Sunday morning playtime; just done a mini CD transport Shoot-Out with these 3 players:
Arcam Diva CD62T, Cambridge CXC and Kiss DP-500.
I thought, for fun, that I should directly compare these to see if what the differences in SQ are. All running into the Sabaj DAC with identical OCC coax cables.
Starting with the Arcam: a nice, polite, rounded sound. Very enjoyable if somewhat unexciting. Soundstage not so wide.
2nd up, CXC: a real audiophile experience with a vivacious and exquisitely detailed performance. Wide soundstage. Solid, controlled playback and sweetness at the top.
The Kiss DVD player: loads of detail but a drier presentation. Soundstage slightly wider than the CXC and far, far more extended bass. The bottom end is where to this player excels making up for the slight lack of refinement in the treble.
Swings and roundabouts, a matter of taste. I am leaving these transports in their respective systems for now - quite happy about how they fit in and now know what to expect from them.
Hybrid-layer SACD remains difficult for all of these players, the Kiss refusing point blank to read them, Arcam and CXC manage to play some discs with a little coaxing. The Kiss is the only one with HDCD capability.
Point of note, the CXC is physically surprisingly heavy which indicates the presence of a serious transformer and power supply inside.
![Geek :geek:](./images/smilies/icon/geek.gif)