Simply the most fluidic and lucid midrange you will hear at the price (and much cheaper second-hand) but not at the expense of loosing grunt and drive.

It is in fairness hideous and pretty big. The remote supplied would feel cheap if supplied with a £50 portable boombox.

My long suffering Arcam Alpha 7 expired after 5 years of hard use. Initial thoughts centred toward the Arcam CD82 as it at the time of writing has all the magazines swooning. A listen revealed that as far as I was concerned it really did not do much more than the CD62. Next up was the the CD6000KI but I had a job finding them and oddly it doesn't partner very well with with my Marantz PM8200. Then I listened to the Audio Note. It had been doing work as a reference player at the company I work for (good behavior will spare you all a plug- it is not a make mentioned in this review) and its owner released for the magnificently generous sum listed above. Simply speaking this player proverbially poos all over the two aforementioned players (which are in fairness both cheaper than a new CD2). Whatever you throw at it the overall performance remains incredibly smooth without sacrificing any detail on the recording. Human voices are reproduced in a manner that will draw a sharp intake of breath and a swift helping of goosebumps. Feeders' "Just the way I'm feeling" played on the CD2 will allow you to judge just how many fags Grant Nicholas had smoked before launching into his opening vocals. This is no acoustic only anachorism however, the Hybrid remix of Jeff Wayne's Eve of the War has all of the drive and grunt (and none of the harshness) of my Dad's Naim CD3.5 and has a truly ballistic edge. In short, I love this thing. Give it a listen and I'm pretty sure you will to. Value rating would be for a new one incidentally- mine would be 10 blobs at £150.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz CD6000 KI, CD17 KI, CD7 (our new reference unit). Arcam CD62,72,82. Naim CD3.5.

The whole acoustic strength of this player is underpinned by a sublime bass. Its midrange and high-frequencies also are very well presented, in a beautiful presense that makes you smile!!! It sound magical. I am so pleased I bought it!!!!!!

Flashing LCD display. A strange remote control. It's all there, and it actually quite nice to hold and use, but how do you select a track number greater than 9....you can't....you have to press the "track skip" button on the remote or on the player. Not good. Also, why has it got two A-N logos on the front?? Peter, get rid of the one on the Tray, move the 'Compact Disc' logo to take its place, and just have the one large A-N logo on the fascia!! Then it'll look perfect. No sonic weaknesses at all!

I have felt compelled to write this review ever since about 30 minutes after taking my new Audio-Note CD2.1X out of the box, and hooking it all up with some superb Audio-Note AN-V interconnect, on New-Year’s Eve. (My system comprises a modified Audio-Note M1 pre-amp with silver wiring, A-N Copper-Foil signal capacitors, Aura PA200 mono’d power-amps, Mountain Snow Atlas 2 Silver speaker cable and B&W Nautilus 804 loudspeakers.) Straight out of the box, the bass was way too heavy, but after just 10 minutes or so, it snapped into line. By the way, the sonic qualities of the system are still improving as I have only had it for about 10 days! Just before my purchase, I tried a number of other “Best-Buy” Japanese models. They weren’t bad, but they didn’t really ring my bell. Then along came the A-N CD2.1x…… Physically, it is a large, heavy player, which feels satisfyingly substantial. The brushed aluminium fascia is beautiful, as are the buttons, which have a pleasant smooth feel to them. The display is a cool-blue LCD affair that has all the usual info present. Quite why display manufacturers need to tell you the track number via a digit, and by the matrix of flashing numbers on the right-hand-side baffles me! The CD-tray is fairly quiet and smooth, but is also quite quick in ejection and retracting into the player. Personally, I find a slower drawer has more of an expensive feel! But that’s my opinion. Nonetheless, this is a very well built machine, with basic controls, no frills, and a digital out on the rear too! It didn’t take too long to warm up, and the chassis and front-panel soon had nice warmth to them. I like this a lot – especially a warm amplifier, with warm controls! I hooked the CD2.1x to my M1 pre-amp, and immediately, I fell foul of the high output voltage (3V). But once the player had run in (I suggest 20-30 hours minimum), the quality of it was apparent. In fact the quality of its sound was apparent well before 20 hours! It just sounds even better after 20 hours of playing. Whatever I throw at it from Kylie to Madonna, Michael Jackson to Fluke, Shostakovich to Bach, Vierne or Dupre, the Audio-Note excelled. I am having a real renaissance with my hi-fi now, exploring old CD’s that used to sound bland that now sound wonderful. Everything about the sound is right. The bass is very extended and deep, but has a dynamic punch to it, perfect for more modern electronic recordings such as Moby, Leftfield and Kosheen. The midrange is so clear and “present” that it makes you want to listen to more, and has you on the edge of your seat listening to new, unheard details, and the high-frequencies are supreme – beautifully detailed and airy, with no sense of harshness whatsoever. I have never had a vinyl system, and I am thinking that this CD-player must be sharing some of vinyl’s qualities. This player is simply brilliant. It looks a million dollars, is substantially built, and sounds awesome. For the money, it surely must be unbeatable, and I am positive that it could give players costing several times its price a good run for their money….maybe with one exception, the Audio-Note CD3.1x…….!

Fluid treble. Open soundstage. Build quality.

None so far.

I have the later version of the CD2 with the new fascia. It's very solidly built and weighs in excess of 10 kilos. I have long been looking for a sound with a totally smooth, almost fluid treble, and I reckon this is it! It is not at all fatiguing and has bags of detail with a lovely open soundstage. Used with my Arcam A85 amp it sounds sublime.

Similar Products Used:

Arcam CD72 Marantz CD-17 MK2 Micromega Stage 2

Warm sounding , fantastic timbre and soundstage.

High output. Takes a while to warm up. Not sure if its valves will last as long as the manufacturer claims they will.

This beauty(the new CD2.1x) took about 30 minutes to warm up but it was worth the wait.The overall sound is exceptionally warm with a fantastic soundstage.Its bass is extended but does not interfere with the overall mix which is what a listener wants. The timbre has got to be one of the most realistic I have come across excluding the from -another- planet setups you come across at shows.It''s also very forgiving of badly recorded stuff which I have quite a bit of in my collection.I tested it against against the Audiomeca Obsession which in most cases it walked over but the Obsession could pick up on the overall rhythm of one or two pieces a lot better than the AN. The looks of the machine are on the average side but its the sound that counts. The small remote seems a bit mean but who cares.The only serious fault I could find for this machine is that it has a high ouput which may mess up things with some amps. I have an integrated valve amp.It would interesting to know what its like with a solid state setup.Its also not cheap !

Similar Products Used:

Audiomeca Obsession . Naim CD5

Detailed, smooth analogue like sound, easily upgradeable.

Nondescript appearance, functional build.

My very old Cambridge CD2 was refusing to play again, so I bought an Audio Note as I had recently heard one and liked it while demoing speakers. There is a new version of this CD player now with a nicer facia, which means that the original can be bought at a discount. £695 instead of £995. Which was nice.
Good bass, very natural midrange and no noticable digital harshness or glare in the treble. Wide, stable soundstage. It definitely sounded very accomplished, but it was perhaps lacking a bit of emotional involvement in the music. Then it struck me. Why not change the stock EI ECC82 double triode in the output with a superior NOS valve. One Mullard CV4003 later, and the soundstage has more depth to it, instruments have a more realistic tone and the midrange has much greater detail. It is easier to get involved in the music instead of listening to the hi-fi. The recent Steely Dan remasters now sound like they have just been remastered and improved again. All this for only an additional £12.63!

Musical, smooth, "analogue like", detailed

Soundstage depth no pronounced

The Audio Note AN CD2 player has provided me with a great deal of musical satisfaction over the last year. I have never once wished for a different player. I was able to purchase the player for $1500, so I feel I obtained a bargain. The player plays all kinds of music well. I must judge it in light of the components in my system. I use a Linn Kairn preamp, Linn Klout amp, and Magnaplanar 3.6 speakers. In this system, the Audio Note C2 provides great detail, a neutral tonal balance, very smooth high frequencies, and deep base. It does a wonderful job with the female voice. Diana Krall sounds like she is in my room (17 x 26), on selections from "All For You". When ever an accoustic bass solos, I stop and stare in the direction of the sound, marvelling at how lifelike the notes sound. The only shortcoming I have noticed (and it could be due to another component in my system) is that the soundstage is not as deep as I might expect it to be, and sometimes I can not hear gradations of depth between instruments. I listen to all types of music, and the Audio Note C2 plays all kinds of music well, from Rock to Rachmaninoff. I would buy one again. From what I have read in various audiophile publications, I would have to listen to CD players which cost over $3,000 to find anything that might sound better to me. I highly recommend the Audio Note AN CD2.

Analogue sound, smooth and detailed. Soundstage.

None musically. Looks can be discussed.

My first CD-player that play's MUSIC.
For best performance: change the Ecc82
to a 12ay7 tube.

Smooth tubey sound

None

This CD player should be more popular then it is. At 800.00 used it is a Steal.I was going to get the Ah! 4000. But for 200.00 more It's a no brainer. The CD-2 is in another class altogeather. Big soundstage and great bass w/ a warm tube sound. Can't be beat!

Similar Products Used:

Meridian 506.20

Well, I heard this player was supposed to be great sounding. I have been running the unit for 50hrs straight. The sound has improved greatly since out of the box. However to my ears this is not a good sounding CD Player. It does have a wide soundstage, but it is too wide IMHO. It going back to the store.The Micromega Stage 2 sounds better.

For the price, the Audionote CD2 is a fine player. It is refined, smooth and excels in both classical music, as well as jazz and vocals. It is not overwarm or bright.