Musicality,imaging,look.

my listening room is too small

First I must say that I'm not a real audiophile but since I've heard the CD23 I love it.The voices are great,natural. In the good system the speakers disappear and you are directly with the artists.You can easily see all of us playing at their right place.
Before the CD23, I had the alpha 7se and it was a very goog way to live with your favorites singers but I must say the CD23 is better in all areas.The bass (drums,percussions,men'voices) are more realistic and the trebble goes higher without agressivity.

Associated equipemments :

Arcam FMJ CD23
Arcam FMJ A22
Spendor FL8
Audioquest Python
Qed Genesis Silver Spiral


CD'S :

JACINTHA : "Autaumn leaves" - Groove Note
DUKE ELLINGTON : "Duke 's big 4" - JVC XRCD
MILES DAVIS : "Steamin'with Miles Davis" - DCC
PATRICIA BARBER : "Cafe blue" FIM HDCD
JAN GARBAREK : "Visible World" - ECM
TYNER MC COY : "New York Reunion" Chesky
CHRISTY BARON : "Steppin'" Chesky
DOUG MC LEOD : "Unmarked Road" Audioquest

Sorry for my english because I'm french.
I would like to read some reviews about the Spendor FL8

Thanks.

Similar Products Used:

Arcam alpha 7 se

superb tonality, solid build and great looks

cheap remote

My decision to purchase the FMJ CD 23 was largely influenced by some excellent reviews on this site and the very strong endorsement it has received in hi fi magazines.Unfortunately,in this part of the world it is not possible, as yet, to walk into an audio showroom,audition different brands, slowly mull over a decision and then buy.In other words, the first time I really heard the FMJ was when I set it up at home.I am glad to say it really is the star in my all FMJ set up ie:
FMJ CD 23
FMJ A22 integrated amp.
FMJ P25 power amp
B&W CDM 9NT - biamped
Transparent powerlink super (power chord for FMJ CD23)
van der hul,chord interconnects
QED silver speaker cable
The cd 23 is a truly awesome cd player bringing amazing clarity and depth to any performance.It can easily match more expensive dac/transport combos,especially in HDCD mode.It has few rivals at any price.
While I am generally delighted with the overall performance of my system I would greatly appreciate any views on converting the FMJ A22 into a power amp and adding a preamp, possibly the Musical Fidelity A3.
A word of caution.Trust your own ears.My B&W CDM 9NTs were recently torn apart by a UK hi fi magazine.I have no clue what the magazine is on about.I honestly believe as do all my audio friends that the CDM 9NT is an outstanding speaker.
Sorry for the digression.The FMJ CD 23 is an outstanding player.Highly recommended.

Similar Products Used:

ARCAM ALPHA 9

Soundstage, musicality, good highs, med's and lows.

Remote....too many buttons....not necessary.

After reading more than one of the audio rags out there, I decided to travel down to my friendly high-end audio store and give the Arcam FMJ 23-CD an audition. I took my Dave Brubeck HDCD "Take Five" CD with me along with my favorite Stevie Ray Vaughn CD and gave the Arcam a go of it. I was immediately struck with the open sound and the fact that I was hearing all the nuances in the tracks! I heard instruments that I had not heard before!

After auditioning the Arcam FMJ CD-23 "Take Five" also noticed that I wasn't getting fidgety, or getting that urge to get up and leave the room because I was becoming "fatigued" - I wanted to hear more and more.

My wife and I have over three hundred CD's in our library and I don't think that we are ready to dump these treasures and re-invest in SACD or DVD-Audio. We are quite happy with the Arcam FMJ-23 and would recommend it to the serious listener (audiophile) or to the weekend party animal. (The earlier reviewer that gave the two-one star ratings must not have the same CD player that I use and love on a daily basis.

I cast a vote for 5 stars for value and 5 stars for performance. You cannot go wrong with the Arcam FMJ CD-23!

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba DVD Player, Pioneer PD-65

Highs and Lows, excellent sound stage and air! Detail LED display.

Lack of balanced output.

Let me just start out saying this player simply plays music! Very very musical player! Human voices is the best sound on this player!

Unlike some other reviewers had commented, I found the CD23 design quite nice and elegant aesthetically. Simple brushed silver finished, nothing too fansy, yet by no mean dull. It certainly not the best looking cd player around, it's not a Sony SCD-1 or a Krell Kav-280CD (which I found absolutely gorgeous...), but it doesn't cost $5000 or $3500 retail either. The build quality is also very decent to high quality, depending on what you are comparing too of course. Again, there isn't a lot of players out there can compare with the first 2 Sony SACD players, but sometimes you wonder if all that 60 pounds of weights are necessary. :) The transport tray is made out of plastic material, but it's not flimsy like some people had complained. In fact, you can hear how solid the transport operates, very smooth and quiet. Afterall, it's the clamping device inside that really matters.

Listening to my favorite voices is simply a bliss with this player, Jewel, Natalie Merchant, Sarah Mclachlan, Diana Krall, Ella Fitzerald and etc.... You can hear the actual "wetness" from the singers' lips!!! This is something that even the excellent Sony SACD and Krell don't have. The 588 is also very good, but I didn't get to listen to it for too long.

Don't get me wrong, I think the 2 Sony SACD top loaders and the new Krell are simply awesome too (they have similar characteristics btw, all very analytical and accurate), they do better jobs with piano, string instruments or orchestral works. Again, this is only by comparison, the CD23 does a darn good job itself playing this kind of music. Beethoven and Dave Brubeck both sound very good with this player!

I found this player to have similar musical personality with the Marantz players, so for those of you who love the Marantz CDP, you ought to give this a try and fall in love.

Interesting enough, the Marantz's CDP remote that I have works just fine with the CD23!! In fact, here is for you CD23 owners out there - the dimmer button on the Marantz remote actually works on the CD23!!! Even though this function is not provided by the CD23 remote!! It dims the display by pressing the button once, twice to turn off the display. Just like the way it works on my Marantz CDP... And if this is not enough for you, the new Krell KAV remote (comes with my 280CD and 300IL) can also control the CD23! All the regular play, stop, pause, next and pre track buttons work just fine, with the exception of other functionalities being mapped onto some different labelled buttons on the remote, which I will leave you to figure it out yourself. But pretty much all functions are there.

Overall, the player doesn't look exactly like a first class player out there, and it may not even sound like the best out there. But this player is so musical that I can listen to it for a very very long time. I love it! Though not a cheap player by any mean, I really think this player is one of the best in its class, possibly the best for under $2000 retail. You can probably find a good condition one for around $1500 in the 2nd hand market. I will rate this player 5 stars, with the exception on the value rating because of the hefty MSRP in the US compare to the rest of the world. This is usually the problem with imports, maybe the manufacturers raise the price to hedge against FX risk or something...

My equipments:

CDP:
Marantz CD63
Arcam CD23
Krell KAV-280CD

Pre and Amp:
Nakamichi IA-1Z (5x80)
Nakamichi PA-1 (5x100)
Krell KAV-300IL (2x200)

Speakers:
Infinity IRS Sigma

Interconnects:
Audiotruth Opal x3
Taralabs Reference Gen2
Stealth CWS (both RCA and XLA)

Speaker Cables:
Audioquest Cobalt2

Power Cords:
Harmonic Tech ProAC-11
Taralabs Prism AC Reference
Stealth M-21

Similar Products Used:

Krell 280CD, Sony SCD-777ES, SCD-1, Meridian 588, and various Marantz models.

open soundstage (air), tight bass, accurate image

transformer still hums!

Perhaps all transformers hum audibly. I had the Arcam DIVA 92 for a couple of months and as I was discussing my new preamp/amp with the dealer, he suggested the FMJ CD23 is a better match for the electronics.

The FMJ CD23 is now a "T" version, supposedly has a new (hopefully not worse) transport, but I think the "T" stands for "text" which the unit will display on appropriate CDs.

Straight out of the box, the FMJ sounds far better than the DIVA 92, which I mistakenly thought has basically the same electronics--24bit ring DAC, HDCD, etc, to give comparable sound. But, for another $1000 (Cdn), you really get MUCH better sound!

Rebecca Pidgeon ("The Raven", Chesky Records) sounds more open, the crescendo/decrescendo very distinct (you call that musical "transient"?). There is better sonic separation of the instruments (you call that "air"?), and all the vocals & instruments have a greater "presence" in my living room. The soundstage extends above my speakers (by 6 inches maybe)--I guess that makes more room for the sound! The bass is much tighter, and plucking of a double-bass is heard as such, whereas the DIVA92 makes the bass more bloated (e.g. Livingston Taylor "Ink"; Patricia Barber "Cafe Blue"). In fact, I've never liked Patricia Barber's "Cafe Blue" (HDCD, First Impression Music) until now; the music seems more intriguing, there's emotion to her singing and the instruments, and my wife readily appreciates the sound of her singing IN a room as opposed to mere "echoes" FROM a room (not sure what that's called).

Not sure what else to say, but with A/B comparison between the FMJ CD23 and DIVA 92, it clear they are two very different machines. I'd call it "great music" with the DIVA92, and "sonic experience" with the FMJ, The DIVA does deliver excellent music with vocals, but does not compare well in other departments.

I have not heard any other CD players in its price range, but I'm happy to go with the reviews by Stereophile and What Hi Fi about the FMJ.

Now I can rest in peace (and dream about new tubes).

Set up:
Atlantis Reference series component rack
Conrad Johnson PV14LS preamp
Conrad Johnson MV60 amp (ultralinear mode, 4 ohm factory default)
B&W DM 602 S2 (8 ohm)
Transparent MusicLink Plus interconnects (1 meter) x 2 sets
Audioquest Bedrock bi-wire speaker cables
Vibrapod isolators (CD & amp)

Similar Products Used:

None (unless the DIVA 92 qualifies as a "similar" product)

Superb DAC, solid chassis, every minute detail of the music is made available, HDCD, Two pairs of RCA analog outputs

No digital in (I would love to use the ring DAC for other equipment), no balanced outputs

One of the best overall CD players you can buy. It needs about an hour to warm up, but when it's ready, the sound is amazing. Every detail is heard (which can be good or bad depending on the recording) and the soundstage comes alive. This player will breath new life into your existing CD collection and even has HDCD as an added benefit. The ring DAC is definitely an improvement over any of the usual burr-brown setups (which I was using before). If you're looking in the 2k range, definitely give it a listen. If you're lucky like me, you can find one used for under $1500 or even less.

Equip:
Vandersteen 2Ces
Belles 150A hot rod amp
Kimber 8tc speaker cable and pbj interconnects

Similar Products Used:

Rotel 991, Adcom CD750, Rega Planet

Musicality, looks, build, technical sophistication

Mains power plug on LEFT side / contrary to most equipment - means crossing data & interconnects with mains leads

Sounds brilliant - rejuvenates existing CD collection - having been disappointed with DVD-A stereo decided to buy good quality CD-player rather than spend more on SACD - NO REGRETS! This player sounds wonderful straight out of the box - refined elegance in appearance in sensible styling fits in standard racks and matches metal finish items.
24 bit Ring-DAC sounds better than 192/24 bit AD DACs in my Denon amp. I cannot fault the sound of this unit and it is comparable with Meridian and Electro-componet units costing much more.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer / Toshiba 900SE / H&K DVD10 / listened to Meridian 588 & 506 / Marantz 6000 OSE / NAIM CD-5

It provides an accurate and enjoyable reproduction with most genres of music.

It lacks the quality feel of Boothroyd Stewart, Levinson, Linn and other big name, upper market brands.

I quite like this cd player, visually its silver facia is quite appealing but at the same time is not that original or exciting. The loading tray is for me rather flimsy, this is no Levinson No.37 transport. But then it costs considerably less money, still any Meridian or Linn player gives a more exclusive, quality feel.
Trivialities you may remark given that the sole duty of a cd player is sonic reproduction. That may be the case, but when spending in excess of £1000 on a cd player, we have the right to expect to be thouroughly impressed, even if we have, as I do money to burn.
What of the sound of this Arcam. Having heard their entire range of players from the now obsolete alpha 7 to the cd 92, I must say this is about the best offering I have encountered from Arcam. I have this player hooked up to a pair of Kef Three twos and a krell kav300i. The arcam sounds very nice indeed with this equipment, covers the full range of the sound spectrum without over emphasising any area of the sonic range. I own a number of seperate transport dac set ups and the arcam comes remarkably close in terms of making realistic music. It can't quite match my krell 250cd/2 but you'll need a good amp and speakers to really notice a big difference, try some wilson A.C.T One speakers, really nice.
For people without huge sums of money, this is a player that gets close to good high end stuff without having to spend £20000 on a system. I have this set up in my games room and it gives me a grate sound without wasting thousands more. My only grip is the ordinary looks and operation of the system. It sounds better than the audionote AN-CD2 it replaces. This is high recommendation because I liked that player.

Similar Products Used:

Meridian, Linn.

Soundstage, built quality, clear sound, dCS DAC

slight hum of the transformer

Beautiful piece of equipment. Real work of art - from both exterior and interior point of view. The first CD player that I ever listened to that actually sounds like analogue. Well worth every dollar. Probably the last player i had to buy - at any cost. Highly recommended.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer PD-65

killer of my all time favourites

killer of my all time favourites (ooups!?)

This player really hit me. I couldn´t find comparable sound quality for that price. Silky, sweet and extended treble, the best human voice I ever heard and a well defined, absolutely controlled bass. Soundstage and "visibility" (you can nearly see and touch an instrument) is extraordinary. All the digital-future-enthusiasts should listen to a well produced HDCD over the Arcam and should then decide, whether we all need the high price SACD- or DVD-players that are not able to play ordinary CDs with acceptable sound quality.
If you don´t care about flimsy trays and plastic RCs try the CD23 only and especially for its sound. Highly recommended !!

Similar Products Used:

CEC TL 51 and DX 51, Primare D 20