It is a fact that for the first time in 17 years, compact disc sales are on the rise. The Recording Industry Association of America (or RIAA for short) number crunchers have confirmed that compact disc sales rose from 31.6 million in 2020 to 46.6 million in 2021 that’s a rise of a humongous 47 percent. Revenue was also up by just over 100 million dollars. So the trend is clear and CD now seems to be following in the footsteps of the ever increasing yearly sales of vinyl records. I think this may be partly down to prices of CD’s being lower than equivalent new vinyl albums but also because you just cannot beat the thrill of owning physical tactile media with all the extra artwork and information that goes with it. Something that streaming and/or downloading cannot replicate despite being so convenient.

The CDS50 Arcam’s most advanced cd, digital audio and network streaming player yet.

It is also dead easy to pick up really nice CD’s by great bands and artists dead cheap from second hand/charity shops and car boot sales. eBay is awash with really great albums on CD for just a couple of squids (free postage too on a lot of them) so fill your boots I say!

With that in mind we move on to what has become our favourite reasonably priced spinner of those shiny silver discs that we call compact. The Arcam CDS50. This little marvel will play both CD and SACD. It also has a fab built in steamer as a bonus too but as we are primarily celebrating the resurrection of CD I will just say that the built-in steamer is great and concentrate on the silver disc side of this player.

The (Fairly) Technical Bit…

In a sense, digital audio doesn’t exist. You’d have to be a particularly dull superhero to possess ears that can decode the millions of 1’s and 0’s that make up your CD collection or iTunes library. Whatever the source – be it a laptop, CD player, smartphone, USB stick – the result is just a vibration in your speakers. In other words, it all winds up analogue in the end.

Arguably, when playing from a digital format, the most vital component is the DAC, or Digital to Analogue Converter. I’ll spare you the bulk of the science, but this is what translates that otherwise lifeless binary code into audible sound energy. Bit-depth, meanwhile, is a key measure of audio quality.

So, if you’re listening to a 24-bit WAV copy of your favourite album through a DAC that only converts to 16-bit, there’s a good chunk of detail going to waste right there. That’s why Arcam have included 32-bit DACs – the most commonly used bit-depth in digital recording – so you’re guaranteed the full aural picture of whatever the artist intended.

One of Prog Rock’s Finest Loaded Up And Ready To Play

The first thing I decided to play was Voyage 34 by Porcupine Tree. This has a deep propulsive rolling bassline overlaid with trippy swirling psychedelia that is immersive and dynamic. Leading edges of notes and voices start cleanly and crisply. There is a wonderful sense of space around all the music which seems to hang ethereally in the air around the loudspeakers. Top end is never bright as can be the issue with many CD players even today. That 32 bit DAC really is a lovely thing!

Marbles the Second Best Album by Marillion.

The next test for the CDS50 came in the form of Marbles, the 2004 album by the world’s un-coolest band, Marillion. A great album and a great recording too. My go to demo track on here is Angelina. All deep flowing basslines and keyboard washes with a great combination of both male and female vocals. The CDS50 was producing a wonderful wide soundstage with depth and height that really did make the speakers totally disappear. I love it when that happens!

Coming Up For A Bit Of Air

I was having so much fun with this little listening session that I really didn’t feel the urge to stop so I pulled out a copy of The Virgin Suicides by Air. Now a lot of people think that Moon Safari is a great album and it is, but it pales into insignificance when compared to the prog rock glory of this masterpiece. This whole album is full of demo quality tunes with happy titles such as Cemetary Party, Dark Messages, Ghost Song, Dead Bodies and the truly stunning final track, Suicide Underground. The Arcam lays everything bare making it so easy to fall into a huge soundstage and hear everything all at the same time. It doesn’t even matter what the amp and speaker combination is it just works as a great source component with whatever you put it with. This player was doing things for its price point that it really shouldn’t be able to.

And Now The Good News!
If you too would love to cash in on the resurgent CD market and upgrade the sound of your tired old CD Player. Here in the Cheltenham branch we are selling an ex display one of the very same aforementioned Arcam CDS50’s. It is totally mint with box and everything and even still has the protective film on the display. Hurry as there is only one!!! - VIEW ONLINE

Thanks for reading.

Andy, Jon and Farid - Audio T Cheltenham Store.

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Arcam can be found at the following Audio T stores