Soundquality! Soundstage, openness, deep bass.

AWkward handling, I don´t like the jog shuttle and not to being able to press "Play" without inserted the disc. The power cord is no good. The transport is a bit too loud. But all this are minor flaws which disappears as soon as I start listening to the music!

I have used this CD-player for about a year. Before purchasing it compared it to players from NAD, Pioneer, Sony, Harman Kardon and Technics. From my opinion, the Cambridge unit sounded by far the best! It had a airiness that no other of the players could match. The Sony (XB740) was closest and the NAD C541 was more powerful, but not at all the same airiness. Out of the box it sounded harsh, but after two or three days of continuous playing (repeat mode) it started to sound much better, and the sound quality improved even more over the months. The sound is open, airy and with great detail. To improve the bass-reproduction I put some dynamat under the hood and replaced the units feet into Vibra Absorbent feet. I also replaced the rather awkward power cord with a spare standard power cord. The bass reproduction is now very deep and distinct. I´m very happy with my CD. Sure You can find better players, but then You have to pay much more money!

Beautiful looks, clean sound, great and detailed bass. THIS IS A GREAT BUY!

Midle could be better, it could be built better. Loud tranport, dimmed display.

I shall start by saying that this CD player is a S U P E R buy. Great and sexy looks (I got the silver version - black is ugly like hell), useful and sexy remote. Amazing sound for this price. Without going on, I shall just agree with most of what other people have already said. I have tested many budget players before I bought the D500SE. Along with NAD c521 this is the very best player in the world today at this price level (350 USD). No dout about it. At the higher price range, you should look at players like Arcam DiVA 72, NAD c541i. Or at even higher, look at LINN, cuz they make awesome players. If you already own D500SE and would like to upgrade the sound, get the DAC. There are three things that you should do about D500SE: change the feet (I have the AudioQuest), get a good interconnector (mine's a Kimber PBJ) and a power cord (I have the Cardas). By doing that, you shall improve the 20-30% of the sound. One more IMPORTANT thing: if you have a small room DO NOT buy this player, cuz the transport is a bit TOO LOUD. But if you listen to you music at least 2 or more meters away from the player, GET THIS ONE, bro!

Similar Products Used:

NAD c521, NAD c541, ARCAM DiVA 72, YAMAHA 396, 496, MARANTZ CD5000, CD6000

Both detailed and smooth. Great bass extension and impact but it is well balanced and not warm sounding.

Display is too dim. And I wish you could just push play without having to close the drawer first.

I bought this demo unit half expecting I'd return it in a month. Just didn't think it would perform at the price. After burning it in for over a day I started listening. Didn't even need any A-B'ing between my old units to convince me this was easily living up to the claims. Great detail yet in no way dry or harsh sounding. The bass is all there with all the harmonics nicely intact. Its not soft or rolled off but quite flat up to the highest registers. Overall, it seems very synergistic with my Vandersteens. I haven't listened to many of the new crop of 24 bit players but this unit convinces me that CD's have finally caught up with vinyl. At the price I can quit worrying and just start listening. Sorry I can't write more, but I've got to go back and hear all the new sounds coming from my old cd's!

Similar Products Used:

Denon, Adcom, Carver CD's, but several high end turntables/cartridges

Great bass; great detail

Will not play short CDs.

I've had the D500SE for about 6 months. Replaced power cord as past reviewers have suggested. Sound is wonderful. Great bass; beautiful detail. Ambient, downbeat, electonic, techno -all sound great. One problem: the CD player will not recognize short CDs. If you try to play a CD with 1 or 2 songs that total less than 7 minutes or so, the display shows "disc" message and refuses to play. Cambridge is aware of this problem but not addressing. If you can live with this "bug" , it's a very detailed player. I cut my own demo CDs, so it has been a problem for me.

Similar Products Used:

Auditionel NAD & Rotel but went with Cambridge.

Well made; excellent sound for the money.

Remote is rather difficult to master. Once you get used to it, then it is easy.

A well made, beautiful sounding unit. It has a well-defined bottom end that is lacking in many unit at twice the cost. When modified (power cable and connects), it really sings.

Similar Products Used:

Nakamichi MB1

Sounds beautifull, looks good, has worked flawlessly for over a year. GREAT price.

That damn power cord evrybody hates, has a lot to be hated for! Buy a new one, ANY one & enjoy.

This review is long overdue. Bought it, plugged it in, listened,...& cried! Right out of the box, it was AWFULL. The boys at the shop said to break it in for at least 50-60 hours, but I'm a masochist and just had to hear it raw. After it started to settle in a bit, it happened! Highs were smooth & airy, mids accurate, and the BASS, STUNNING! It took a couple of weeks to adjust the subwoofer, because the sound just got better, & the bass fuller. There really is no decision to make here. If ya want a VERY reasonable price and a taste of the high-end sound, 'dis be it! Power cord sucks! Bought a cardas, & it changed everthing for the better!

Similar Products Used:

Harman/Kardon, Adcom, Rotel, & a sony dvd/cd.

Very easy to listen to, great value, and cheap tweaks can make it even better.

poor (though attractive) display, unbelievably poor quality power cord.

I had to go through several of these before I found a keeper. The first one I bought used on ebay and it played maybe 5% of my CD's; back it went. Next I bought a new one from Spearitsound.com, and a few of the functions were non-functional. Spearitsound was very easy to work with and sent me a new one even before they had received the old one. I had read about the poor supplied power cord so I bought a $10 computer cord at Radio Shack which at least stayed plugged in! The sound was an improvement over the Panasonic rp56 dvd player I had been using for cd playback, smoother and better defined throughout the frequency range. Then I decided to build a Venhaus power cord, the flavor 1 (www.venhaus1.com). I could not believe what I was hearing! ! ! ! It was truly like buying a whole new cdp. The soundstage blossomed, and the sound was smoother and more open throughout the frequency range. If you buy this player make this cord! It's very easy, and parts are around $50. My 5 star overall rating is with this power cord; without it 4 stars

Similar Products Used:

magnavox cdp650, panasonic RP56

Great sound, built well.

No power on/off on remote!

I bought this machine, even though I could play CD's on a LD and a DVD player. I have since upgraded the DVD to a machine that also plays SACD's. The Cambridge out performs them all for CD playback. And, it only plays CD's. I would describe the sound as polite, which helps on older CD's. It makes them sound very good, without killing all the highs, like a filter might. I can listen for hours, something I have not done since vinyl. I have only purchased 2 SACD's for the new Sony player because the Cambridge makes my CD collection sound so good. Highly recommended-even at retail price.

Similar Products Used:

adcom, Sony

Good Bass Detail, Openess in Midrange, and detailed airy treble. Stereophile Class C, and Good price for an enry level player.

Display, Power Cord, long burn in and warm up periods. Does not play all of the cds ( New or Old)

I am providing an update to my review submitted in April 2002. I have had a chance to listen to the D500SE a lot, now that I have more time to listen to it. Since April 2002, I have noticed some additional enhancements in the sound such as sweeter, detailed treble, open midrange, better lower frequency reproduction. However, I noticed newer disc will skip, some older disc will not play, and the 1st track will not play. Also, I notice once the DACS have had a chance to warm up for at least 6 hours or more, the aformentioned flaws do not occur. This reminds me of Adcom products, the warmer the product, the better it sounds. This warm up period is not a major problem, but it can be annoying at times. I did learn, with my MSB Link III DAC and P1000 power base, and Monarchy Audio Upsampler 48/96, the music does not skip or miss tracks. Maybe, the upsampler provides the MSB DAC a stronger signal? Whatever it is about this process, the sound improved with the upgrades I mentioned. As mentioned in earlier reviews, the cord is too flimsy. I am going to upgrade the cord on all of my equipment once I find the one I like. Later in 2002, I purchased the ARCAM DC72T along with Nordost Blue Heaven interconnects and Musical Fidelity Stereophile Class "A" A324 DAC; this unit is a wonderful sounding transport. The sound, to me, is smoother, the treble is extended more, and the bass is stronger with good low level details. The Musical Fidelity DAC provides the CD72T close to SACD reproduction! Amazing sound! I use the Cambridge with Nordost Solar Wind cables for R&B and Gospel music; I use the ARCAM CD72T for Jazz and Classical music types. My system: Rotel RB 1090 (Black and Silver Finish) Adcom GFP 750 Arcam CD72T Cambridge Audio D500SE HK CDR 20 MSB Link III DAC MSB P-1000 Powerbase Power Supply Monarchy Audio 48/96 Upsampler PS Audio Ultimate High Current Outlet Monster Power HTS 3600 Line Conditioner Bose 901 Concerto Series VI Speakers and Active EQ (1988) Interconnects and Cables: MIT Optical Cable Kimber Optical Cable Silver Serpent Digital Cable Silver Serpent BNC Digital Cable MIT 330 Series II 3 Pairs MIT Terminator 2 Speaker Cables 1 Pair MIT Terminator 2 Interconnect 1 Pair Nordost Solar Wind Interconnect 1 Pair Nordost Blue Heaven Interconnect 1 Pair

Similar Products Used:

Arcam CD72T ( Really Good), Meridian 508.24 Flat sound for the money and Class A from Stereophile), Adcom GCD 750 ( No Digital Outout)

Richness of sound, plenty of bass, musical

not convinced its the best budget CD player out there. Very good, but not the best.

Having been after a cheap system for a while I finally spotted this on ebay for £80 boxed as new and still with original cambridge audio tapes and seals - So snapped it up along with the T500 tuner for another £50! I then used Richer sounds to audition a few amps, and ended up getting the A500, as the maratz's seemed to lack the low end presence I required, despite being very musical, and the lower-end cambridge audio amps just weren't clear or crisp enough. Hifi: A500 Amp T500 Tuner D500 CD Eltax Liberty 5+ Floorstanders Cd-amp = CA Pacific interconnects Tuner-amp = CA atlantic interconnects I'm also using the original power cords, as they seem to fit snugly. The first time I powered it up the sound was quite well defined and on playing a selection of CD's from Drum n bass to Mozart the sound was tight at the lower end and very rich in the middle range. The problem was with the top end, which was harsh and very loose. So I just left it turned on for a day, playing music at a reasonablt level whenever i was in the room, and the sound mellowed noticably, with a rich musical bas/mid and some clear and defined top end. Having now had the set-up for a good 3 months, I have no complaints! For the price I got it at (£500 for the lot) the system is sounding superb and when cranked up to a respectable level it fills the room with wall to wall music as rich as anything. Dance and Club music has all the oomph you could want even with tone-defeat, and classical music comes across as all-but live. A marantz would benefit the classical ear, but definately at the expense of the bass. All in all, a fine CD player giving good quality output, although take care auditioning the amp to go with it!