Smoothness of its sound. Actually very good pricing.

Can't read CD-R. No DTS support which is not a big deal.

I was looking for a DVD with great sound (stereo and HomeTheater) and this is exactly what I got with a CL-25. I bought the CL-25 (12/2000) because for the price there is nothing equivalent on the market right now. I listened to some DVD players before I bought this one (Rotel, Marantz, Hitachi). The CL-25 was the smoothness of its sound in the extreme high frequency range and its overall resolution and presentation. It sounds un-CD like. Amazingly fine grain. Great deep and wide soundstage, dynamic, great resolution, very smooth. I realy love this machine. I could listen constantly without any fatigue on the ears which was not the case with others DVDs. On the video side, the CL-25 produces a very sharp picture with no smeering or artifacts. It's operation is smooth and completely silent. Very well built. I give it five stars and recommend it to anyone.
I must add that this DVD produces an amazing sound with a Classe SSP-75. Sound separation is simply incredible. Try it and I garanty that you will love it. Get JAZZ AT THE PAWNSHOP ( PRCD 7778 )and give it a try. Regarding CD-R and DTS support, if it is really a concern for you then go for the CL-2500 from CAL which, internally is the same machine, plus DTS and CD-R support but at a much higher price.

I've had the CL-25 for a couple of weeks and I'm very happy with it. I listened to a lot of players before I bought this one, too many to mention. What did it for me with the CL-25 was the smoothness of its sound in the extreme high frequency range and its overall resolution and presentation. It sounds un-CD like. Almost like vinyl, amazingly fine grain. Great deep and wide soundstage, dynamic, great resolution, very smooth. I love this machine. With the couple of 24/96 discs that I have, it's unreal and almost scary. I think I could listen constantly for days on end without any fatigue on the ears.
On the video side, the CL-25 produces a very sharp picture with no smeering or artifacts. It blows my Sony DVD DVP-S500 away, and leaves it in the dust. The 10 bit 6 channel video DACS in the CL-25 are definitely a step up from the CL-20. It's operation is smooth and completely silent. Very well built. I give it five stars and recommend it to anyone.