Next steps: I have some extra Dynamat lying around and would be interested in exploring some mass loading/damping options. I’m happy with Gungnir Multibit’s Gen-5 USB, but I’ve come to really appreciate the small enhancements CD offers and when I have the option, I listen to the disc. A few days later, I happened to be watching an appearance by the band on NPR’s tiny desk concert series and saw video of the percussionist shaking what looks like a mason jar with seeds in it. I made a note of this difference but didn’t bother to check. There’s just not enough detail to tell exactly what it is. This is less obvious on USB, where it sounds like it could be a maraca or one of those silver bead wrapped hand instruments or some other kind of small percussion instrument. You can also more easily hear very fine details like the strings in a strummed chord sounding individually, separated by milliseconds.įor a specific example, I was listening to Manara by Alsarah and the Nubatones (highly recommended) and there’s a shaker-type instrument on track 13 that on CD sounds like seeds rattling around inside a void. The CXC does a better job of reproducing the size/shape/resonances of the instruments, percussion especially, and the various spatial cues that let you “hear” the shape of a particular venue. The advantages are most audible on recordings of acoustic instruments in real spaces. I did compare it to the Gen-5 USB in my Gungnir Multibit, and compared to USB, the CXC has better plankton, microdetail and a larger and more nuanced soundstage. + Uses the same mechanism as Cambridge’s flagship CD player which is 4x the price of the CXC (although unlike the CXC, it includes a DAC)ĭoes the above translate to better sound quality? I haven’t had the chance to compare the CXC to any of the other players/transports in the thread, so I can’t say. + Only plays CDs and is theoretically optimized for that speed + Strictly a CD transport without an integrated DAC which I wouldn’t need Rather than going the used route, I was interested in buying a new player with a warranty and liked the clean, understated look of the CXC. I picked up a Cambridge Audio CXC CD transport and thought I’d add a few comments.

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