“…In listening, this player was outstanding with DVD audio discs like the Chesky Remembrances by Jon Faddis (CHDVD176), the big band sound beautifully portrayed through the player’s 24/96 DAC. I also listened carefully to our Chuck Israels CD, The Bellingham Sessions, Volume 1, and liked what I heard from this disc that I know better than just about anything else…”

“This year it’s DVD carousel changers, and next season it will be 100-to-300-DVD jukeboxes, the path already followed by CD. The DVD-C900 handles 5 discs, and has quite a few features you wouldn’t expect on a changer, including 96 kHz audio playback, though it outputs only a 48 kHz digital signal…”

” If the reviews in this issue are any indication, the CD/receiver is the hottest new category in electronics, at least for stereo systems (in home theatre it seems to be multidisc DVD players). The NAD L40 comes without speakers, so I thought a good coupling would be with the wonderful Paradigm Reference Studio 40, though Paul Barton, designer for NAD sibling company PSB might not agree…”

“As owner of a PDR-05 CD recorder, I didn’t find too many surprises in its Elite successor, with all the same features and a few more to boot. The main extra capability is that of recording rewriteable CD-Rs, called CD-RWs. These can be erased starting with the last track recorded, or by erasing the whole disc for re-use…”

“Giving the name “complete” to the components in this system of French origin and oriental manufacture reminds me of an old insult: “Everyone wants their life to be complete, and yours is, because you’re a complete (fill in appropriate word).” I suspect the word “complet” has different connotations in French, but I think the whole idea is to get you to buy the whole system…..”

“Myryad Systems came together in the partnership of Chris Short, former owner and managing director of Mordaunt-Short, Chris Evans, a founder and director of Arcam, and David Evans, a veteran of NAD. The M Series components are their upscale line, and handsome they are, as well as very competitively priced for what they are….”

“The DV-09 weighs almost 35 pounds, with a great deal more internal damping, bracing, and shielding than any other player in my experience. In addition to dual composite and S-video outputs, it also provides component video outputs (3 RCA). There are also dual stereo analog audio outputs, and optical and coaxial PCM/Dolby Digital/DTS RCAs, with an additional straight PCM RCA coaxial out…”

“There’s something special about this new top model from Arcam, and that is the DAC, which comes from their Huntingdon, England neighbour, dCS. Having spent the better part of a week this past summer listening to this company’s professional ADC and DAC gear while recording the Chuck Israels Quartet, I was very curious in August to have a chance to audition the Alpha 9 with its dCS Ring digital-to-analog converter…”

“The DVD-L10 has a 16:9 CD screen that measures 5 1/4″diagonally, and is 5″W x 2 9/16″H. It’s a double clam-shell design, with the screen section flipping up first, and then the DVD/CD lid. Power switch, headphone jack, and volume control are on the left side, while S-video and mini-jack A/V in s and outs, and an optical digital out are on the rear…”

“This could be the CD player Clark Kent would have used had there been CDs in the world of Metropolis. The Planet (Daily or otherwise) is Rega’s first crack at playing the silver discs, and brings designer Roy Gandi’s unique approach to it. It’s a top loader, reminiscent of a Philips portable I once owned, the weighted magnetic clamp contained in the hinged lid so that it automatically seats properly…”