Audio Research Ref: CD8

Well mine CD7 finally is done too. Conclusion: I was listen to crap for the last 2 years. But different from most you guys I knew. My original CD7 was magical before the problem with the PS, after fixed (previuos upgrade) became just lifeless. Now it's back. I will listen for a week or two to check if it will match the original sound I had once.

Dynamics, extensions, details all raised but mostly now it's much more toneful correct and clean. It's sad ARC took so long to correct it.

Microstrip ...

So ... how's the CD-8 sounding now?

I have had a chance to listen to the CD-8 for the first time this past weekend.

One thing I was affraid of was that the CD-8 will be brighter than the CD-7. It is not. It is much more transparent, but it is not brighter. It still has a lot of bloom and texture that made the CD-7 so special.

Compared to the CD-7, CD-8 allows you to hear much deeper into the recording, soundstage is deeper, there is more resolution and air, image outlines are much better delineated. CD-7 sounds as if it was a bit of of focus.

One thing I have noticed and mentioned many times before is that the sound of 6H30 tube based equipment is just not as musical as it's 6922 bretheren. In fact, almost any other tube based gear I've used sounded better than any of the 6H30 stuff I've owned such as the ARC Ref 3, CD 7, LS 26 and BAT VK D5 and Super tube preamps. The earlier LS 25 and ref 2MKII along with the VT100 and VT200 amps were Golden era ARC gear. The new stuff might as well be SS for me since it misses the tone color and sweetness of the 6922 based gear:O)

My CD8 is sounding better than ever. I am currently hosting a pair of JM Labs Grande Utopia Be - great speakers, that have a tilted up balance in the upper frequencies above 2 kHz. Until two weeks ago I could not listen for longtime to to the CD8, as the sound was very clear an defined but too bright, I even preferred a CD3 mk2 for longtime listening. However, currently the CD8 evolved in a sweeter sound, matching the tweeter of the GUB perfectly. I feel the same as Elberoth2 concerning resolution, but I reserve my comments to a direct confrontation of my old CD7 versus the CD8, to be done soon.
Beware that during burn in the sound of the player will become dull during at a certain phase before stabilizing at its definitive (I hope!) balance. Even with the Purist Audio System enhancer CD burn in took over 600 hours.