Group test: CD players £400-£500 pt2

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Overview Price: £500 More info: Denon Size: 434x135x331mm Weight: 7.6kg Formats: CD, SACD Line out: Stereo phono Digital in/out: Coaxial, optical DAC: 24bit, 192Hz Burr Brown Denon DCD-1500AE Denon makes a surprisingly wide range of CD players for a company so heavily involved in home cinema. It lists six models on the website, the top three of which are also SACD players like the DCD-1500AE. Build is as slick as one expects from a genuine Japanese product with all the usual connections plus volume-adjustable headphone out. For the purists (that's us), there's a 'pure audio' button that defeats the display and the digital outputs and leaves you with a machine that looks dead even though it's playing; no lights at all. Maybe this has something to do with the great sound it produces (stranger things have proved true in hi-fi) but either way this is a great machine with a pitch perfect balance between energy and smoothness that means you get all the thrills of the music without it threatening to wear you out. The bass is particularly well defined and timely next to both the Cambridge and AA, and this resolution continues up through the band. The treble is if anything the only weak element, being a little lacking in body and crispness with cymbals for instance. This is rarely apparent however and the overall result is extremely engaging and revealing. Combine this with made-in-Japan build and you have an extremely tough act to beat.

Verdict Plus points Highly engaging player with a great balance of calm and energy, excellent build and useful SACD compatibility Minus points Very hard to fault but treble is a bit more solid from some, looks dead in pure audio mode

Overview Price: £400 More info: Pioneer Size: 420x100x340mm Weight: 4.5kg Formats: CD, SACD Line out: Stereo phono Digital out: Coaxial, optical DAC: 24bit, 192kHz Burr Brown Pioneer PD-D6 The PD-D6 is one of Pioneer's two dedicated SACD/CD players now that its core business has become flat screen displays, and it's a nicely put together unit with attractive casework that matches two amplifiers in the range. It uses Burr Brown DACs along with the latest Pro incarnation of its favoured Legato Link filtering system. This has four settings to play with but you can switch it off altogether if you'd prefer to concentrate on the music. There is a 'pure audio' switch on the remote that defeats the display lighting and leaves you with a red and a blue LED to match those on the A-A9 amplifier. The remote is compact and a little fiddly but has all the useful buttons including drawer open. The PD-D6 turned in a very appealing performance, it is relaxed yet resolute with good sensitivity to tempo without any tendency toward undue emphasis. It's not as meaty in the bass as the Cambridge for instance, nor as expansive as the Advance Acoustic but it has a good balance of neutrality and vivacity that keeps you listening. While not quite as nimble as the Denon it shares that player's smooth and clean sound which means that you can play it long and loud without discomfort. With SACD it brings out the subtleties that the plain CD machines can't reach, like the realism of fingers on tabla and the solidity of electric guitar. A very nice sounding player for those who appreciate a bit of finesse, especially if they have some SACDs.

Verdict Plus points Well judged balance of dynamics, timing and power give it a light touch that lets the music do its stuff Minus points Slightly fiddly remote handset, not as much energy as some

Final verdict All four of these players are extremely good at their job and it takes a nit picker like myself to find the few shortcomings that I did - in truth I could easily live with any of them. The Cambridge and Advance Acoustic represent two sides of the more energetic and bold style, the UK brand delivering a more even balance at the expense of some dryness while the French model produces a more idiosyncratic but highly entertaining alternative at a remarkably low price. The two Japanese brands go in for a smoother, more relaxed sound which I prefer because it makes for more high level playback pleasure, and of these the Denon, with its UK-tuned output stage, has a little more energy and life which puts it in front by a disc drawer.

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