CD-player Hegel CDP4A mk2
Audio Norwegian company Hegel is still little known and audiophiles in our tests takes part for the first time. Its range is small - production program currently has several models of CD-player and various amplifiers. Poor choice hardly promotes growth in popularity of the brand, on the other hand, a company with such an approach can realize their ambitions and focus on product quality. Some technical solutions Hegel unique, and we have the opportunity to see this.
CDP4A mk2 model is positioned as a reference CD-player class High End. Design - minimalist front panel only disc loading slot, the display and two buttons (each of them is responsible for several functions). Inside, at first glance, there is nothing extraordinary. Philips used qualitative mechanism with its own control system. PSU too trivial - the usual size transformer, several chains straightening and stabilization, quality capacitors. Analog part - balanced, with advanced operational amplifiers (outputs are represented as connectors XLR, and RCA). Modern and DACs with a resolution of 24 bits and a sampling frequency of 352 kHz (ie eightfold oversampling signal 44 kHz). Not surprisingly, the unit has unsurpassed tract, as reflected in the passport data. But do not they build CDP4A mk2 reference to the status of the player. There are two interesting in it "features".
The first - a system reclocking Hegel SuperClock 2, allows an order to reduce the jitter. And if the best drives can be reduced it to 100 - 150 ps, then the player receives the data for the final conversion (and at the same time on the digital outputs) to not more than 10 ps. It is so small temporal errors human hearing is completely insensitive - one of the problems finally defeated CD format.
The second innovation - digital filter of its own design. As far as I understood from the description in the process involves several resampling algorithms to extrapolate data. Such synchronous processing allows you to track the emergence of the output signal intermodulation unavoidable in conventional upsampling, and effectively suppress them. And here is not going to speculate on how the result should be - go to audition.
Scene in order. Depth is, foreground read easily, localization initially seems somewhat vague, acyclic, but the spatial extent of all instruments sustained absolutely true. Bass tight, strong and low - so many like it. But the dynamics of no more than moderate, clarity in the bass/midrange could be higher - the tonal pattern in this band seems simplistic. Higher range, things are much better. Vocal range is transmitted very touching and of course - the voices sound without tints, tones distinct and true. Upper range exclusively airy, filled with the finest details, all the plates varied coloring eliminated as a class. Cleanliness simply revel! But again musical figure seems relaxed, healthy groovy no aggression.
Listening to the CD for the second time, I came to the conclusion that my grades just affect settled for many years an idea of how should sound CD. And Hegel takes and turns them into something like SACD - sound loses rudeness becomes softer and airier disappears artificial emotional stress. Norwegians stopped one step short of revolution. These dynamics would like to super-carriers, that's when ... Although I made this problem much less noticeable in just 15 seconds - by connecting the player to the amplifier another cable.
