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Cambridge Audio CD Player Has Died

I have a Cambridge Audio Azur 840C CD player that is roughly 15 years old. A year ago the left channel went dead & was subsequently repaired. However, yesterday the audio output completely died (no sound whatsoever). Although the unit has served me well, I am reluctant to continue to put more money into repairs of an older unit.

That being said, I have a question for those of you who have more expertise than I. Is there a discernible difference in sound quality between high-end CD players & those more moderately priced? Although I do have a high-quality audio system, I would prefer not to spend a lot of money on a new CD player unnecessarily.
Thank you so much.
Kit
kitjv
kitjv OP
69 posts
 
tomcarr: Thank you for the info. For no explainable reason, for the past 10 days the CD player has worked flawlessly. However, I will keep your suggestions on hand in the event the problem resurfaces.
tomcarr
1,504 posts
 
You are very welcome. Happy listening!
kitjv OP
69 posts
 
Well, seems like the issue of periodically "going dead" is still plaguing my CD player. So it looks like a replacement is inevitable. If I opt to buy a DAC to see if that resolves the problem, how would I connect it to my Cambridge Audio CD player? Would doing so bypass the internal DAC in the CD player? Sorry if this sounds remedial; but this is new territory for me. Thank you.
sfar's avatar
sfar
1,758 posts
 
Your player has both optical and digital outputs so you would connect one of those outputs with the appropriate cable to the input of a DAC and it would bypass the internal DAC in the player. But, since the output of the player is intermittent there's a good chance the issue isn't the DAC since it has no moving parts and the transport does. No way to know without testing, either by buying or borrowing a DAC or taking it to a repair shop. If you do want to test it yourself there are decent, relatively inexpensive DACs like the Topping MX3. For testing purposes you could use a single RCA to RCA cable for the coax connection rather than buy a purpose-built digital cable.

Or, you could be satisfied you've had many years of excellent service for your player and find a replacement. That would be my recommendation. Even if your transport isn't the problem now it will be some time in the future. It's a mechanical device that spins at very high rpm and will fail eventually, just like the tires on our car.
kitjv OP
69 posts
 
Thank you, sfar, for the clear explanation. Yes, indeed my player has served me well. And your recommendation to simply replace it makes sense. The question that I am asking myself is: whether to buy a new (or reconditioned) player or a DAC/transport? If I opt for the DAC/transport, I could buy the DAC first & see whether it resolves the problem with my player. If not, then I could get a new transport.
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