This is a player you have to listen to if analog is your thing. You will forget that you're listening to a CD, and you will be able to listen to your system for hours and hours. The previous review is on the money in that the Proceed is most suitable for, which in my case is, jazz. It's no chump in playing classical music either if only because the neutral sounding of other players like the Meridian 508.24 and the Mark Levinson #39 gives the impression of being slightly more detailed and airy. The Proceed has personality nonetheless more comfortable in a dark, smoky jazz bar as opposed to a room for chamber music. I like the Proceed better. I especially like the fact that it has pre-amp capabilities, and you can hook it up directly to your amplifier. With the right combination (I alternate between a Cary tube amp and an AR solid state amp, Audiotruth Diamond, Magnepan and an awesome set of speakers, the name which eludes me right now because it's my dad's, carved in marble), the music is as direct as you can get. Afterall, isn't that what we want? Music that is lively and moves us, rather than disecting it. Check out the madrigal website (www.madrigal.com) for an honest review (it doesn't rave and rant, and points out certain characteristics) of the Proceed.
This is the younger brother to the Mark Levinson, and his tastes and attitude in music is different. I find him to be refined yet with more energy. He's not built like Mark Levinson, but he's no slouch and he costs much less. To me, he has a better display (I wished he had the solid muscle that makes up the Mark Levinson case) and oh I can watch that drawer slide in and out forever. The drawer mechanism, no thicker than a CD itself, is one of the trickest item on this machine (the Meridian's drawer is too, I might add). Backed with a 5 year warranty by one of audiophiliac's most respected company, the Proceed is well worth a try if you could find it. It's an 18-bit machine, but the music it makes is beautiful which goes to show you that the number of bits does not make music. If that were the case, the Arcam 9, for instance, and so many other 24-bit machines would sound better. They don't, and for that 5 stars for the music, the build, and the Madrigal heritage.

My search for a cd player to replace my Meridian 506.20 is over! I replaced my old Meridian with the Proceed CDP. Other cd players I tried were the Krell KAV 300 and 250, Meridian 508.24, Naim 3.5 with the flat cap power supply option, Classe .5, Wadia 830, Audio Research CD2, Arcam Alpha 9, California Audio Labs CL15 in the balanced option, and Theta Miles in the balanced option. I was very suprised at what I heard and liked in my system. I thought that the "new" 24 bit machines were going to be the best sounding because of the latest technology. I was right and wrong. I wanted the latest technology in my new cd player so I tried the Arcam and Meridian first. I thought that for $1600 the new Arcam with it's new 24 bit technology from dCS would be the obvious choice. The Arcam is a exceptional cd player for it's price range but it is not equal to the top cd players from some of the other companies. It lacked dynamics and detail. The Meridian 508.24 is a exceptional cd player at any price! For classical music this player is among the best. I prefered the Proceed CDP by a slight margin. The Proceed was a better machine for rock, it has a low end that is only matched by the Krell KAV300. I think that the Proceed, Wadia, Audio Research, and Meridian are about the cream of the crop in there price range. I did not know that the Proceed was a 18 bit machine untill I ordered it. The Proceed was clearly better than all of the 20 and 24 bit machines I listened to with the exception of the Meridian 508.24, Wadia 830, and the Audio Research CD2. With these cd players it is a matter of system matching and preferences. The Proceed was better than these machines in the bottom end, it also had a slightly more detailed and up front sound. It was for this reason I picked the Proceed over my very, very close second choice, the Meridian. All four of these machines had transparency and clarity beyond belief! The sound stage depth and width for these machines are unreal as well. I feel that all of these machines have exceptional dynamics as well. The Proceed is by far the best machine for both classical and rock. The Meridian is a better machine for classical only because of it's laid back nature. I think in theory a machine with more bits should be better, but in the real world it depends on how each company uses it's technology. I guess a good example would be automobiles. A 1.3 liter rotery engine can produce more horsepower than a 5 liter V8, it all depends on how you use what you have. I tried all of the cd players in the balanced mode when ever possible using Transparent cables. My system is as follows: Krell KSA 100 amp, Levinson No. 38 preamp, and ProAc Response 1SC's.

I rate the machines I tried like this.

1. Proceed CDP 5 stars
2. Meridian 508.24 5 stars
3. Wadia 830 5 stars
4. Audio Research CD2 5 stars
the next group of machines are one class behind.
5. Krell KAV300 4-1/2 stars, for the price 2 stars
6. Krell KAV250 4-1/2 stars
7. Naim 3.5 w/ flat cap 4-1/2 stars, for the $2800 price 3 stars
8. Classe .5 4-1/4 stars
9. Arcam Alpha 9 (this machine is tied with the Naim bellow) 4 stars , 5 stars at it's price though I would pay the extra $400 for the Classe .5
10. Naim with out flat cap 4 stars
11. Meridian 506.20 unit I replaced. 4 stars
12. Thata Miles balanced 4 stars
13. CAL CL-15 3 stars

The biggest dissapointment was the Krell KAV 300. For $3500 it was by far the worst in it's price range.

Extremely versatile piece of kit. It can be used as a CD transport or digital processor (as it has digital inputs). Furthermore, because it has a built-in digital volume control, the CDP can be directly connected to a power amplifier. Is extremely musical - delivers top notch sonics (realism, detail, clarity, smoothness, open soundstage) regardless of musical selection (i.e., classical, jazz, new-age, rock, electronic). Extremely high build quality. Remote control is easy to follow and use. Front panel display is clearly legible from afar (unit also comes equipped with a dimmer switch if you don't want to have the diplay appear)

Overall aesthetics may not appeal to some. Remote control is contructed of plastic and not machined metal.

My search for a CD player upgrade began many months ago and ended after home auditioning the Proceed CDP for several days. I had previously listened to both the Meridian and the Rotel (both excellent CD players in their own right but not nearly as musical as the Proceed in my personal estimation).

The Meridian offers the listener excellent detail, soundstage and bloom. It delivers satisfactory mid-range and bass extension, and excels in rendering a smooth, lush sound. However, I found the sound to be too reserved for my liking (which is a matter of personal taste). Moreover, the Meridian was not as adept as the Proceed at reproducing every last bit of detail of sound emanating from different musical instruments in a recording. This is evident in complex musical compositions such as Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, or Barber's Three Essays for Orchestra, wherein the tempo is extremely dynamic, and every instrument in a symphonic orchestra is utilized.

The Rotel is not in the same sonic caliber as the Proceed or Meridian. This is not to say that the Rotel is a poor performer. Given its much lower price point, it offers excellent value for the money, and delivers very satisfying sound to the listener if mated with good quality components and cables. It delivers extremely good bass extension and overall detail, but the music is nowhere near as involving as the Proceed. Depending on your setup, the sound from the Rotel may seem a tad bright as well.

The Proceed CDP comes closest to bringing the listener to musical nirvana at its moderate price point. It combines an open soundstage with utter clarity, and depth. It is neither overly analytical-sounding or smooth. Rather, it happily sits somwhere in the middle within this spectrum, thereby providing the listener with a good balance of dynamics and smoothness - music just simply sounds natural and full. The Proceed is never harsh or bright-sounding. It renders a more assertive presentation versus other players that I've auditioned, which may not appeal to everyone's tastes. It also delivers extremely satisfying deep bass extension. If you run the Proceed via a good preamp/power amp setup, with a reasonable full-range pair of speakers, you will never need to use a subwoofer. In the dreamworld, I would be eyeing Mark Levinson or Wadia hardware, but in the real world, the Proceed comes closest to delivering the absolute sound in the form of a neatly packaged, highly versatile piece of kit. The Proceed gets top marks for overall consumer value. If you are an avid audio listener, and are in the market for a high-end CD player, the Proceed CDP should be on your shortlist.

Incidentally, I had contemplated about investing in a CD player that utilizes Direct Stream Digital technology (i.e., Sony SCD-1, Marantz SA-1 SACD) at one time, but decided against the idea (despite whatever sonic superiority claims can be substantiated by SACD players) for three reasons: i) limited availability of software; ii) high upfront cost and the added cost of rebuilding your CD collection with replacement SACD's; and iii) DVD Audio and SACD are still battling it out to see which format will become the future defacto audio standard (my money is on DVD-Audio).

My equipment:

Proceed CDP
Bryston 4BST
Bryston 5BST
Paradigm Deluxe 11se speakers
Paradigm Servo 15 subwoofer
AudioQuest Coral balanced XLR interconnects
Nordost Solar Wind interconnects
van den Hul D352 Hybrid speaker cables
Denon AVR3300 receiver
Elite DV09 DVD player

Similar Products Used:

Meridian 506.24, Rotel RCD 971

I think that the Proceed CDP is one of the most complete CD players on the market now, except for the more expensive ML nº 39. Build, technology and sound are all to Madrigal standards. It means that the CDP has a great sound, tunefull, wide and deep soundstage, smooth highs, powerfull bass and with great transparency. With all the confusion about new formats, it is certain that CD will be here for a looooooong time, and so it makes sense to invest on a good CD source. It is much better than all Sony SACD models for ex. Only SCD-1 can better it and only with selected SACD test recordings.