Post by sidvicious on Sept 27, 2015 9:09:10 GMT -5
Audio Research CD8, I've been using this machine since Friday and I had to write a review on it.
Equipment used: Audio Research Vt100 MKIII, Audio Research LS17se, Vandersteen 2ce Signature IIs with a Vandersteen 5hp Crossover XLR and a Vandersteen 2wq Subwoofer. Source equipment: Cambridge Audio CD350, Denon 1611UD and the CD8.
Music Listen to for this review: Vanessa Fernandez-Use Me (SACD), Dianna Krall Girl in the Other Room (SACD), David Matthews Band-Every Day (CD)
This is a player that I've seen in my local dealer's shop for about a year at a price that I wouldn't have touched on his website, but he did some checking and the price had went down by a couple thousand dollars from the website price. The owner has offered to let me take it home and I had refused the temptation, but on Friday, I was in the shop making a purchase and trading in my Rogue Ninety-Nine (pending).
The owner extended this offer to me as he saw me looking at the player. I decided why not, so I took it home. I'm using the balanced imputs on the player. The player looks like standard fair from the CD3 on up and one of the biggest differences from it and the CD7 is a switched the DAC from a Cirrus/Crystal CS4396 Delta-Sigma DAC used in the CD7 to a Burr Brown PCM1792 used in the CD8. The player uses a 6550C tube mounted horizontally and five 6H30's and a Phillips pro laser mechanism and it weighs 32 pounds. There were some blown rectifier issues with the CD7, which Audio Research did fix and offered a power supply upgrade with an upgraded tube. I was warned to use the CD Puck that comes with the player or my disc would fly around like a frisby inside of the player. The puck has a magnet on it and clamps down and holds the cd in place, like the Naim Cd Players.
The Review:
I brought this home and listened to Vanessa Fernandez, I want to be with you and Be thankful for what you got and compared it to the Denon 1611UD. The first thing I heard was the Audio Layer of the SACD sounded better on the CD8 than the SACD layer on the Denon 1611UD. The first thing I heard with I want to be with you is the guitars were more up front and the percussions were more up front. Fernandez's voice was to the right, the guitar was to the left very distinctive. On the song Be thankful of what you got- the percussions sounded real up front along with the guitar, every instrument sounded like it was in it's own space 3d like with air around the instruments. On the Denon you could hear some of this but to a lesser degree and I would have to turn the volume up to try and duplicate it. On this song I could here a cymbal on the left side that I hadn't noticed before on the Denon or Cambridge Audio CD350, but it was very pronounced on the CD8. Dianna Krall SACD sounded great on both players, but the CD8 brought every thing up front and the instruments were more pronounced and individualized. The air around the instruments on The Girl in the other room was more pronounced and up front on the CD8 than on the Denon or Cambridge, also the instruments sounded clearer along with her voice. On Dave Matthews Band(CD) -Did it was very good, but pretty mouch the same as the other two CD's. I added Bob Dylan The Freewheelin and his Harmonic playing was scary it was so good in the right channel and it was very pronounced as if he were playing it for you. On the other players it is there but more in the background. I found my self reducing the volume on the CD8 or raising it on the others.
Build Quality:
This is built like a tank at 32 pounds and it is metal, it feels like a small amplier or small receiver, heavier than the ERC-1, which I still own (it's in a closet with other boxes around it, would have been interesting to add it to this review and I may grab it out and try it against the CD8. This unit is a top loader with a drawer that feels pretty sturdy and once a CD is put in the player and the puck in placed in and the drawer shut, it is one of the fastest players to initialized in 3.43 seconds.
The remote control is the same small plastic one that Audio Research has been using, in other words cheap, but replacement if lost are $99.00. The remote has all of the features and functions of the player with a button named stand-by, which basically lets you power up from stand by mode and is indicated with a green LED on the front face of the player. The player has balanced/ RCA inputs AES and Coax. You can turn the player off totally with a push of the power button on the far right side of the player. The buttons used are recess plastic as used in all the other players and some of the preamps, think LS26 or LS17 (non SE version) The new CD9 and CD6 uses metal buttons and both have built in DACS. I have heard the CD9 great player and the DAC is a plus the dealer said he believes it's a DAC 8 in those players.
Conclusion:
Is this or other Audio Research CD Players for you. This is the best CD Player I have ever heard in my life in my system and at this time. The CD9 is great as well but I didn't hear it long and it was plugged into a Ref 5se, which is in another league, being played through a Ref 150, so not a fair comparison. This does everything right with CD's and produces a 3D sound stage and it will leave an impession on your mind. The original cost was 9995 and is much cheaper now, the CD9 is $13,000 and the CD6 is $9,000. I have a trade in pending at the store and I'm seriously considering re-doing the deal for this player, it's under $4000 not including my trade and yes I know ouch!!! This is a big boy player, and the more I listen to it the more I like it but I haven't decided yet and yes it is that good!!!
Equipment used: Audio Research Vt100 MKIII, Audio Research LS17se, Vandersteen 2ce Signature IIs with a Vandersteen 5hp Crossover XLR and a Vandersteen 2wq Subwoofer. Source equipment: Cambridge Audio CD350, Denon 1611UD and the CD8.
Music Listen to for this review: Vanessa Fernandez-Use Me (SACD), Dianna Krall Girl in the Other Room (SACD), David Matthews Band-Every Day (CD)
This is a player that I've seen in my local dealer's shop for about a year at a price that I wouldn't have touched on his website, but he did some checking and the price had went down by a couple thousand dollars from the website price. The owner has offered to let me take it home and I had refused the temptation, but on Friday, I was in the shop making a purchase and trading in my Rogue Ninety-Nine (pending).
The owner extended this offer to me as he saw me looking at the player. I decided why not, so I took it home. I'm using the balanced imputs on the player. The player looks like standard fair from the CD3 on up and one of the biggest differences from it and the CD7 is a switched the DAC from a Cirrus/Crystal CS4396 Delta-Sigma DAC used in the CD7 to a Burr Brown PCM1792 used in the CD8. The player uses a 6550C tube mounted horizontally and five 6H30's and a Phillips pro laser mechanism and it weighs 32 pounds. There were some blown rectifier issues with the CD7, which Audio Research did fix and offered a power supply upgrade with an upgraded tube. I was warned to use the CD Puck that comes with the player or my disc would fly around like a frisby inside of the player. The puck has a magnet on it and clamps down and holds the cd in place, like the Naim Cd Players.
The Review:
I brought this home and listened to Vanessa Fernandez, I want to be with you and Be thankful for what you got and compared it to the Denon 1611UD. The first thing I heard was the Audio Layer of the SACD sounded better on the CD8 than the SACD layer on the Denon 1611UD. The first thing I heard with I want to be with you is the guitars were more up front and the percussions were more up front. Fernandez's voice was to the right, the guitar was to the left very distinctive. On the song Be thankful of what you got- the percussions sounded real up front along with the guitar, every instrument sounded like it was in it's own space 3d like with air around the instruments. On the Denon you could hear some of this but to a lesser degree and I would have to turn the volume up to try and duplicate it. On this song I could here a cymbal on the left side that I hadn't noticed before on the Denon or Cambridge Audio CD350, but it was very pronounced on the CD8. Dianna Krall SACD sounded great on both players, but the CD8 brought every thing up front and the instruments were more pronounced and individualized. The air around the instruments on The Girl in the other room was more pronounced and up front on the CD8 than on the Denon or Cambridge, also the instruments sounded clearer along with her voice. On Dave Matthews Band(CD) -Did it was very good, but pretty mouch the same as the other two CD's. I added Bob Dylan The Freewheelin and his Harmonic playing was scary it was so good in the right channel and it was very pronounced as if he were playing it for you. On the other players it is there but more in the background. I found my self reducing the volume on the CD8 or raising it on the others.
Build Quality:
This is built like a tank at 32 pounds and it is metal, it feels like a small amplier or small receiver, heavier than the ERC-1, which I still own (it's in a closet with other boxes around it, would have been interesting to add it to this review and I may grab it out and try it against the CD8. This unit is a top loader with a drawer that feels pretty sturdy and once a CD is put in the player and the puck in placed in and the drawer shut, it is one of the fastest players to initialized in 3.43 seconds.
The remote control is the same small plastic one that Audio Research has been using, in other words cheap, but replacement if lost are $99.00. The remote has all of the features and functions of the player with a button named stand-by, which basically lets you power up from stand by mode and is indicated with a green LED on the front face of the player. The player has balanced/ RCA inputs AES and Coax. You can turn the player off totally with a push of the power button on the far right side of the player. The buttons used are recess plastic as used in all the other players and some of the preamps, think LS26 or LS17 (non SE version) The new CD9 and CD6 uses metal buttons and both have built in DACS. I have heard the CD9 great player and the DAC is a plus the dealer said he believes it's a DAC 8 in those players.
Conclusion:
Is this or other Audio Research CD Players for you. This is the best CD Player I have ever heard in my life in my system and at this time. The CD9 is great as well but I didn't hear it long and it was plugged into a Ref 5se, which is in another league, being played through a Ref 150, so not a fair comparison. This does everything right with CD's and produces a 3D sound stage and it will leave an impession on your mind. The original cost was 9995 and is much cheaper now, the CD9 is $13,000 and the CD6 is $9,000. I have a trade in pending at the store and I'm seriously considering re-doing the deal for this player, it's under $4000 not including my trade and yes I know ouch!!! This is a big boy player, and the more I listen to it the more I like it but I haven't decided yet and yes it is that good!!!
