Original Master Cd Players

[neutralzz 0]

ever since the hype at echoloft with a certain speaker & company, and knowing that original products from china are very well made with high quality parts etc, i decided to take another trip to the adelphi.. spent almost my whole day listening to cd players & their setups.

 

its quite difficult to judge a cdplayer most of the time, because the sound is affected by both the speakers used, and amplification, room, interconnects/cables etc.

 

went down at 12.30pm today, decided to stop by COEM. open since last saturday, found mr lemond chua in the midst of hammering something.. furniture not around yet but upon entering the inner-show room, could see quite a lot of MIC products.

 

found the whole family of original cdp

 

driven by a pair of jungson monoblocks + tube pre, on the roseviox nanzidu

 

probably only my second experience with a 360 degree radiating speaker like the nanzidu.. i found the nanzidu a little too hollow sounding for my liking, threw the soundstage too far back, comfortable on the ears, but lacking on the empirical satisfaction. if the voice of a real hot sexy lady talking to you is compared to the roundness of an orange, the sound through the viox was like a very big orange.. but kena squeezed a bit.. not enough juice. (sorry..pun unintended between oranges and lemons) not enough fullness for my liking. ymmv but you could take a listen to it yourself, lemond's quite a friendly guy offline

 

using my own cds, test tracks, opinions on the original family :

 

Leonardo CD A9.3 (flagship model) - best sounding of all, super solid build, top loading transport, very quiet sounding, details were present, cleanest amongst all the original cdp (3k+++)

CD A9.8 - very nice looking lid, most laid back soundstage amongst the original family, details were there, also quite quiet (1.2k odd)

CD 2008 - MK2 or 3 cant rem, -notable mids, but v bright. have options to change sound filter etc, but still found it a little bright (1.2k odd)

CD A8T - least prominent details of the series, reminded me quite much to a marantz sound (850 odd)

 

These cd players come with remote controls that are made of SOLID metal, and weighs a ton. i was surprised/shocked? very heavy remote, might fracture your toe if you drop it.. heavier than my o2 mini in its metal case!..

 

the cd players each are also very well build very good parts, two transformers each and v heavy as well, averaging probably close to 8-10kg++ per player.

 

well.. these are just my opinions, but you could probably start off with these points being taken into primarily notice when you're down there auditioning them

[huangyong 0]

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Edited December 9, 2005 by huangyong

[ken.ishiwata 0]

They do carry the Original Master Headamp too right?

 

Anyone else to review the A8t?

 

http://www.coemaudio.com/index.htm

[afbug 0]

Remotes made of metal! Maybe next time titanium ones. I always find omi-directional speakers lack impact. Traditional cone drivers are more to my taste. I also have a thing for Brit CDPs.

 

Actually buying hi-fi stuff can be hit and miss if you rush into it. Have to listen carefully and take your time to decide. Besides, it will not sound the same in your room even if the set-up is the same.

 

Monoblocks, they scare me. Dunno why but they can look so intimidating. Esp daisy chained and bi or tri amped. I dare not listen to them, scared being blown into oblivion.