CD-player C.E.C. CD 3300
Almost every player of the Japanese brand C.E.C. can cause genuine interest in its construction. Look for the novelty - CD 3300. What may surprise this heavy (5.7 kg) with a powerful model of the front panel, raised buttons and display the original form?
To begin with a look at the rear panel. Next to the standard linear and digital optical outputs, we also see a pair of balanced analog and digital AES/EBU - like machines two or three times more expensive! Even a phone amplifier is not simple, and discrete elements. Immediately evident that the CD was created for the 3300 Hi-Fi- system of high class.
C.E.C. - One of the few companies that uses its products exclusively own production mechanisms. In 3300 CD transport is centrally located and is equipped with a three-beam sensor head. All servo player serves a separate power circuit. The second source feeds the digital path, which is based on a 24-bit converter Burr-Brown PCM1738 with integrated digital filter. But the most remarkable part of the whole structure CD 3300 - is everything that follows the DAC.
With the differential current output signal reaches the PCM1738 converter passive "current-voltage" (in other words, to the resistor). It turns out that the inverter operates as a current source and is less susceptible to interference and crosstalk. And there is a sound signal is amplified by single-stage amplifier passes through a simple first-order filter and enters the output buffer. All stages work in class A are not covered by EP and seem to have a clever stabilization quiescent current LED (If you look inside the disc tray, the right will be seen glowing from within hybrid modules).
As you can see, the topology of the audio path only high-endn - simple, but with tricks. However, we can not say that the circuitry is CEC - A solid know-how. A lot of these solutions are well known and many years ago, is widely used in audio equipment. Japanese only merit is that they combined the simple and time-tested scheme with an advanced digital processor, established under the stringent requirements of high quality DVD-Audio and SACD-player.
Let's start with the most rigorous test - from how the player handles the playback signal from a critically low level. Masking noise is minimal, but the digital "itching" emerges as more measures. This is hardly a consequence of primitive digital processing - for Burr-Brown products such sins is not usual. Most likely it is a consequence of the simple and "transparent" for analog output section - here, we recall, is only a first order filter. Conjecture is confirmed by the fact that even very quiet music signal is transmitted to the surprise detail - back to life, even those weak harmonics, which would seem to finally drowned in a limited dynamic range format PCM 44,1/16.
When playing conventional music CD programs 3300 retrieves the abyss of detail, but sometimes makes the sound brighter. It feels like on the most powerful mid-range signals as small coloring sound distortion and signal frequency spectrum, with a hard little softened by the dynamics. However, all this is not expressed in such a degree that such deviation can be classified as a significant breach of the tonal balance. But there is one small flaw: the clarity of the localization of sound sources in the scene is not accurate enough, although the scene is stable, broad, with clearly defined plans.
Everything else will not carp. Plentiful bass, clear, with a fundamental pillar of infrasound. Top clean, straight, and if ... not very detailed. But it is a known effect - when even minor details are reproduced true, hearing them and not concentrated (because they are the same parts, is not it). But the most captivating sound CD 3300 openness. Let the sound slightly lacking in realism, but a sense of rhythm, temperament, nuances and richness of timbre this player is beyond praise.
