Arcam CDS50 CD / SACD Player And Streamer

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by jl151080, May 28, 2018.

  1. jl151080

    jl151080 Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Bristol, UK
    I'm interested in trying streaming with the CDS50, which is new to me since I'm still very much physical media so have been using the player with CDs.

    Any advice on which services to try? Not sure of the differences between Tidal, Qobuz etc.
     
  2. jl151080

    jl151080 Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Bristol, UK
    I was experiencing minor issues but have had a replacement player since September, with no issues at all.
     
  3. jl151080

    jl151080 Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Bristol, UK
    I don't believe so - you would have to control it via the app.
     
  4. jl151080

    jl151080 Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Bristol, UK
    Hi, apologies, I haven't been monitoring this thread for a while.

    I bought the CDS50 in September 2018 and all was fine, but I began to notice that if I skipped to tracks the beginning would sometimes cut off.

    I took the unit in for repair last year but when it was returned from Arcam, it wouldn't work at all. I couldn't open the disc drive. No idea what they did to it! I took it back to the store and they exchanged it for a new unit, which I've had since September with no issues.
     
  5. Alan Beasley

    Alan Beasley Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ohio
    I’ve not tried Tidal but I really like Qobuz. I can find most any album I’m looking for and a lot of HiRes tracks.
     
    jl151080 likes this.
  6. Hero

    Hero Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I just purchased this model and I notice that the tray is a very loose and wobbly type of thing. It sort of wiggles a little bit as it opens and you can easily wiggle it with your fingers when it is open. Is it normal for this model?

    I'm not one to get into cosmetic issues like the tray feels cheap, it's a fingerprint magnet etc. but the tray on this unit feels remarkably cheap considering the price.
     
  7. MonkeyMan

    MonkeyMan A man who dreams he is a butterfly?

    I have one of these and think it's too poorly made for the price. I've had several mis-loads and other errors. I'm going to replace it with an Accuphase.

     
  8. The Beave

    The Beave My Wife Is My Life! And don’t I forget it!

    Well my experience with the 50 wasn’t good. In fact it was very frustrating, to the point that I sold it and moved on.
    Just too many quirks in operation and the streaming never worked well, kept burping and just clunky.
    I even reached out to the company and they were very condescending to me so that was that.
    I ended up getting a Rotel CD11 Tribute and A14 integrated amp with Bluetooth. Now we’re talking. Whenever I want to stream I just dial up what I want on my Apple iPad and Bluetooth it and I’m good to go. Simple, reliable and the CD 11 sounds so good on red book that I have no need for an SACD player.

    Bummer though as I really liked the 50, but the functionality of it was just too user unfriendly.
    Happy now.
    Beave
     
    moops likes this.
  9. Bill Mac

    Bill Mac Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    It seems that Arcam is living in the past as far as their attitude and relying on the good old days. Many times over the years I lusted over Arcam gear but at that time did not have the funds for their gear. Now that I do there's no way I'd buy any gear from them. So much to be said about customer service and attention to detail as far as the design of gear to be user friendly.
     
    The Beave likes this.
  10. Hero

    Hero Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    This is one of those products that I know is going back within the first hour of use. The build quality is poor, it behaves erratically and the sound is nothing particularly spectacular. As a CD transport I prefer the tone of my onkyo C7030.
     
  11. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    It seems they being now part of a multinational conglomerate means writing is on the wall. The FMJ stuff was well made at least (made in UK). This player has one of the best DACs on the market (same as Oppo 205), so they really missed an opportunity here by material cost cutting and not employing competent software engineers.

    3 UK companies that are now getting a kicking on this forum for a particular product (two foreign owned). Arcam, Audiolab and Rega. they need to take note and do better. No wonder Linn and the like can charge crazy prices since their engineering is generally of a much higher standard though not necessarily Sound Quality.
     
    Last edited: Apr 30, 2021
    Steve356 likes this.
  12. tumpux

    tumpux Well-Known Member

    Location:
    NY
    The Arcam that we see today is not the old Arcam. There is no way it could stay competitive in today’s market without pivoting to what we see today.
     
    scobb likes this.
  13. bruce2

    bruce2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Connecticut, USA
    I think I briefly considered the CD-S50 when it was on sale for $999. I remember searching and finding a picture of the internals, and it did not look impressive at all. It looked like a sub-$500 machine. My Marantz SA-8005 which sold for the same price as the Arcam seems of musch higher quality.
     
  14. Hero

    Hero Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Actually I take back what I said about the sound. The dac in this sounds pretty awesome. The tray is genuinely the worst I’ve ever seen. I feel like it’s going to break every time I put in a disc.
     
  15. jl151080

    jl151080 Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Bristol, UK
    I agree the tray should be far better quality.
     
  16. jl151080

    jl151080 Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Bristol, UK
    I upgraded my entire system in 2018, first with Dali Opticon 6 speakers, then I moved on to auditioning stereo amps and CD players. I bought everything through Richer Sounds and they were good enough to come to my home so I could audition kit there.

    Along with the Arcam I auditioned kit from Cambridge Audio; Audiolab; Roksan and Cyrus. I also separately auditioned kit from Rega.

    One of my key requirements was that the amp needed to have a home theatre bypass in order to integrate it into a 5.0 system. The two clear winners for me, in my room with my system, were Arcam and Cyrus. My least favourite, and from memory the most expensive, was the Roksan kit, which seemed too bright.

    I was given the opportunity to live with the Arcam SA20 and CDS50 for a week; and then the Cyrus amp and CDi CD player. I liked both, but was less a fan of the Cyrus design and quirkiness, so decided to go for the Arcam.

    Despite the minor problems I had with the CDS50, I've had none since receiving the replacement unit last summer.

    In March 2020, I decided to upgrade the Arcam SA20 to the SA30. The only minor issue I currently have is with the SA30, where occasionally when it is powering up the speakers 'pop', but it doesn't happen every time.
     
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  17. adamos

    adamos Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southeastern PA
    I’ve had an SA20 for a couple years now - while I’m planning to eventually upgrade I like the form and function and the build quality seems very good to me.
     
    Last edited: May 1, 2021
    Monty12 and jl151080 like this.
  18. jl151080

    jl151080 Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Bristol, UK
    I really like the SA20. I would have kept it as my stereo amp for years had they not released the SA30.
     
    Monty12 and adamos like this.
  19. exoendria

    exoendria Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toulouse, France
    Hello,
    I read the 20 pages of this thread :cool:

    I’m a beginner in HiFi, and I can see you are not jocking. :)

    So I bought this CD deck, and there is no « skipping issue » for me.

    I tested and listened it before at the reseller and I was very enthusiastic.

    It’s the same thing for me at home. I got the firmware v16-4 version, so I think the last one.

    I listened 5 CDs. Everything is well for now.

    I don’t care of the streaming.

    I chose it for the SACD, I want to explore this medium beside the Redbook CD.
    I’ll eventually use the Spdif or Toslink inputs for Dac

    And finally the burn-in is not finished but I’m already happy.

    I hope the mechanic and the electronic will last. This is the only chinese built part in my system with the electric filter...
     
    Scooter59, jl151080 and bruce2 like this.
  20. jl151080

    jl151080 Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Bristol, UK
    Glad you’re enjoying it.
     
  21. joelee

    joelee Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Houston
    I've had the SACD/CD37 for years and love it. Have not heard a player under $5000 that comes close in SACD and Redbook playback.
     
    Scooter59 likes this.
  22. Max&#99

    Max&#99 Well-Known Member

    I have had the Arcam CDS50 CD/SACD player & Streamer for 5 months now.

    As expected SACDs sound great but the sound quality when playing CDs is much better than expected.

    Although I didn’t buy for streaming, I find myself using the player to stream upto 192kHz · 24bit FLACs from my DLNA PC a couple of rooms away and I use the app to play internet radio which also sounds surprisingly good

    I have had no issues with it at all, and the sound is fantastic. Sure the browser for streaming has a few quirks but once you get the hang of it using it is easy to operate.

    Overall I am very happy with the quality of the CDS50.
     
    exoendria, Alan Beasley and jl151080 like this.
  23. exoendria

    exoendria Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toulouse, France
    Hello,

    I'm on 10 hours of operation for now.
    No issues.
    I notice a light "clic" when playing SACD at beginning of the disc. I think there is a switching, a different circuit used, something. I think it's totally normal and it's just a ear-able machine operation.

    I'm very satisfied.

    I think for the price of 950€, it's a valuable purchase.

    I would have preferred something made in England, Japan or USA. But ... OPPO was remarquable. I don't know if that preference is psychological. I think time will said it. The most important, besides where is it made, is the quality of the workers and the price being put in the components.
     
    Max&#99 likes this.
  24. Scooter59

    Scooter59 Forum Resident

    Location:
    North Shore, MA
    Just installed this unit in my system today. Rogue Sphinx tube hybrid and Epos M5 speakers. Only a few hours so far, but really impressed with handling of Redbook discs--about as natural and warm sounding as I've heard from a CD player. The SACD discs sound great too, but not quite the same leap. I had swapped out an Oppo 980.

    "Exit Music" from Radiohead's O.K. Computer just played and Yorke's almost whispered vocal had so much presence it was scary.
     
    jl151080, exoendria and wgriel like this.
  25. exoendria

    exoendria Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toulouse, France
    Glad to heard people with experience in CD players, pleased with the CDS50 :cool:
     
    jl151080 likes this.

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