Cambridge Audio 840C...some thoughts and comparisons

[orkney]

Originally Posted by 4N6

I was unable to make the direct comparison, but I asked my dealer that very question as he also carries Rega and has compared the 840C/Apollo/Saturn. He likes the 840C significantly more.

My dealer also carries both -- and prefers the Saturn. Sigh. I think they're both excellent players, with the 840c having a little more clarity/purity/extension/emphasis (???) in the treble and the Saturn sounding quicker and more dynamic to my ears. I bought the Saturn for its swing but I would have been happy with the 840c. Although, having just heard the new Bryston CDP, I wish I'd held off a little longer. That player rocks like nothing I've ever heard.

best,

o

[Hi-Finthen]

Originally Posted by White Mike

+1 on that.
For me the PS1 thing smacks far too much as an example of Hi-Fi subjectivism/mysticism gone mad. The same 3-4 demos and articles that keep getting brought up in defence of the claim make me suspicious as well.
The PS1 may be a surprisingly musical sounding player but every time someone says it sounds great through a tube amp, or indeed a high end system of any sort, I'm forced to roll my eyes. My Nokia will sound better - that is more musical - through a tube stage, it's what they're best at. Is there anything wrong with that? Not at all.... but I wouldn't use that as a basis to rank it against a good $500 CDP let alone anything above that.

I would also have thought anyone that has put any stock in the attention put into various CDP features - advancements in transports, power supplies, servo stages, output stages, grounding and DACs - would also risk exposing themselves to the claim of hypocrisy if even a quarter of the claims I've heard in favour of the PS1 were true. I'm mean why all the effort then?

To be honest, I have no issue at all with those that prefer the more subjective approach to Hi-Fi, or seek musicality over accuracy. I personally believe a mix of both objective and subjective is the only way to enjoy this game, you have to trust your ears at some point . Unfortunately my pro-audio background is one that has taught me to value (and enjoy) accuracy and clarity above all else. I want to hear it as it was recorded to the disc, for better or worse... and these days an 840C is currently one of the best bang-for-your-buck ways to get that...

Smacks too that of a sales pitch, in the favor of highest end speakers, after all that's where the example first derrived from. I recently read of another speaker manufacture having in their showroom lobby an iPod as source driving their choice of 100lb tube amp(s) to their signature speakers to the amazement of potential customers . Again, the arguement of transducer first weighted theroy to their advantage, as a sales pitch for their high end product. I still believe in a more balanced theory of financial distrubution, of a system (which the savings on the transducer end with a high resolution headphone/system is huge) rather than the either / or school which smacks of a marketing scheme...

No denying what others may sincerely say they prefer, of course.

[selfdivider]

Originally Posted by orkney

My dealer also carries both -- and prefers the Saturn. Sigh. I think they're both excellent players, with the 840c having a little more clarity/purity/extension/emphasis (???) in the treble and the Saturn sounding quicker and more dynamic to my ears. I bought the Saturn for its swing but I would have been happy with the 840c. Although, having just heard the new Bryston CDP, I wish I'd held off a little longer. That player rocks like nothing I've ever heard.

best,

o

I also heard great things about the Bryston CDP. Probably doesn't have a digital-in, though, right?

[orkney]

Originally Posted by selfdivider

I also heard great things about the Bryston CDP. Probably doesn't have a digital-in, though, right?

I don't think it does, though when the buzz about this player first began I seem to remember that a player with digital inputs was mooted. It's also a whole lot pricier than the 840c, in Canada anyway.

best,

o

[ninjapixie]

I think this brightness/glare from the 840c is what makes them so good with Sennheiser cans which need that extra bit in the treble.

When using the 840c with my low-end studio monitors (which are already bright sounding) I need to put tissue paper over the tweeters to tone down the treble as there's no EQ on the monitors or the 840c. I'm currently in the market for an active, nearfield, warm-sounding speaker/monitor.

[Bozz_Keren]

anyone compared 840c to bryston?