[dura]

This is not the smartest thing I ever did, but perhaps some find it entertaining or educational.
I’ll also post it at Audio Asylum

My set consist of a Rega Planet 2000 CDP, > DIY
silver/solidcore/Teflon/braided/bulletplug IC of which I’m rather proud, Primare A30 amp >Kimber 8TC LS-cable and dynaudio 122 speakers.

A few weeks ago I got bored with the Rega and sold it, didn't like its looks (had the silver one) and sound anymore, grayish, undetailed, not very much bass, small soundstage (not very much depth, hardly any height, wide only a meter beside the speakers).
So I bought an Arcam CD73.
WOW!
The first thing that hit me was the enormous soundstage; higher then the ceiling, wider then the side wall, very good depth. Incredible, the sound was everywhere, very very impressive.
And bass, deep bass. And more extended treble, not as smooth as the Rega, but smooth. And the detail...I've got a CD that only contains Shore sounds, I use it to block out traffic sound when I do things like yoga.
On the Arcam the CD got unplayable because of the wind whistling in the mics, this same low-level sound was completely inaudible on the Rega.
The Arcam also sounded more colorful, letting you hear the character of the instruments and the way they are played.
Listening to f.i. Diana Krall, a Blossom fell, the dynamics of the voice are incredible, you can look into her throat as she sings at the top of her longs...but wait a minute, this is a timid sad love song, not some rebirth shouting therapy...and where is the music, the melodical flow, the interaction between instruments and voices, the emotion? Completely lost in the enormous magnified sound.
Suddenly I remembered my allergy for CD-sound, cured by first an AH tjoeb and later the Rega and forgotten.
Whatever I did, I couldn't get the Arcam to make music.
Back it went!
I ordered a new Planet and there it was again; a smaller soundstage, grayer colors, less bass and details but perfectly grainless treble and Music!
Real flowing music, emotions, interplay, beauty.
Lesson learned!
And after all, for a reasonable amount now I've got a newer machine that will stay forever and...a black one, looks cool! And it sounds clearly better then my previous Planet (I did chance some mains connections, so can't say if the machines really differed that much).
But what still puzzles me is why? What is this musicality?

Note 1: please do not misunderstand me; the CD73 is a very good CDP for the money IMO, and might be perfect in other sets/tastes. My main preference is melodical acoustic and vocal music, but was my main pref f.i. ambience or trance I might very well have kept it.

Note 2: the two CDP's react very different to burn-in; the planet get slightly more open in a few hours, the Arcam chances dramatically in the first days and cannot be judged in the first days; basically the frequency extremes smoothen out considerably and get in balance.

 

[Loftprojection]

I know it's more expensive new but you should have tried to find a used Arcam CD23T instead of the CD73. The CD23T comes with the famous RingDAC and is way more musical then the CD73. In a sense you would have got the nice qualities you found in the CD73 plus musicality, emotion, etc... Ho well, take my comments with a grain of salt, I own the CD23T so I'm a bit biased

but I had compared it to at least 10 other players in that budget before buying... By the way your evaluation of the Rega is just about the same has what I would have written, a very good machine for the money. Cheers.

 

[Garbz]

Dura what you are descibing is the exact reason I prefer my 10 year old Harman Kardon CDplayer to spanking new Pioneer DVD-A player which has since moved to a less used system in my house.

It's also the reason I wouldn't dream of trading the B&W 805 Nautili for anything Martin Logan has to offer at one of my 5 local hifi stores. Despite their reference Martin Logan system being about 10 times the cost of mine there's no chance in the world I'd consider buying that sterile crap.

 

[Gopher]

I understand 100% the situation you are describing there and have experienced it myself with other CD players. Its annoying/fustrating to hear good sound and want to enjoy it, but its just not right.

Thanks for sharing your expereince. I think many individuals get caught up in sound and forget that music is about emotion--experiences like yours help bring us back to earth.

 

[dura]

Thank you for your understanding.

The bad news is that it might have all been my fault; I had an ageing offsetfilter behind the rack, which might well have been the culprit. I removed it, and a little passive filter when inserting the new machines.
and/or the machines are indeed different, the difference really is night and day.

The good news is, the new player sounds much better then the old one, more fuller, more bass, smoother.
Good enough, really to enjoy music;
And the delicious SQ itself is worth revelling in.

Anyway, all is well that end well, for a moderate sum I know have a gorgeous looking brandnew player that sounds fantastic, and I've learned a thing or two.