[milkpowder]

Oh, I take fully discrete to mean an electronic circuit that does not utilise "chips".

 

[Mher6]

I'm about to purchase the 840c after reading all the glowing reviews about the 840c (all w5000 owners have been very impressed and also recommend a tube amp, which I have). FYI, I'm upgrading from my eastsound E5. The fact that the 840c can act as a transport and DAC is very appealing, as in sound signature people are describing. It also fits my bill very well...

Decisions, decisions...

 

[HiWire]

Audition first, buy later. Never buy into the hype - listen for yourself. There's no rush to buy these things; I've been auditioning CD players for years and finally purchased one today.

 

[Mher6]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HiWire /img/forum/go_quote.gif Audition first, buy later. Never buy into the hype - listen for yourself. There's no rush to buy these things; I've been auditioning CD players for years and finally purchased one today.

Problem is, there aren't any hi-fi shops close to where I live (well, there are a few but none carry CA equipment and have very little to listen to in their store). All the equipment I've owned has been bought without auditioning, I just do a lot of research on the items and I haven't been disappointed yet.

 

[ninjapixie]

When I auditioned the 840c it was straight out of the box so it didn't sound all that good. I still went with it anyway as I trusted the reviews and being able to walk out of the shop with one was a bonus. I'm glad I did. Biggest jump in sound quality I've heard coming from the analog outs of an ESI Juli@ and Sony discman.

 

[HiWire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mher6 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Problem is, there aren't any hi-fi shops close to where I live...

Your closest Cambridge Audio dealer is in New Hartford, near Utica. I guess we're lucky in Canada - there are several Cambridge Audio dealers in this city, kind of like New York.

 

[milkpowder]

Can someone please post some pictures of the 840c internals when they have time? I'd like to compare with the 740c. Cheers!


Here are the 740c Internals

 

[4N6]

I have had the extreme fortune of borrowing a dealers 840C for the past few days and comparing it to my PrimaLuna ProLogue Eight CDP ($2500) and an Audio Research CD7 ($9000). Both the 840C and the CD7 were reviewed in the same issue of the absolute sound and given rave reviews at their price points. My interest in comparing it to my ProLogue piqued when Robert Harley exclaimed it to be the best CDP under $5000. The rest of my system consists of a Ray Samuels B-52 and balanced Sennheiser HD-650's or balanced Ultrasone Edition 9's. I compared the Cambridge and PrimaLuna CDP's via their single-ended outputs, only switching to the 840C's balanced outputs at the end of the comparison.

First, it was extremely difficult to tell the difference between the 840C and the ProLogue. I had to go back and forth many times just to perceive even the most significant differences. This told me that spending the extra $1000 on the ProLogue is not worth it in terms of sound quality, especially since, for the most part, the 840C was slightly better sounding to my ears.

In the comparison, both of the CDP's were extremely smooth, detailed, and had that "listen to all day" factor. The biggest differences were a slightly brighter tone quality to the 840C, and more snap an punchiness, especially on plucked strings or percussion. There was also a slight but definite increase in instumental separation and depth of soundstage when using the 840C.

Switching to the balanced outputs on the 840C did not have a hugely significant impact on the sound quality, but there was a minor positive impact on soundstage depth and low level ambience. If an owner was relegated to just the single ended outputs, they would not be missing much in terms of the players performance.

As for comparison to the Audio Research CD7, well, the 840C is very good but no giant killer. As opposed to the almost imperceivable differences between the ProLogue and the 840C, the differences with the CD7 were incredibly stark. A huge sense of space, 3D palpability of vocals and instruments, just simply much more REAL via the CD7. It is funny to me that the CD7 uses relatively pedestrian DAC's, not even bothering to upsample, yet sounds soooooo much better. My only conclusion is that the analog output stage is the main determining factor in SQ of CDP's and not the digital wizardry (or hocus pocus). Hmmmm....

With that said, I am in need of a CDP for the office and the 840C is a terrific piece of kit. As I do listen all day, a player this involving yet easy on the ears is a godsend, not to mention a terrific value. I don't think the dealer is going to get this one back.

 

[SK138]

That's a terrific review

I think it's extremely good value as well. If you consider the used market...840c is a killer.

 

[No Deal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mher6 /img/forum/go_quote.gif all w5000 owners have been very impressed and also recommend a tube amp, which I have

I have asked this elsewhere but I would like to ask again if there is a chance that this player would be a good fit with my WOO WA6 tube amp and K701s.

 

[No Deal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daltonlanny /img/forum/go_quote.gif The reason I am selling the 840c is to help pay some bills due to an accident in my family. I am still very happy with the sonics of this player, and will miss it dearly, but I must preserve my credit which is more important to me right now.

I do not wish to be critical of anyone who has suffered misfortune. I would like to say however, that my morning cruise through the Audiogon forums has left me confused regarding the opinion that has been expressed about the 840C.

From Audiogon:

12-17-07: Audio_girl
I extensively compared the 840c to the Marantz SA8001, and prefered the 8001. The 840c did give more of a sense of body to instruments, but, the 8001 has a better sense of space and depth, and I can hear deeper into the recording.The 840c, to my ears, is a great sounding cd player, but it has slightly vague imaging, and has a flatter soundstage than the 8001. It also sounds slightly more "mechanical" than the 8001.
The 840c is slighter smoother and less forward than the 8001, but I still prefer the 8001.


The response:

12-17-07: Daltonlanny
Hi Audio_girl,
I agree 100% with your conclusions on the 840c.
I own the Marantz SA8001 and I am very happy with it.
I also prefered the 8001 to the Onkyo DX7555,Marantz CD-5001, the Rega Apollo, and the Rega Saturn, plus it also plays SACD's.
Not bad for a less than $1,000.00 player!
The 8001 is a bargain, IMHO.

I am having trouble making sense of this. Can someone enlighten me? Again I am not trying to be critical of someone who has suffered a misfortune.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by No Deal /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am having trouble making sense of this. Can someone enlighten me? Again I am not trying to be critical of someone who has suffered a misfortune.

Those two players must have different sound signatures; some people will naturally prefer one over the other.

They have entirely different DAC sections. The Cambridge 840c uses the Analog Devices AD1955 while the Marantz SA-8001 uses Cirrus CS4397. It just depends which house sound / signature you prefer, and which will complement the other components in your system.

 

[SK138]

Deleted

 

[No Deal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by infinitesymphony /img/forum/go_quote.gif Those two players must have different sound signatures; some people will naturally prefer one over the other. They have entirely different DAC sections. The Cambridge 840c uses the Analog Devices AD1955 while the Marantz SA-8001 uses Cirrus CS4397. It just depends which house sound / signature you prefer, and which will complement the other components in your system.

I won't continue with this any further because I do not want to trash anyone but it seems to me that the same person who has praised the 840C player in this forum, does not feel any love for it in the Audiogon forum (see my post previous to this one). That is what has left me confused about the quality of the player.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by No Deal /img/forum/go_quote.gif I won't continue with this any further because I do not want to trash anyone but it seems to me that the same person who has praised the 840C player in this forum, does not feel any love for it in the Audiogon forum (see my post previous to this one). That is what has left me confused about the quality of the player.

Oh, I see your point. This is interesting, considering these statements by the OP in post #35:
Quote:

Originally Posted by daltonlanny /img/forum/go_quote.gif Out of all the CD players that I have owned, the 840c is the keeper! ... Overall, this is the best CD player I have tried in my system. ... As a testament of its greatness, I have sold both the Rega Saturn and the Marantz SA8001.

According to this, if he sold his 840c, he wouldn't currently own any of these players.