Cambridge D500SE ??

I owned a CD4 for a while in a office system, three months into owning it, I pressed play on the front panel and the front panel literally fell apart (the display fell inside the player). Evidently this is not uncommon with Cambridge. My dealer fixed it under warranty, but you have to wonder about build quality. My dealer stopped selling Cambridge due to questionable reliability, figured it wasn't worth aggravating his customers.

Thank you for the detailed information Sugarbrie. Interesting how Sam Tellig reviewed the non - SE version a few months back, and listed precious little technical information. It would be nice if his reviews contained the same objective data(in sidebars) as everyone else at Stereophile(along with test measurements - hey, JA lives in Brooklyn now...). I enjoy reading Sam, but sometimes his reviews are on par with those from AudioReview. Even worse was his review the next month on the Musical Fidelity A3 CD(one of the most uninformative reviews I have ever read in technical terms). I had been looking at the Cambridge site, but it is lacking in up to date information(doesn't even list the SE versions of the new players). The best I did was following your advice, and checking it out on AudioAdvisor. They were spot on, and up to date. I really need a new player, but am hesitant to buy an expensive one. I am thinking I should wait for a new universal(CD/SACD/DVD-A), but I have now been waiting for over three years to make my move. Maybe getting a player of this regard, for this price is a good option... Thanks again.

Yes, that describes the original CD4. Cambridge was bought out by a few years ago by a group in Britain called "Audio Partnership" headed by Julian Richer. (Richersounds.com) They changed manufacturers. Cambridge does design work in Britain and farms out production. I beleve the quality is better now. My D500 was solid and pretty heavy for the price.

To give you an idea up the newer model's upgrade in quality; the original CD4 had a Sanyo transport. The D500's transport is made by Sony.

I bought the 500 se a few days ago from aa at $399. it's back ordered. will post the sound as soon as i have it. hoping my big adventure is over.