Cambridge Audio CD4 SE

I have recently picked up one of these second hand after reading mostly positive things from owners of these CD players on various websites and a glowing review from Hifi choice. I haven't had a chance to do any critical listening yet but just thought I'd find out if anyone here owns / has owned one and whether you thought they lived up to the hype. I get the feeling that they were in the 'great sound per pound' bracket but not whether they compete well outside the price bracket.

As a slight aside the CD player was unboxed and without remote - I don't suppose anyone knows if it shares remote codes with other machines meaning that I might be able to use a multipurpose replacement remote.

 

i have a spare remote you can have - it's not a pretty thing mind.

Went out to buy a cd4se when it was first reviewed as my well rated muilti-bit sony was becoming fatiguing too listen to for extended periods.
richer sounds only had a demo version and no more were available anywhere apparently (offered me a cd6 cheap - too sharp) but a few tears and they gave it to take home. broke straight away, took it to bits to see if a poke with a screwdriver would help - actually nothing inside (really, try it!!).

4 months later and two apologising letters from julianricher and i had a working one.

sounded beautiful - female vocals were lush, bass real - still use it along side a quad cdp99 and the balance between the two is frighteningly similar. the quad through more exotic partners does have a degree more detail and spatiality around notes from top to bottom (and especially in the treble), but i wouldn't say eight hundred pounds worth more.(consider the quad player is eight years newer too)
i certainly won't be putting the old girl on ebay!

let me know if you still need the remote

 

Anyone else who like me needed a remote, the Logitech Harmony remotes interface with both the CD4 and CD4SE

 

Any Philips type remote will work with the CD4SE (including Marantz or Cyrus etc).

In fact, the originally supplied remote does not access all the available functions such as FF and time remaining display. I feel the best option is to find a few remotes and use them to teach a universal remote control.

The CD4SE is a fantastic bit of kit for it's era but is, perhaps unsurprisingly, way outclassed by the new Dacmagic.

The clock, apparently, is well designed so I'm using it as a transport for my Dacmagic. I've added bitumen damping, super regs and black gate caps to mine.

As it stands, I've left a super reg on the clock and moved the other two regs to my Dacmagic so the output stage is effectively disabled in the CD4SE.