Recently purchased a CD4 for use in a secondary system in my study. I have a CD6 in my main system. The CD4 sounds similar to the CD6 with a small loss in detail, but for less than half of the price of a CD6 it cannot be beat in its class. I had tried a Rotel RCD-930AX before it and the CD4 is much better. Does not have an electronic cast to the sound that most cheaper CD player have. It is teamed with an NAD 312 integrated amp and B&W DM601 speakers.

Ive had a cd4 for 2 years now and just upgraded with a Kinshaw Dac. sound quality is exellent for the price. No problems with relability. I have damped it with blutack internalaly (including the underside of drawer) and it now sounds better than a marantz ki sig. (so Ive been told). well done cambridge. keep up the good work

I bought a CD4 as a final capitulation to the digital age.
I bought it because it was cheap, and it was the best sub-250 pounds sterling
player I could find. It was, indeed, better than several players three or four
times it price. It has good, controlled bass and a fine midrange, with only a
hint of grain in the treble. A nice, relaxed sound. It copes equally well with
rock, jazz and classical. It has good sound staging, if a little compressed
front-to-back.

The front panel has the usual start, stop, back, forward buttons. Track access
is sluggish (v-e-r-y slow), but that doesn't bother me, as I normally listen
from start to finish. It's also got a remote that gives access the other
features (repeat, A-B repeat, random, etc. But, again, I don't use it.

It also had the advantage of having an electrical digital output (BNC).
Cambridge Audio also do a remarkable chap DAC that I auditioned, and was
impressed by, but didn't buy, as my CD collection doesn't yet justify the
outlay (50 CDs Vs >1000 LPs).

Build quality is fine, and the box is simple and unassuming. It's just a pity
that there is no way to dim or extinguish the display. The transport is very
sensitive - it must be level to give of its best, and may loose it place on
certain discs if it isn't perfectly level.

It's a long way from my LP12 in quality, but it does well as a second source,
and I'm never fatigued listening to it. A good choice for LP lovers.

And it really can't be faulted at the price - 150 pounds sterling.

Big bang for the buck. Clarity, Musical, Detailed

Features

Read an old on-line reprint of a review in Haule Fidelite Magazine. They found a big improvement in the CD4 by putting a "cap plug"? in the BNC digital output. Not sure what a "cap plug" was I picked up a gold plated BNC plug that converts it to an RCA plug.
Well I have to tell you it worked. The improvement was very apparent. The bass was deeper, better focus, timbre and stereo image. Amazing for such a cheap cheap trick.
This player is no longer made, but good used ones are available for $175 to $200. This player is 4 stars in its price class, but with the addition a the cap plug it is a 5.

Similar Products Used:

CD-4SE, CD6, D500