First I want to thank Ken for the loan of the CD Pro2. This is not just another kit. These guys have truly gone beyond "normal" quality in the design and implementation of this product. They have built a very substantial case and used high quality parts (Nichicon, Roderstein, et al), so the value for the dollar is quite high. The retail equivalent of this player would be many, many times their price. Thanks guys for doing this right.
Now for the review.
I had about 6 guys over on Friday to compare the CD Pro2 kit to the Empirical Audio modded Sony 7700 transport, using both a fully modded ART DI/O and a stock Perpetual Technologies P3A DAC's.
They all immediately commented on the incredible build quality and esthetics of the CD Pro2 kit. Very nice looking with quite a bit of effort put into the cabinet and parts selection. Nicely constructed.
The CD Pro2 and DI/O started off the night. The comments were generally good ... "your system sounds better than I remember it", "the sound is very pleasant", "nice midrange", "deep bass", "good scale and dynamics".
Then I switched to the Sony 7700 into the DI/O. The comments now changed to ... "more transparent and more air", "more focused", "tighter bass but perhaps a bit less impact than the CD Pro2", "more 3D".
I then put the unmodded P3A DAC onto the 7700. Uggh, this is unlistenable. Very digital sounding. Too bright and not musical at all.
Back to the CD Pro2 with the P3A. Much better than with the 7700. I can actually listen to the music now. Not quite up to the DI/O with either transport but its not too bad.
Overall the impression was that the CD Pro2 was a fine sounding unit by itself. Everyone liked it quite a bit. Very pleasant, musical and non-fatiguing. The Sony definitely had the edge though in direct comparison. It was just more realistic overall. Overall micro and macro dynamics were better on the Sony, but the bass impact of the CD Pro2 was impressive.
The CD Pro2 is a good bargain for the money, but the lack of a remote or the usual niceties of fast forward and continual play may be inconveniences to some people (ooops, I didn't have the remote in the demo kit so I dodn't know about these features - sorry). I believe system synergy is very important, as shown by the different reactions to the 2 DAC's with both transports. And it is very clear that transports make a big difference in the overall sound of the system, contrary to some people's thinking.
I played my modded Toshiba 4960 universal player for all of about 2 minutes before everyone requested that I pull it out of the system and put either of the transports back in with the DI/O. Just no comparison against the others, although it too sounds decent by itself.
Oh yeah, we switched to vinyl at the end of the night using my new Hagerman Coronet and, not surprisingly, nobody wanted to go back to digital. But then again, most everyone in the room is a tube/vinyl head so that was really not a surprising conclusion.
Enjoy,
Bob
