multiplay unit, great soundstage, clear, natural sound

company is out of business, so if it breaks down then what??

i'll start by saying that the CL-10 cd player is hands down the best i've ever heard.....in fact i'm listening to almost everything i have just to see what i have not heard!!!! man at times a can't believe it's the same CD,,, things like hearing the pick on the strings and the fantastic soundstage it produces and talk about clarity... and this is going on 8 years old!!! however mine was refurbished before i bought it so it should be good for a long time... the rest of the system is OUTLAW 990 PRE/PRO ,,OUTLAW 7125 POWER AMP,, MONSTER POWER FILTER 5100, 4 INFINITY ALPHA 50'S , 2 INFINITY ALPHA 20'S surround backs, INFINITY ALPHA 37C CENTER, 2 INFINITY ALPHA 1200S subs, plus INFINITY PS10 sub, DENON DP-47F turntable, CAL-CL-10, DBX 4 BX range expander, RANE THX44 equalizer, all MONSTER M series speaker cable bi-wired, all OUTLAW interconnectors , and a AUDIOPRISM wave guide on the power cords...

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nothing even close,,, onkyo, sony,

-built like a tank -really nice soundstage -interchangeable power cord if you have a favorite - plays cdr disks (a previous reviewer was incorrect) - a good variety of rear-panel output options

-owner is kind of screwed if they lose the remote -fairly expensive (was originally $2000 when it first came out - I think $1500 was more reasonable)

Review of CL-10: Overall, I think this is a great cd player. Usually, you have to choose between single disk players for better construction and sound, or multi-disk players for convenience/longer playing times. With this player, you get great sound and 5 disk ability. Well built, nice appearance, easy to use, great sound - I wish more companies made this kind of product.

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-California Audio Labs CL-5 -various Sony ES 5 disk changer -McIntosh 5 disk changers

Bang for the buck. HDCD & 5-disc capability for under $2k.

Quality, reliability, and poor customer service.

I have had a love-hate relationship with this product for the last 6-years. I love the sound quality (i.e. when it works), performance per dollar, and 5-disc capability in an audiophile grade product. Sound quality far outperforms my previous & current NAD, Denon, and Pioneer Elite players. Great bass, deep soundstage, and crystal clean HDCD playback. As I said, when it works it is hard to beat this product for the price. Now for the bad news. This product has had ongoing quality issues since I first purchased it. Like many people I tried to ignore the problem and live with it for much too long before sending it back. The first (& ongoing) issue is that after turning the unit on it simply would not play. It would power on, and the display would show that the disc was playing, but no sound. This usually cleared up after 20-minutes to 1-hour. I sent back to Cal-audio twice for this problem. The first time they performed an upgrade and stated that the product tested out fine. Sounds to me like they threw parts at the problem and did minimal testing. Their customer service rep (probably the technician/engineer) was very defensive about the problem and did little to make things right. Also sent back a second time for the same problem. Now the unit powers on but just hopelessly shuffles from disc to disc and track to track without playing. What is extremely frustrating is that this unit seems to break down during every major party like Halloween, New Years, Christmas, and when friends want an audition. It is very embarrasing to audition your $15k audio system and have it fall flat on its' face. Needless to say this CD-player has scared away more than 1 person from hi-end audio. I can't count the times my $150 Denon player has had to bail it out. I would not recommend this product to anyone. Cal-audio is now out of business, no surprise, and my $1500 CD-player will soon be out with the weekly trash. It is unfortunate that products like these damage the reputation of hi-end audio.

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Denon, Pioneer Elite, NAD.

Convenience of carousel with high end pedigree.

No customer support

A nice piece of gear. It casts a very believable picture through my apogee and pass front end. Last year it began to skip-it works intermittently now but it doesn''t allow you to disappear with the music when your always fidgiting with the remote search button. Cal told me they will only service products under warranty...not even for a fee. Too bad as the sound of this unit was way ahead of any carousel I auditioned at the time of purchase-doesn''t read cdr''s either. Mine will probably become a planter for Spring tulips. Guess its on to a single deck unit.

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Adcom gcd 700

Sounds great when it worked.

No anda! (Dosn''t work!)

Sounds great but keeps breaking down and I can no longer get it repaired by Cal-Audio. First time it quit reading CD''s they repaired it under warranty but it broke again within a few weeks. I had to pay shipping twice. Second time it broke (changer mechanism stuck) they refused to fix because it is off warranty! Told me to call the dealer, who told me to call them! They take no responsibility once it off warranty! Would not recommend the company at all.

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Adcom, NAD, Marantz

Have owned the CAL CL-10 for almost a year and it is an astounding performer.Prior to buying this unit I auditioned several High End transports & DAC
combinations which were stunning but I did not feel they were vastly superior to
the CL-10. Handles any type of music with aplomb. This is a high quality digital
front end which accepts 5 disc. You get megatons of performance and convenience.
It is a steal!

Supurb sound- new lower price- great re-sale value

unable to see display from across the room- ugly orange light

Well had my 95 CL-10 for six months and decided to upgrade.
I did, my new CL-10 arrives today. After having the Wadia
which was the best of products used I decided the extra expense did not warrant the small increase in sound quality.
To me any single disc CD player is like getting up every 20 minutes to answer the phone. The 10 in my system was very close to the STOCK 830 using a pre-amp. The 10 I have coming today is the final production run. When current stock is gone the 10 will officially be discontinued. Sad.
My new CL-10 will have JPS Superconductors to my Muse 3, Vibrapoids under unit and energized by a JPS Power AC. If you want an audiophile CD changer, there are only two choices the Anthem CD-1 ( which is an excellent unit) and the 10. And then there was ONE. Yes there are better sounding units out there, but at a price. I must give the Cal a 5 speaker rating on a price performance ratio and the supurb build and sound quality. Also Cal has been sold to Sensoryscience.

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Anthem CD-1- Wadia 830- Tjoeb- Rotel 971- CD-4SE- Arcam Alpha 9

I just spent a great weekend listening to my new CL-10 and I can say with no reservations that this player is everything it's reputed to be. I upgraded from the NAD 515 and that's a great $500 player. The CL-10 is smooth and articulate with no glare and a deep and wide soundstage. Also, the price dropped to $1,495 making it the bargain of the year for someone looking for a high end sounding changer.I auditioned the CL-10 against Krell and Meridian but in my system, to my ears and with my financial resources the decision was easy.

High quality sound, good 5 disc functionality

Extremely unreliable

I am happy with my CL-10 when it works. However, that's not very often. It broke a few months after I bought it. I waited for three months to have it repaired by Cal-Audio and sent back to me. That's the only way to repair the CL-10. Three days after I started using it again, it broke again. Seems that the product is completely unreliable. All my other components are quite high end (Sonus Fabre speakers, Classe amp and pre-amp) and I've never had a problem. In this case, I am thinking of pulling my old Sony out and using the CL-10 for target practice.

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Sony ES series

Great sound!!! Convenience of 5-disc carousel. Excellent build quality.

No longer manufactured.

This is a follow-up on my review below. Just wanted to say that I have moved since previous review and this unit continues to play CDs in the best possible fashion. Extremely musical and convenient, to boot. Automatically recognizes XRCDs and do they ever sound good. Can't believe that CAL stopped production on this unit and did not replace it with something as good or better. Just a terrific unit.

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Sony ES products.