Ok. I know.. What hasn't been said? but I feel compelled to share my good fortune as well. I have been comparing it with Rotel's RCD-951 and NAD's 515 BEE. They are all very nice, but I have to say even though I would take the Rotel, the AMC is always amazing too. It is just a surprising deck. Maybe it was the separate power supplies, or the decent parts, but they have managed to make a player that competes with today's technology 5 years ago. How do you extend treble, avoid hash, and still keep the nice tight bass through an analog output. I will tell you I am using MIT Terminator 4 interconnects because I do believe cables make a difference. I can't shake how good it sounds through inexpensive cables. These may be a good match. Try one out if you can find it. Also, these AMC people remind me of Polk in the customer service department.
I called about a part, and they had no problem sending one out in the mail the next day. No questions asked. Awesome. And while I'm on a rant, try the AMC 2100 also. I may have found another sleeper there.
Ah, what can't be done these days with a nice simple plan, some knowhow, and a few good toroids.

Ok. I know.. What hasn't been said? but I feel compelled to share my good fortune as well. I have been comparing it with Rotel's RCD-951 and NAD's 515 BEE. They are all very nice, but I have to say even though I would take the Rotel, the AMC is always amazing too. It is just a surprising deck. Maybe it was the separate power supplies, or the decent parts, but they have managed to make a player that competes with today's technology 5 years ago. How do you extend treble, avoid hash, and still keep the nice tight bass through an analog output. I will tell you I am using MIT Terminator 4 interconnects because I do believe cables make a difference. I can't shake how good it sounds through inexpensive cables. These may be a good match. Try one out if you can find it. Also, these AMC people remind me of Polk in the customer service department.
I called about a part, and they had no problem sending one out in the mail the next day. No questions asked. Awesome. And while I'm on a rant, try the AMC 2100 also. I may have found another sleeper there.
Ah, what can't be done these days with a nice simple plan, some knowhow, and a few good toroids.

Overall build & sound quality for the price.

Flimsy front panel buttons.

The sonic signature of this player can be described as slightly laid back and somewhat thin sounding, with clean and extended highs compared to other players I've owned. It loads discs fast and has no problem with slightly scratched discs or various CDR brands (TDK, Samsung, Memorex). I've had no problems with reliability nor have I noticed loud operation. The remote even operates an A-B repeat function. The build quality seems to be good for the price. The front panel is thick metal and the power switch is even a solid 'rocker' type switch. The other buttons on the front panel are a little flimsy though. What is most impressive is the fact that the player utilizes separate power supplys for the digital, analog, and servo circuits. All in all, this is a fine stand-alone player to keep an eye out for on the used market.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz 63SE, Sony SCD-CE775, Panasonic A120 DVD, Samsung 709 DVD

Consistency. Price. Style.

Remote

With 52 reviews for the little AMC, it's hard to say anything new. I mainly want to chime in on the reliability issue. I have not had a single problem with the unit. It has never rejected a disc. It has never skipped. Not once. For bang for the buck, this is one of my wisest audio buys ever. It easily rivals my older NAD cd player. (517) I litsen to mainly rock, jazz, and classical, and it does a superb job to all. I love the NAD-ish styling. The remote, as others have said, is very cheesy, but otherwise, it's hard to find a flaw.

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NAD 517 Sony 775 SACD Player

Very musical. Soundstage low level and harmonic detail are on par with players costing 3 times the price. Sounds almost analog.

Needs to matched with hi-end gear. Bass is a bit lean.

I have had none of the problems reported by others reviewing the CD8B . Ive had it for a year 1/2. And its been flawless. Remastered 20 bit cds are ,unbelievable! This player is quick, the notes just fly. It doesnt shine as well on mid-fi gear, but still sounds better than any player costing 2 to 3 times the price. Ive heard many, many different players and some costing 4 grand. This player is a giant killer. I did ad RF filters in inside the player at key points. It made a 25% difference in resolution. This player is very picky with interconnects. Ive tried many types. I found the best match to be Monster Cable Reference 2. Interconnects will make or break this player. My gear is a Musical Fidelity AC3R amp and pre-amp. This player isnt the best in the world. But bang for buck its as good as it gets.

Similar Products Used:

Sony ES,Nad,Phillips,Kenwood,Arcam,Onkyo,Rega, Technics,Pioneer

Average just-doing-the-job player

Average just-doing-the-job player

I've had this player for more than 4 years now. It's more refined than the Arcam 7cd and has a smooth laidback sound. Never impressed me much throughout the years and will be getting a used Audio Note CD2 next week.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz cd-63Kisig, Arcam 10 amp, b&w cdm1se

Good price, nice look. The interface, both on the player and remote, is nice.

Sounds like a cd player.

For the first several months I owned this cd player, I thought it was great. The sound was nice and it moved quickly to a track selected, even if it was at the end of the cd. This lasted up until last week when I got a tuner for my system. Since then, the player has only been on once or twice, and not for very long. When using the tuner, I find the best place for the bass and treble controls is dead center; with the cd player, I keep fiddling with them, upping the treble, then the bass, then dropping the treble, and so on. A previous review commented on the sound of the cd spinning, and I can say I've noticed the same thing, even if I'm sitting across the room from the stereo. Is it bad? No. Is it reasonable for a $200 cd player? Probably. It may be valuable to point out that this cd player is my first "real" cd player, I don't have a lot to compare it to. Nonetheless, the tuner, which uses identical circuitry in the amp, sounds much better, even concidering it is mono. I've even used the cd player's interconnects, and no change, the flatness (in comparison to the tuner) is definately due to the cd player.

Similar Products Used:

None.

Smooth & musical sound; good build quality

lack of rich bass

I bought a CD8b 3 weeks ago after I had read many positive reviews here and at Audioreview. After two weeks' break-in, it sounds very smooth and musical. One drawback is the bottom end. I found from a/b with other cdp and dac that it lacks in punch and richness. But it's not booming, though. For the price, it's okay to me. Another interesting fact is that it does not have dual DACs. At AMC website, we can see a line of description that it does. But I found only one (it has double sided PCB and single Burr Brown delta sigma PCM1716 (same one as used in MF X-ray and A3CD) is placed under the PCB). Disappointing. Nevertheless, I'm still happy with its build and sound quality at the price. BTW, this cdp appears to be discontinued. I had to check several internet stores to locate it.

Similar Products Used:

Denon DA-500; 14 year old Sherwood cdp (very poor build but amazingly good sound!; based on 16-bit 4-os Philips DAC; I don't understand why 24/96 DVDPs cannot beat this antique machine)

Attractive and simple design. RCA digital output. A fairly good CD player for buyers on a budget.

Relatively loud transport noise. Small and somewhat filmsy buttons

Having read the contrasting reviews posted for the AMC CD8, I am writing in hopes of addressing any concerns - and dispel any confusion - a potential purchaser might have for the product. CD-players, unlike loudspeakers, generally do not sound different from one another. The AMC CD8 is no exception. However, if you are in the market for a new single disc CD player, you might want to check out the CD8. Design-wise, the CD8 looks like a cousin of NAD electronics. The interface shares NAD''s characteristically ''clean'' look and you only get the most basic functions (stop, play, pause, skip-track, etc). I take this lack of ''bells and whistles'' as a good sign since it means that money is not being wasted on marketing gimmicks. Thus, I really appreciated the CD8''s simple but elegant design. My sole critique with the construction of the CD8 is that the buttons on the interface are a tad-bit small and are virtually identical to one another. Unless you have the order memorized, you might sometimes press the wrong button. Although I''ve read many good reviews about the CD8''s transport, I must beg to differ on this point. While the loading tray works smoothly, the CD8 exhibits relatively loud transport noise. I''m not suggesting that the unit roars like a lawnmower, but there is a faint and audible noise when the CD8 is playing a CD. This noise (I guess it''s the sound of the CD being spun) is most noticeable when the unit is playing higher tracks on a CD. Normally this should not pose a problem since the noise is very slight; normally I am only aware of it when listening to music at a low volume on a quiet night. Nevertheless, the transport noise can be annoying when you are trying to focus to a soft passage of a song. As for track cuing, the CD8 makes noises that are definitely audible when you use the ''skip-track'' button to change tracks in a CD. However, the noise dies when the track starts to play and does not interfere with the music. I realize this last portion seems unfavorable to the CD8 and might appear to contradict my overall rating of the unit. Let me emphasize that the transport noises are faint and should not detract your overall listening experience. Look at it this way: I''m one purchaser who liked the CD8 enough to keep it.

Similar Products Used:

Nakamichi CD4; Entry level Pioneer Elite Single Disc player.

cheap

Bad sound

I bought this, the 8b, based on the hype from audio advisor. It''s still in their catalog and they still think it''s a great value for the money. It makes me wonder if the other things they say are true. I was OK with it for a long time, until I began reading about DAC''s, and what they could do for a weak cd player. After a lot reading and looking at reviews, I bought the Creek ob-14. I hooked it up, waiting for all the great sounds that I was supposed to get, and was horribly disappointed. I hooked both inputs to my Cambridge integrated amp so I could switch back and forth to see if the DAC really did anything. It didn''t. I tried every conceiable recording that I could get my hands on. No difference. I had begun to think that there was something wrong with the unit. I thought it was a total hoax. A week ago I replaced my aging Toshiba DVD player with the Onkyo 555. I immediately noticed the improvement in picture and sound. It''s a great DVD player. But the real revelation came when I put on a cd and played it through the Creek DAC. Suddenly everything opened up. Increased bass, bigger soundstage, everything better. The Creek is not magic. It can only work with what''s given it. A bad cd player cannot be saved. This is a bad cd player. Audio Advisor should be ashamed of itself for touting this product.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, which I think is the same thing