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- Sep 7, 2002
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I had the CEC 5100Z for 6 or more years before it died and plunged me into an mini orgy of shopping to try to get a replacement or something better. I finally ressurected an even older Denon DCD 3000 to use as a transport driving a Musical Fidelity A324 DAC which is about a 3-4 year old design. Then for good measure I inserted a Monarchy DIP jitter reducer and have been generally happy with this set up as a worthy replacement and even as a significant upgrade for what I had lost.
However, one day I tried the CEC again, it would run for about 5 minutes at time, and I used it in place of the Denon as a transport. It took about 2 seconds to realize that even in its semi-defunct status it out-performed the Denon.
So I decided it would be worthwhile to try to repair it. Finally Nick Gowan of True Sound in the Bay area got it working again, with a new disc player mechanism plus replacement of some major circuitry. It all cost about as much as current second hand models, which go for about $500.00, but I was essentially getting a rebuilt unit, with completely new moving parts.
CEC still makes the same basic unit with a different set of letters. It looks identical to the older unit but that I think it uses more modern DAC circuitry. CEC also makes a pure transport version, for a few hundred less.
The main claim to fame of this unit is that it has a belt drive CD disc mechanism. This and the fact that it is a top loader, makes it almost a turntable. In fact I often refer to as such out of confusion.
Plugged into my main system and a lesser set-up in my office, the money seems well spent. The first and most striking improvement is bass slam and dynamics. There is a solidness to the bass which the Denon just couldn't match. Secondly the treble is more pure, a percusion triangle is a joy to hear. Overall the sound is more musical, i.e. more sine wave sounding, less triangular wave sound.
The sound stage has about the same width as with the Denon, but the localization is different. The Denon gave well-defined location, but the sounds seemed to come from small but definite regions in space. It was a peculiar effect I had never heard before, interesting "hi-fi" but not quite realistic. The CEC makes sounds seem to come more from a point source, with a more realistic, continuous ambience around the sound sources.
The tonal balance gives just enough edge on my Stax 404s to sound like live sound, but so much as to sound "hi-fi," edgy. The inflections and interpretive aspects such as the vocal acting in opera comes through clearly but not pushy.
About the only critical point is that there is a slightly soft upper bass, although this may go away with more break-in.
I am frankly surprised that a transport can make such a difference in a system that uses not just an outboard DAC, but a jitter reducer in the circuit. Some readers argue that "bits are bits" and the way the bits are obtained should make no difference to sound quality. Well, that's just not correct.
Finally the effect of the various changes, the processers plus the CEC, has been to remove just about all of the digital harshness out of the system. I am generally listening with Stax 404's, electrostatics which many claim to have a treble peak and to be edgy. Well the edge is gone now. I have been listening to some god-awful recordings which are still quite listenable through the Stax. It is probably fair to say that the 404 does not like digital artifacts or which there is quite a bit about (no pun intended). Get rid of the hash and they sing.
However, one day I tried the CEC again, it would run for about 5 minutes at time, and I used it in place of the Denon as a transport. It took about 2 seconds to realize that even in its semi-defunct status it out-performed the Denon.
So I decided it would be worthwhile to try to repair it. Finally Nick Gowan of True Sound in the Bay area got it working again, with a new disc player mechanism plus replacement of some major circuitry. It all cost about as much as current second hand models, which go for about $500.00, but I was essentially getting a rebuilt unit, with completely new moving parts.
CEC still makes the same basic unit with a different set of letters. It looks identical to the older unit but that I think it uses more modern DAC circuitry. CEC also makes a pure transport version, for a few hundred less.
The main claim to fame of this unit is that it has a belt drive CD disc mechanism. This and the fact that it is a top loader, makes it almost a turntable. In fact I often refer to as such out of confusion.
Plugged into my main system and a lesser set-up in my office, the money seems well spent. The first and most striking improvement is bass slam and dynamics. There is a solidness to the bass which the Denon just couldn't match. Secondly the treble is more pure, a percusion triangle is a joy to hear. Overall the sound is more musical, i.e. more sine wave sounding, less triangular wave sound.
The sound stage has about the same width as with the Denon, but the localization is different. The Denon gave well-defined location, but the sounds seemed to come from small but definite regions in space. It was a peculiar effect I had never heard before, interesting "hi-fi" but not quite realistic. The CEC makes sounds seem to come more from a point source, with a more realistic, continuous ambience around the sound sources.
The tonal balance gives just enough edge on my Stax 404s to sound like live sound, but so much as to sound "hi-fi," edgy. The inflections and interpretive aspects such as the vocal acting in opera comes through clearly but not pushy.
About the only critical point is that there is a slightly soft upper bass, although this may go away with more break-in.
I am frankly surprised that a transport can make such a difference in a system that uses not just an outboard DAC, but a jitter reducer in the circuit. Some readers argue that "bits are bits" and the way the bits are obtained should make no difference to sound quality. Well, that's just not correct.
Finally the effect of the various changes, the processers plus the CEC, has been to remove just about all of the digital harshness out of the system. I am generally listening with Stax 404's, electrostatics which many claim to have a treble peak and to be edgy. Well the edge is gone now. I have been listening to some god-awful recordings which are still quite listenable through the Stax. It is probably fair to say that the 404 does not like digital artifacts or which there is quite a bit about (no pun intended). Get rid of the hash and they sing.
