Good sound, upgradability

Reliability

I decided to buy this player after having read a whale of cheering reviews here. This is a flawlessly designed and budget priced device. So, no problem if user friendliness is limited to basics as far as everything important is here. Golden plated RCAs, coaxial and optical digital output, upgradeable DAC stage, solid case, removable IEC power cable. Many reviewers complain about the dim display and they are right. But it's here on purpose since it is electronically more silent compared to common ones. My complaints are about the cheap power supply which is covered by a lustrous cooper can to give the impression of toroidal one (as even hi-fi magazines wrongly have reported) and the disability of the transport to recognise few CDRs.

After 8 months operation the player had to be sent back to service because its sound and display went off during playback. Proper operation has been restored free of charge by the local distributor and everything seems ok so far.

And now for what matters: After a month of break in period, D500 delivers a warm, musical sound. Bass body is weighty and round but lacks definition compared to the mids and highs which sound neutral and sweet without harshness and noticeable grain and reveal a lot of the details of the recording. The overall sound performance is a bit towards the bright side but IMHO this is because there is more information for the ear in the higher than the lower frequencies. Soundstage is realistically wide and seemly deep. In my system D500 prefers recordings containing acoustic and simple material rather than electronic and complicated. Human voices are reproduced livingly. Instruments are presented with very good separation and air between them. This player slices music into timbres, not into frequencies and this is an honour.

Conclusion: If musical performance is high in priority, then this player will satisfy most listeners. Although limited by its price point, D500 brings to you the soul of the music. Very good player. Mind system matching and don't forget to listen before you buy.

System used:
Thule Audio Spirit IA-100, Cambridge Audio A3i amplifiers
Monitor Audio Monitor 3, B&W P4 loudspeakers

Similar Products Used:

Marantz CD63, Sony CDP-XB930

Sounds amazing

No time remaining feature. Jog dial a bit weird

I bought this CD player to replace my aging Harmon Kardon TL8500. I immediately noticed an improvement in sound after hearing three chords of music. Much more definition and clarity than the old player. I highly recommend this CD player for those on somewhat of a budget who want a solid, straight up, good sounding player.

What I do not like about it is the lack of a "time remain" function. This information is right there for the taking and Cambridge seems to feel that it is not important enough to retrieve. So when I make a mix tape or something, I'll have no idea how much time is left in the sweet sounding song.

I am currently set up with a Harman Kardon HK3250 integrated receiver and a pair of Paradigm Mini-Monitor speakers.

Similar Products Used:

Harman Kardon TL8500