovy style. I guess this experience has shown that at heart I'm just a Tjeob Djeod. Assimaleted into the tube borg! Thus I've ordered a Njoe Tjeob 4000 instead.

Character wise, I found the Complete to be like a wine and cheese party. Everything is well ordered and appointed. The Tjeob was more like Rainbow gathering, a little rough around the edges, but more interesting and organic ;^)

I still highly recommend the Complete CDP for audition. In the right system it could be a *very* solid performer. Would fit well in a system that has too much bass, or the Complete's flat bass could be compensated for by a sub w/volume control.

Happy Trails!
John

Similar Products Used:

Ah! Tjeob '99, HHB CDR850

Low distortion, borderline smooth

Coloration with emphasis on high frequencies

This CD player is clear without sharpness. I would not, however, characterize it as mellow or full. The overall presentation is a bit thin. It should be matched with dark components. I am taking my speakers in to have resistors put on my tweeters to accomodate the somewhat forward tone. The sound is rolled off above 18,000 Hz but has a swell in the frequencies just under this. It is curiosly non-harsh but bright at the same time. Why the engineers at YBA did this I don't know. I keep this player because of the very low distortion. Audition before you buy.

Similar Products Used:

Acurus ACD 11, Rega Planet, Jolida 603