[Bosk]

My impressions owning the 640C have been that it's a very detailed and analytical source, very well-built and good looking.

The only downside I've noticed is a moderately noisy transport which can be heard during quiet passages from up to 3 feet or so away, given a low-level of ambient noise (eg. 2am in the morning).

The 640C is definately on the bright and analytical side though, and I think it would probably mesh best with warm sounding tube gear. It could also be 'warmed up' with the right pair of ICs/speaker cables too.

 

[practitioner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bosk My impressions owning the 640C have been that it's a very detailed and analytical source, very well-built and good looking. The only downside I've noticed is a moderately noisy transport which can be heard during quiet passages from up to 3 feet or so away, given a low-level of ambient noise (eg. 2am in the morning). The 640C is definately on the bright and analytical side though, and I think it would probably mesh best with warm sounding tube gear. It could also be 'warmed up' with the right pair of ICs/speaker cables too.

I have the 640C and you have described this CDP very well. It has detail, clear mids, good bass and highs are definitely abit on the bright side. But it stays very liquid and smooth throughout. This helps my HD650 very well... the so called 'veil' is not evident at all

The transport is not too noisy on my one, from the Cambridge Audio forums (not available anymore) I gather that on the later productions of the 640C there were some modificatiions to deal with these issues. I guess that's probably why. If I put my ear close to the player only then can I hear the slight humming. However, don't let this become a factor in your decision making as CA now sells 640C revision 2. Which, according to CA deals with these issues and has some additional improvements in the source's DAC. I still get the slightly annoying 'clicks' on the transport when I skip tracks but when the headphones are on, this doesn't matter.

Build quality is excellent and the front panel is very slick and minimalistic. The remote although not so ergonomically friendly, is very nicely designed and definitely feels high end. Being in the UK, source choices are quite limited in the £250-£300 range. With Cambridge Audio and NAD being the big players. I had to choose between the two. The salesman at Richer Sounds (Genuinely seemed to know what he was talking about) said he found the 640C had slightly better bass then the NAD and that's why I went with it as well as the consistantly good reviews it receives.

It will be interesting to see how the upcoming 740C does with other high end sources in the ~ £500+ region. The specs seem promising.

 

[JiiEf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by practitioner Build quality is excellent and the front panel is very slick and minimalistic. The remote although not so ergonomically friendly, is very nicely designed and definitely feels high end. Being in the UK, source choices are quite limited in the £250-£300 range. With Cambridge Audio and NAD being the big players. I had to choose between the two. The salesman at Richer Sounds (Genuinely seemed to know what he was talking about) said he found the 640C had slightly better bass then the NAD and that's why I went with it as well as the consistantly good reviews it receives. It will be interesting to see how the upcoming 740C does with other high end sources in the ~ £500+ region. The specs seem promising.

Just to point out that Richer and Cambridge are owned by the same parent, so take their advice with a pinch of salt. Apart from that, I think he might have been right

.

Also, I hear the 740 series is going to be now called the 840 series and is coming out "next year" instead of two months ago. I'm planning to buy the CDP to myself as a graduation gift, so I hope it's not next Christmas or anything

/JF

 

[RJW1138]

Smuh,

Glad to hear you made a decision and seem to be enjoying it.

However, did you actually get to hear any of the players before making your decision? I'm curious as to how you made your decision and why you picked the HK, and how it compares to the other players you have listed.

I'm in Canada, and we don't have the HK HD 970 here. I know that at the price point I was looking at, my options were pretty much the 640C and the NAD C542 (I'm curious that you didn't include this one in your search because it's reputedly better than the C521BEE and at the same price point as the CA whereas the C521BEE is significantly cheaper). However, my NAD dealer refuses to carry the C542, and forces potential buyers to pick between the C521BEE and the much more expensive Arcam CD73T! His logic is that people will either take the NAD, or spend more to go up to the next performance level and get the Arcam. I don't get this though, because the price difference is vast, and I think it makes perfect sense to have another player in between them...and even more sense considering it's another NAD, and that's what they sell!

Well anyways, I REALLY wanted the Arcam because I got to hear it and it sounded great, but since I couldn't rationalize the cost, and since I was dissatisfied with my C521BEE, I took a different option, went to the other dealer in town, and got the Cambridge instead. Weird, but hey, I'm satisfied. I spent what I wanted and I got something that sounds great. I really do enjoy the 640C more than the C521BEE.

Ryan

 

[smuh]

Ryan,

No, I did not have the chance to test the players. Since the hd 970 wasn't recommended by anyone here on head-fi, I thought I will just give it a try

Indeed the c542, 640c and probably the hd 970 are more or less considered to be playing in the same league, soundwise. But the nad c542 cost around 500 euro here in germany, same for the 640 and the hd 970 costs around 350 euro. That leaves you with enough money for some really nice ic's or a pair of hd 600

Since I am satisfied with the hd 970, I am not going to get the 640c or c542 for a comparisation - if somebody want to lend me their players, well I might reconsider...

but I am not sure if I could tell the differnce in soundquality, or if I am just noticeing the differences of each players sound signature.

What I like about the hd 970 that it is very clean and natural, yet not digital and "cold" sounding.

 

[smuh]

What I also would like to mention is that the HD 970 also has a coax and opto digital IN - so at least HK is of the opinion that the internal dac of the unit is at least "okay" and worth to be used by other players as well.

 

[RJW1138]

Wow! That's really awesome. I didn't know that. I WISH more players had this incredibly useful feature. This is usually only found on much more expensive players. Very cool. I wish my CA had this feature, so I could route my computer's audio into it, and take advantage of its D/A section which crushes what's in my receiver...

Anyways, enjoy your player!

Ryan

 

[JiiEf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by smuh What I also would like to mention is that the HD 970 also has a coax and opto digital IN - so at least HK is of the opinion that the internal dac of the unit is at least "okay" and worth to be used by other players as well.

I did actually mention it on page one

The player apparently uses a combination of asynchronous resampling, Analog Devices Blackfin DSP and multiple DACs. Sounds pretty good to me.

/JF

 

[RJW1138]

Oops, so you did.

Uh, we weren't ignoring you, honest.

 

[smuh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJW1138 Oops, so you did. Uh, we weren't ignoring you, honest.

Who? What?

 

[JiiEf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJW1138 I wish my CA had this feature, so I could route my computer's audio into it, and take advantage of its D/A section which crushes what's in my receiver...

As a follow-up, the new CA top model will have the same feature, in fact, from what I read at the Anagram Technologies website, it looks like the two will be at least partly using the same solution for D/A (Same resampling and DSP, with maybe different DACs?)


As much as the HK interests me, I'm trying to resist it very hard and wait for the CA.

/JF

 

[lini]

smuh: That thingy has quite an interesting dac topology. I'm still somewhat allured to give it a try and see how it fares against my CD6000OSE and DVD-S75. However, HK had some serious quality issues not too long ago, and I'm not sure whether they already got over that - though I'd really hope that for you...

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini

 

[Zuglufttier]

These extra digital inputs are really interesting. I was thinking of getting a new source this christmas... Are there any other players out there that do have this feature? Must add that I don't want to spend more than 300-350 euro...

Does the H/K have any quality issues (I know the 750 had a few...) and how fast does the player read the cd? Problems with copy-controlled cds?

 

[Zuglufttier]

Ok, I already found out, that the cd player is pretty fast. Very nice

I found a review by a german hifi magezine called stereoplay I think... Well, you cannot really trust these magazines but they rated it even higher than the NAD C542

 

[smuh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lini smuh: That thingy has quite an interesting dac topology. I'm still somewhat allured to give it a try and see how it fares against my CD6000OSE and DVD-S75. However, HK had some serious quality issues not too long ago, and I'm not sure whether they already got over that - though I'd really hope that for you... Greetings from Hannover! Manfred / lini

Lini:
Anything that I should take a closer look at? Do you remember if they just mentioned general quality issues or was there something specific?

So far I didn't notice anything bad at all about the player. The only thing that could be better is the finish of the unit. it looks great,imo, but I would prefer a nice stainless steel front
The remote looks like a dvd remote and they just forgot some buttons

But that are the only things I could argue about.