Hi Everyone, its my first post here-i don't really post online much but i felt compelled to share an interesting experience i had today..... I'm in the market for a new CD player to replace my ageing Talk Electronics Thunder 3 (and whirlwind psu) cd player. It has been fantastic but with serious upgrades over the years (mainly the MF TriVista 300 amp) i thought it was showing its age a bit in terms of refinement..... My system can be breathtaking, but also is a challenging listen with some material. Tempted by glowing reviews and the convenience of itunes and computer audio playback, i thought i'd found the perfect replacement in the Audiolab 8200CD. I was looking for more refinement and a slightly warmer sound and at £720 it seems like a bargain.... Because surely 13 years on CD playback and technology has improved over my Thunder 3..... think about computers from 13 years ago! I'm glad i went in for a listen before buying- I was in for a shock! I auditioned the CD players at Bartletts Hifi in London, (a really nice place with friendly staff who were very welcoming) with an MF M6i amp and some Dynaudio floorstanders (focus 220 i think), it was a good system which was transparent and revealing enough to show the differences in the sources. I took in a few CDs to test, mainly listening to: -Eric Clapton Unplugged - Old Love (fantastic live recording great for imaging, dynamics and bass weight tests) -Bjork- Hyperballad (great test for bass weight and ability to pull together treble, midrange and bass into a convincing whole) -Ryan Adams - Come pick me up (loads going on, great test of imaging and dynamics) -Allison Krauss- Forget about it, live version (imaging test, tons of layers to unravel and pretty tricky bass to keep up with- insane bass depth too, her voice can sound shrill) -Van Morrison - The Healing Game (fantastic track all round really) disclaimer: So obviously personal taste has a lot to do with what sounds 'good'- personally i think an expensive hifi should be dynamic, involving and above all be pleasurable to listen to- bringing you closer to the musicians or experience, be it a live recording or studio engineered masterpiece. So cutting to the chase the Audiolab was a massive disappointment, the sound was 'nice', it was pretty laid back, un-offensive- but had no magic.... it sounded pretty dead and mushy really (yes the filter setting was to the optimal jobby). Ok... so maybe this player was not run in properly, from a dodgy batch maybe, or just not having a good day? But the thunder 3 walked all over it in terms of dynamics, soundstage, bass depth- the differences were not subtle. Thoroughly disappointed ( i really wanted the audiolab to be great and solve all my itunes and cd replay problems) and realising that a sub £1000 CD player was not going to do the trick, we moved on to a Cyrus 8SE..... and what a huge difference that was. It was dynamic, exciting, but also refined- it sounded Hi-Fi- but honestly not that much better than the Thunder 3 to justify the money, in fact the Thunder had a quieter inky black background to the sound and probably a little more drive than the Cyrus, where it gave up ground was in the slightly grainy midrange and poorer timing, which i'm guessing is the DAC showing its age. Jamie from Bartletts remarked that the PSU with my Thunder 3 was probably the reason the player has so much drive, and such a clean backdrop to the music; I have to agree because without the PSU the Thunder sounds much more pedestrian and flat. It sounds even better with the LAT AC2 mains cables i use at home too- the difference is not subtle either. I guess the reason for the write up is this: Everyone knows that you should listen before you buy- its common sense really; If i'm buying jeans i'll try them on, but wait a minute you are thinking, i make a lot of my purchases online- which i guess is a general comment about the way retailing works nowadays. Today's experience just drives home the importance of listening before you buy.... but lets be honest it is often difficult to find a good dealer to listen to kit, yet alone audition at home in the context of your own system. The first ever "HiFi" i ever got was when i was 12, it was an Aiwa mini system. I went into the shop with my dad and compared it with a few others- it looked cool and had great bass compared to the others i heard- great, i was happy with my purchase. If that was now, i guarantee i would have got it online, and taken a chance based on a 'review'. I love reading about hifi- professional and punter reviews are a great place to start when looking for new kit. I've always hated the old 5 star what HiFi stamp which is banded around all over the shop (literally!)- it only makes sense in context of the review and price point. The Stereophile rating system is much better, almost like a league system, A vs B etc..... this makes sense. So coming back to the Audiolab 8200CD i'm sure its a great player, at it's price point, and wow it does so much for the money with the DAC inputs etc. Maybe it is just sonically not my cup of tea- BUT 5 stars etc etc, i'm not convinced! Bartletts said they have sold a lot of Audiolab 8200s to people over the counter, spending £720 without an audition, thats crazy! Maybe people need reassurance that their purchase is a good choice and follow the reviews, maybe they don't have the point of reference to judge a product, fair enough, or they are just too shy? Sadly it seems HiFi is just like every other self perpetuating industry, where newer is seen as better (at least in the eyes of the press anyway), what makes a new HiFi product better than the last?.... or in fact better than a 13 year old version? In computing the gains in performance each year are tangible and can be measured and enjoyed by all.... an ipad2 is better than an ipad - simple! But i guess sadly HiFi is all very subjective- unfortunately i'll never even see half the esoteric HiFi out there, yet alone hear it! My dream system might exist for half of the budget i have to spend - built by a guy in his shed..... guess i'll never know. So here is what i have learned today, sadly the grass is always greener, and the 'emperors new clothes' syndrome is still in full effect in the HiFi Press. Its pretty simple, a great sounding piece of kit from 10 years ago is still great now, its obvious reallty.... and in my opinion quality components, (especially in the non digital realm) such as power supplies, output stages etc, count for more in HiFi than most of the digital improvements made year on year, at least in CD playback anyway.... so to sum up I think i'll be looking to the second hand market with my £720 in hand for my source requirements.... probably based on reviews- how ironic!
