Atoll CD200 CD Player $2950
(3.75h, 17.32w, 12d, 16 lbs)
Made in France With Three Year Warranty!
I’m an unabashed fan of the CD format. It’s my favorite way to listen to music.
I’m fine with vinyl in small doses, but it doesn’t serve the classical piano music I enjoy most. You can’t enjoy the intimate nuance of Chopin through a hail storm. The same holds true for great female singers with sparse backing. I’m way past pretending I don’t hear the noise of the stylus bobsledding through the groove. Further, the maintenance involved with that medium… no thanks. I’m done with it.
Streaming is convenient but the sound isn’t as good as CD. And just the thought of saving thousands of CDs to a server that won’t get the metadata correct, and WILL some day puke on you, no thanks for that either.
Since I, and most of you, already have a nice CD collection, that’s the way I want to hear music. You can’t beat choosing a great recording you bought- and play it all the way through as the artist intended. There are no clicks, pops, wi-fi or computer glitches. Just enjoy the album.
Please… don’t tell me you have no place to put CDs in your house. It’s your house too.
With this in mind, what is a FABULOUS sounding, yet affordable CD player that’s built well? In a word, Atoll, of France. CD80 at about half this price is a fine value. But if you’re looking for performance going nose to nose with state of the art players for many times more money, please consider Atoll’s phenomenal CD200.
CD200 is a beautifully elegant, nimble player. It has a face plate 1/3” thick of brushed aluminum. The steel chassis is just as thick. You start with this Gibraltar like foundation and a very fast laser mechanism that tracks like a champ. So far so good. But this is just the start.
It uses 8 (count ‘em!) linear power supplies. It features multiple transformers, including a dedicated 10VA unit for the analog audio stages. Filter capacitance is 13,032uF, comparable to what you’d find in a nice power amp. It incorporates Atoll’s current-voltage stages based on bipolar transistors. Atoll has chosen Burr Brown’s DACs for their sound within the implementation of the rest of the player. They didn’t just buy ANY chip and run with it. They’ve chosen BB for the timbre it imbues and are able to run it with no negative feedback to derive a full, warm sound. Atoll takes great pride in running a differential line stage with massive TLC.
CD200 produces an uncannily detailed yet beautiful sound that you can’t miss. It’s warm, spacious and golden hued. Even compared to its less expensive brethren, CD200 crafts a more precise image and soundstage. Many CD players, and turntables of modest construction ethos, have a proclivity to sound lean or thin. That’s not the case with CD200. It stands above the crowd with its burnished flavor.
In fact, it’s closer to the best at any price, than just a cut above other “good” players.
If you’re serious about getting the best sound from your CDs and don’t care to spend almost three times as much, you’ll love CD200.
Further… CD200 has a DAC input as well. You can run your streamer (Bluesound Node) digital into the Atoll and benefit from all of the afore mentioned technology with your streamed music. Make your CD and streaming music sound their best with CD200.
