Musicality Sound & pacing Quality transport Price Easy to upgrade HDCD Solid build

Sounded at first very lush, with not enough air and soundstage. Interconnects and new op amps (a simple $100 plug-in)have transformed this into a breathtaking machine.

When it came time to replace my CD player this year, I tried various DACs and player combinations and then one day auditioned the CD-25. Very impressed, particularly at the price point, with the extra bonus of HDCD. I actually got my CD-25 used--for $350. Upgraded the power cord (made the Asylum power cord), spent $100 for new op amps (which is a simple plug-in upgrade) and built a new pair of interconnects. (about $125 total for all these improvement) Boy, does this thing sound great!! Soundstage and dynamics are particularly impressive, with great lows. The transport is top-notch, quiet and smooth. One peculiarity with this machine is that it is a bit slower than other machines when cueing up each track, but it is so minute it doesn't bother me. The display does not show tracks remaining on the CD you're listening to--just the number of the track that's playing and time elapsed. Again, this doesn't bother me. The CD-25 plays CDR's--both those made on a quality CD recorder or those burned on a computer. I read somewhere that it won't play CDRW's. All in all, I've had fun and now am enjoying the music again! And that's what it's all about.

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Denon DCM370 CD changer Heart CD6000 tubed CD player Audionote CD 2 tubed player Various DACs

Absolutely beautiful sound, low cost relative to quality of sound reproduction, good build and attractive chassis.

Give me a few more months....

This is a modified Music Hall sold by Response Audio as the RAM-25 Signature, with significant upgrades to the solid state components and with an added Class-A tubed output section. I'd planned on waiting a month or so before posting here, but after about 36 hours of use I'm ready to say that, out-of-the-box, this is a stunning improvement to my system. The best single substitution I've ever made to any system in over 35 years. It replaces a Sony CA7ES in the following current line-up: --Dynaudio Audience 70 speakers --Paradigm PW2200 powered 12" sub --Roksan Kandy MKIII integrated amplifier --Monster interconnects and speaker cable All in a dedicated music room measuring 22'X 14'X 9'. Starting a few years ago I set out to get the "best" system I could hear for around $4,000 - $5,000. The CD was the last piece on the upgrade path. My goal in replacing the Sony was to see if I could improve system sound by eliminating the overall "digital" edge, getting rid of a little harshness and tendancy to smear upper midrange and treble details (like the shimmy around cymbals), and to lose the sssssss's that afflict recordings of many female vocalists. It has done all that, and quite a bit more. The real surprise is the absolute musicality and warmth I notice, without a corresponding loss of slam, detail, or high frequency response. The unit has both an HDCD chip and the tubed output, so I'm not sure what makes this unit so far outclass the stock Music Hall or most of the affordable players I listened to while deciding. It must be the tubes, because that is what sets it apart from the other units--Aracm 72 and 82, Musical Fidelity 3.2, Conrad-Johnson, Meridian, and a few more. I had to go well over $2000 (and my budget) to find something that sounded better in some ways than the RAM-25 Signature. Compared to the Sony, the bass is more extended and better behaved, midrange is at least as good, and the higher frequencies are there without any of the annoying or harsh digital attributes of the Sony. Detail is exquisite, sound stage is quite acceptable (some of the pricier players gave a better 3D sense of presentation). Modified CD players seem to be a popular means of getting a better piece of gear at a lower price. I can't compare this to any of the others--e.g., Heart or Ah!--but my reaction is similar to what owners of other modified units have reported. I also prefer the build quality of the Music Hall, whatever its original sonics are, to the modified Marantz's I've seen listed for sale. On HDCD's (e.g., Bruckner's 9th on Refernce, Dire Straits, Dick's Picks #15) the improvement is truly mind-boggling, but I expected something just because of the HDCD technology. What I didn't expect was the transformation that occurred with many redbook CD's, which sound a lot more like the best of my old LP's and display lots of previously missed detail, true timbre, and a sense of ambience that was lacking before. My old favorite Mahler 6th recording with Barbirolli now sounds on CD like the original LP from the late 60's ( very good). A recent recording of Zelinka's orchestral music on cpo was so vivid and detailed it seemed like being there in a smallish room with great acoustics (fabulous). Bad recordings unfortunately still sound like crap. If you're a serious music listener on a budget, I'd say check out tubes and the people who are doing mods. You'll get a better bang for your buck, or pound, or whatever (even though $1200 isn't exactly cheap). My experiences with Response Audio have been very good, and the MH-25 is an extremely fine base unit to start with. Again, with music as the primary goal, this has been a real eye-opener and tubed output is a very viable upgrade strategy for budget-constrained music lovers who have large cd collections and aren't ready to jump on the SACD or DVD-Audio bandwagons or get a second mortgage.

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Sony, Denon, Arcam, Musical Fidelity, Conrad-Johnson, Meridian

Clear, strong bass, very smooth and clear highs, unbelievable detail and a very nice sound image. Very solid build.

Are you kidding me?

I have actually bought the Shanling CD S-100, which is the same model. It is being sold in the US under Music Hall brand. Most people will have heard of the Shanling T-100, which is a tube CD player, the S-100 is solid state and is a budget version. Locally it sells for a lot less than the export price, so I have taken the opportunity to get one. The sound stage is very nice, both broad and deep. Highs are very clear and smooth. The enormity of detail you get from this player is amazing. This player definitely beats anything at its US$500 price flag, but at the local price it is an absolute no-brainer. The build is very solid and even the remote is nice (this is Shanling's own remote, not the Music Hall one). There is just a league of difference with the Marantz CD-5000 it's replacing. The Marantz is not a bad player, but doesn't come close to this.

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Will blow away anything out there that I have listened to. I mean it!

NONE!

I have upgraded my unit with better diodes, upgraded OP amps and a Superclock 2 from www.referenceaudiomods.com and this machine is nothing like it was stock. It is sickening how good this player sound now. Please feel free to contact me at edpadden@yahoo.com for this and other mods.

Good timing, build, detail, soundstage and HDCD decoding.

Remote, Only 1 year warranty

I am in the process of auditioning this unit and so far I am very pleased with it's performance. With a quality Philips CDM-12 transport, a Burr Brown 1732 24bit,96KHz chip and a Pacific Microsonics HDCD chip this unit appears to be the best value at it's price point. It is definietly superior to the Cambridge 500 and the Arcam 62 and appears to match the Arcam 72 in overall sound though the Arcam is slightly less edgey in it's upper response, though the MMF C-25 has slightly better timing ryhtmiclly. The only downsides that I see that Music Hall only offers a one year warranty and the remote is a little odd.

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Arcam 62,72 Cambridge 500D,

Full detailed sound with great soundstage.

Ugly remote control.

Lets start with the physical plant. The unit measures 17in. wide 14in. deep and 3in. high and weights about 17lbs. Heavy for a unit in this price range. The face plate mimics the thick face plate found on expensive items but is in fact a 1/16th. inch aluminum shell molded around the front of the unit much like the mid-fi products of the 60''s. The remote control for the unit looks like a reject for an early Star Trek phaser. Inside however you will find a Philips CDM-12 transport with a CD-7 servo system that is also used on Creek''s new CD player priced at $1895. The DAC is a Burr Brown 1732 24bit,96kHz chip along with a Pacific Microsonics HDCD chip. This unit replaced a Marantz CD-67se used as a transport for a first generation MSB Link DAC. My idea was to only replace the CD-67 but when I put the CD-25 in my system I found that it sounded better than the MSB Link that a few years ago Stereophile listed as a B level unit. The sound is both more open and the soundstage more detailed than I expected to find in this price range. Which led me to re-listen to many CD''s that I haven''t heard in quite a while. This player sounds good on CD''s from MOBY to Mozart. Of course it isn''t the last player you will ever buy. It doesn''t define orchestral music to the degree a Wadia or Mark Levinson does but then you aren''t paying those kind of prices. The MMF CD-25 is a very good buy for the money. Anybody who happens to run into Sam Telig needs to wise him up to the sound of this unit for his Sam''s Space column in Stereophile.

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Audio Alchemy DDS ,Marantz CD-67se both with MSB Link DAC Present system Audio Refinement Multi-2 amp-conrad-johnson PV-10AL pre-amp-Celestion A-1 speakers-tied together with Cardas Quadlink interc

Build... style...Sonics..Dac''s

Overseas Price for Same Unit may be a buyers concern......?

The CD-25 has good sonics, quality dacs & terrific bulid standards. It sells under a different name in China for a lot less. Music Hall is noted for their quality turntables & analog gear. This cd player took a long time to even get mentioned on line. It finally got posted here. The look(gold) is an eye opener, the cost 600.00 is a good value but some folks won''t dish out that much for red book cd fare rather going for a dvd/cd machine. The CD-25 definetly has better sound than you get from a dvd player with a few higher end exceptions. It has a pleasant analog tone to it & needs good interconnects to perform at it''s best...Give it a Test..

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