Cambridge Audio 752BD Universal Player review or, "how Universal players should be done"

I do wonder in the mass market how you get this right....since I went back to SACD (I was an earlier adopter who opted out nearly as early) after buying the Oppo I must have bought approx 50+ SACD titles probably nearer a hundred now, I've bought about 12-15 Blu Ray titles and I would say I'm a heavy spender on discs.-will always go for new versions with the added extras etc I would imagine the vast majority of buyers want a player that offers versatility but probably mainly on streaming and possibly CD replay. I struggle to believe SACD replay/Blu Ray etc are that important to a lot of buyers.

I just wonder when you get into SACD/ Blu Ray replay how important it is to the average new buyer because my take might be that if you are really into the hi-res formats you probably have a pretty serious system (generalising I know but....) and you probably aren't going to get those buying anything that isn't a noticeable step up-and that's the problem with digital right now-people probably listen to a certain sub set of digital formats but a manufacturer has to cover all these bases.

That was my point about the CA player against the Oppo-my first thought honestly when BR posted his review was yes but how will this player impact on the market-can it be really successful? I have no idea but I would think the fact they've already moved their DACs on it looks like they are thinking again-they are looking ahead and ahead might not always be better. I doubt any manufacturer really understands everything about the market place right now.

The digital market looks increasingly fragmented but in other ways it does not seem to be moving forward with a lot of killer products-indeed most of the debate on this thread the three players mentioned are all a few years old now. The other problem is buying second hand in digital by it's very nature is problematic-you might fluke out on something like the Denon mentioned previously but these opportunities are limited and indeed you would worry a lot more about 2nd hand digital purchase than amps or speakers.

 

I got into SACD back in 1999 when Sony did a presentation and demo at one of the hotels in Edinburgh (The Roxburgh). Enjoyed it, liked what I heard but that story of what happened subsequently is well covered. These days, it' s a bit like deciding on when to buy a smartphone, or a new laptop/Mac. The pace of change is fast, you just need to choose what it is that you want, or be aware of what you need, and shortlist accordingly.

Wasn't difficult for me: I already had a good player, the AVI which also has WM8740s in it, while the Maranz UD7007 would've done. I could've went out and bought another player (Yamaha BDA-1040 for instance) but since having had the Denon DVD-3930 a year or several back, I was sold on how good the sound quality was across the formats. Hence, when the 752 came up at the right time, it seemed like the obvious one to go for. If it had sucked, I'd have tried the Yamaha and failing that, the Oppo 103. That said, it didn't and going by the reviews it's decently ahead of those two and on a par with the 105 for music across the formats.

Another user might want something else and might settle instead for Onkyo's £600 player, or Philips BDP7900. Or a Pioneer BDP450 that gives SACD and DVD-A for under £250.

Knowing what you want is a clear plus-point though. Being focused helps, else it becomes that "what about this, what about that" and you end up not buying at all. Or, worse, making the wrong decision.

 

I think you are right BR in a wider sense but I have a clear idea of what I want. The best stereo replay from the variety of formats-I'm mainly disc based but will buy downloads as well. But my desire isn't the same as a lot of people and as stated I'm not sure the manufacturers understand what to do.

Without sounding like a sponsor that was my point the Oppo 105 probably covered a lot more bases better than most machines. Of course having arguably set a good marker there is always the chance another manufacturer merely needs to copy the versatility but take things to the next level.

Streaming appears to be a big thing and a lot of digital appears to have went that way maybe I'm wrong but I'm not sure we are seeing the next generation of disc spinners.....I'm also not sure the streaming aspect was as big as the manufacturers guessed.

 

For home I use physical disk, bar for movie streaming services. Music is almost always via a silver disc (or the occasional gold one!). The handful of true universal players out there is tiny (and by that I mean players that handle CD, HDCD, SACD and DVD-A, it's a given that a Blu-ray player's going to handle that). Under £500, I think you've got the aforementioned Yamaha, above that there's Oppo and Cambridge all three with different design aims and approaches. Not much. More handle DVD-A & SACD but not HDCD. It's no biggie, but it's a nice to have.

I use internet streaming services off the amp, mainly vTuner accessing internet radio. Gave up with Spotify. Use either Tune-in or the BBC Radio Player at work, more often now though the Sony Walkman on my phone and run whatever albums off the 64Gb Samsung Micro SDXC card. Gave up with the Onkyo HF Player - nice functionality, poor file organisation. A non-starter.

 

I think HDCD is vastly underrated I can think of several discs albeit contentiously on here I prefer to highly rated flat transfers Roxy Music (various albums) and Sea Change by Beck as well as lots of other discs. I always think if people are listening to only CD on an HDCD disc they are missing out but I know there's a lot of debate about just how they are encoded.......back in the day I had an Audio Alchemy DAC that had a HDCD filter......

 

I have a good few HDCD discs, not least, the nine disc Grateful Dead Closing of Winterland set, a few Joni Mitchell ones too. I think it was a good format.

 

The deal is back on for the Boxing Day as I'd suspected and another member on here has just informed me. £499.95 for the 752BD at Richer Sounds. That's £300 off. Killer deal!

http://m.richersounds.com/#!/product/CAMB-752BD-BLK

Can buy online too. Good return period so you can try it at home and you just pay return postage if you don't like it. That's about as good as it gets.

 

Just don't use City Link!

 

Good Morning Brother Rael!
I just posted in the other CD forum I'm watching about my Yammy BD-s667BL unit I just unpacked yesterday and put in the system and listening to the Beach Boys right now on it.
It DOES play AND decode HDCD and it sounds wonderful!
As soon as it spun up the disc on the display it proudly said 'HDCD' and while playing the disc, when I put up the disc information on the on screen display, it also calls the disc not CD but 'HDCD' and it also shows a bitrate of 1411.2 Kbps. So even though it's a cheap player, and it is, it's not going to win any engineering awards, it does produce a very high quality sound and the fact that it DOES decode HDCD is a definite plus to me.
Now I would not pay more than $250 retail for the unit, it's not in that league obviously, but for $219 it's worth it even as a stop gap player-something to use when the main unit dies.
So, a nice little surprise this morning.
more later.
the beave

 

Potential buyers in the UK might be interested to know that there's another Bank Holiday special on the 752BD this weekend at Richer Sounds in the UK. Link to details here: http://www.richersounds.com/product/blu-ray/cambridge-audio/azur-752bd/camb-752bd-blk


£200 off list price, so for a few days, the 752BD will come in at just £599 - top deal!

 

I have the chance to pick up a 752BD for a reasonable price but have a couple of questions as I've never dealt with a multi format player before.
The machine will probably just be used for 2 channel audio playback. It's a chance to hear the hybrid SACDs and various DVD-As I seem to have accumulated over the years.

1/ I assume that I'll need a monitor of some sort for set up and navigating through DVD-A.
2/ Will I be able to take advantage of the higher res formats via the 2 channel analogue RCAs.
3/ How much is involved in setting it up as a 2 channel player.
4/ Last but far from least, it would probably replace my current Rega Saturn for redbook cd playback and I do have some concerns that I could be taking a step back in that area.

Any pearls of wisdom appreciated. I had also been considering the Oppo 105 but the Cambridge would be nearly NZ$600 cheaper.

 

In short it's better if you use a TV-the rational being these players were set up for use with a TV as they are Blu Ray players. I have an Oppo 105 as my secondary player now.

Indeed part of the answer of your question is related to setting the machine up at the Set Up/Menu stage although I would say once you've done that you should be able to play via your front display however on some discs this may be problematic without a main display (Blu Ray Audio's and DVDA's etc).

It's really a case of setting your machine up for stereo and ensuring you pick the stereo layer when playing. This is not particularly involved more a case of getting to know the different functions of your player and optimising your player for your needs. Read the manual is the obvious advice.

As for beating the Saturn I would suspect it is unlikely to but system synergy etc is a factor. To be honest I don't think you'll gain a massive amount for your money in pure stereo terms probably you'll end up with an inferior player or one that sounds different rather than better. It's not a route I would recommend I'd save your cash towards a component upgrade-looking at your system I would say speakers.

This is one of the reasons as an early adopter of SACD I bailed after a while as my Sony Player at the time (NPSV900 irc) didn't beat my Ayre CX-7 player and playing SACD etc didn't give me overall stereo improvement.

Of course at that price you could try and sell on probably without taking a big hit.

 

Thanks for your reply. Considering that I have over 2000 cds against maybe 30(at the most) SACD/DVD-A discs, the fear that a Cambridge or Oppo may be a retrograde step for cd play back is a major factor in stopping me confirming a new purchase. The biggest upgrade I could make would be a new room but that isn't going to happen so I work round the room negatives by using headphones 90% of the time.

 

Sorry, my experience is different and I use mine every day for two channel playback without bothering with a TV. SACD included.

Yes, you need to set the player up initially, and a TV is easier for that, but thereafter, you're good to go.

DVD-A was always the exception irrespective of source, so the 752 is no different with that format in being easier to navigate with a TV.

For CD, SACD and HDCD, then it's about as fit-and-forget as you could ask for.

 

Yes but you'll struggle with Blu Ray Audio and even downloads both formats I use with my Oppo although less since I bought my Esoteric player.

You also need to factor in nibor probably has a CD player better than the Cambridge.

 

The CDP issue isn't for me to comment on. The issue highlighted here is can you easily use the 752 as a source without a monitor. Unless all your collection is DVD-A or a handful of Blu-ray audio titles, then answer is: yes.

In any case, my system is setup to output two channel by default as I've I'm purely stereo at home. I'd imagine nibor could do likewise if he wished.

DVD-A is a problem for any listener in any player. For SACD or CD, this is a non issue. The 752 works a treat. As to how it compares with his other one, that's a matter of taste for nibor. Personally, I think the DACs used - five Wolfson WM8740s - are worth hunting down and they were well used by Cambridge.

 

there may be some similarity in sound between the Saturn and Cambridge as the Rega also uses the Wolfson VM8740 DAC chip .

 

Indeed. The Cambridge won't be outclassed as some appear to think. It sits alongside my AVI Lab Series CD player, which was £1500 a decade ago and also uses the same chip.

 

Nibor,


FWIW the OPPO 105D has a free remote app available.

It enables you to access required media files and player menu settings via your phone WITHOUT the need for a display.

IME the OPPO 105D's SQ won't be as outclassed as some appear to think whilst offering a whole host of other handy and unique features.

If you are lucky there may be other UDP's available that also offer a remote app.

Don't know about the CA 752 though.

Actually the current generation of UDP's is quite strong and there are several seriously top quality units out there in addition to the abovementioned.

E.G.....Marantz and Pioneer

Imagine the fun to be had with a 4 way playoff!!!!!!!!!


Good Luck

 

Is the chip the most important factor impacting sound quality in a DAC? What of the unit's power supply design, the way the chips are used, and the analog section?

 

You have answered your own question
They are ALL playing some part.
If I had to guess I would expect the actual DAC used to have a bit more impact than the rest.
But it's just a guess.

Some nice gear you have there BTW!!

 

In the event that your guess is misguided, would it change your approach in selecting a digital front end?

Member BSC, for example, mentioned his Esoteric X-03 just a few posts up-thread. Here's a photo:



Aside from the massive transport section, most of what is seen here is power supply and analog section. The MSRP was well over $5,000 about a decade ago. Does it stand to reason that informed consumers of such gear would be fixating on the chip-set, considering that the chips are pretty cheap? I suppose one could argue that this unit will not produce appreciably better sound quality than a stock Oppo.

 

jh901,

I guess your post affirms my thoughts then.

The fact that one actually COULD argue a stock OPPO (or CA, Marantz etc) sounding similar probably proves just how much influence
the very latest DAC chipsets seem to have on overall SQ.

That Esoteric X-03 has some MAJOR build quality plus VERY impressive PS, Output Stages and Transport.

BUT.........The OPPO has enjoyed the benefits an EXTRA decade of DAC innovations etc can offer.

AND.......Some of the rules have changed regarding what users are looking for on top of straight out SQ.

E.G......The Esoteric has a great transport BUT.....When I use my OPPO for RBCD I use .WAV files on a USB.....No Laser....No spinning Transport....and, most likely, LESS jitter

IMHO the bottom line is STILL.........what you want from it......... and what you can afford!!!

There are plenty of arguments for and against either of these decks!!!

BSC worked out a great solution by just having both!!!

There's no question that "bang for buck" has improved though!!!

Lastly.........I bought my OPPO 105 AFTER I heard it easily outperform a $15K Gryphon Tabu CDP-1 which was built to an even higher standard than the Esoteric.



And just as OLD!!

Cheers

 

The Esoteric beats the Oppo 105 with reasonable confidence and ease-improvements in all the sonic areas -2nd hand prices of the X03SE are just over twice the cost of the Oppo which I would say in terms of improvement it's a good buy because you are probably not going to beat it unless you spend at least twice that in the current market whether it be a stand alone DAC or other player. If you were to go to the original peak price of nearly 7x the value of the Oppo that would be a different matter.
My local dealer considers the X-03SE to be so far up the ladder even against some and note I say some of the newer Esoterics that really you can drop off the climbing pull up a chair, relax and enjoy SACD's and CD's. He considers it a classic and for me it is a step up in what was a pretty good sounding system anyway.The Oppo is simply not at that level.

For me the Oppo is such a great machine with such versatility that I could do nothing but heavily endorse it. Hearing about the Cambridge and considering the cost on paper that also looks like a player you'd need to consider in similar terms if it matched your checklist.

I just think for nibor's focus on stereo it may be a side ways move but really you need to hear any component in your system over a decent period of time to fully assess it's merits.

 

Nibor,


Well that's the great thing about this Forum.

You are guaranteed to get a wide range of opinions!!!

Me and BSC are poles apart for a start!!

Maybe my active ATC's just make a better match somehow......(OPPO XLR out DIRECT to ATC's XLR in) and then there's the room...and so on

Anyway,

Good Luck