Cambridge Audio Topaz CD5 CD-player

Considering they were, there must really be a fair few old Japanese stand systems out there. Although considerably-built and now quite awesome in a retro way, they were replaced with more modern hardware and consigned to shed a garage or loft. Could they be brought back into service, if only as 'second-room' systems? Even those once cutting-edge CDs could be an alternative, courtesy of the input signal selector's 'auxiliary' position. And a suitable player, naturally.

Then there are the integrated systems that - despite the CD player going south - are still in daily use thanks for their radio tuners, or the auxiliary input signals that are fed similar devices or by iPhones. The better of these systems were sold by well-known brands and, thanks to some mixture of familiarity and not-trivial cost, their hapless owners are unwilling to part together. Fixing the disk that is internal - transport may not be a feasible option, but CD playback may be restored having an outside player. Technology moves on, and even with a well-chosen modern budget player your silver discs might wind up seeming better than they did formerly.

Or might you've got vinyl at the other, or a more modern budget system designed with streamery and smartphones in your mind at one extreme? Neither of which will be of much help if you have rediscovered a cache of CDs from your younger days and desire to play them. Once again, an adequate entry level player could fit the bill.

This type of machine could be Cambridge's Topaz CD5 - the entry level version from a marque best known for demonstrating that sound quality and value-for-money need not be mutually exclusive. Although bestowed with all the tasteful styling of its more luxuriously-appointed brethren, the CD5 is as fundamental as it comes. For instance, it is the first cd player I Have come across in years not to possess a digital output for external DACs and so on. In the event you need this attribute, you will want the 'upgrade' CDI0. The CD5's signal-processing board has empty spaces where the coaxial output componentry would go.

But when you are seeking to revive an older hifi stand or restore CD playback to a method that otherwise suits you, then that digital output is probably superfluous - particularly if cost is a problem. The sole back-panel connectors offered are phono sockets carrying line-level stereo audio to your own gear (note that sound cables aren't supplied). The CD5 has two characteristics that have practical worth that is greater anyhow. First of all, it's a full-function remote handset (which will even control the matching Cambridge amps). Second, it's going to play CD ROMs containing MP3 or WMA tracks. This could be of specific value for celebrations or other functions when long periods of unattended background music are required. Evidently, the CD5's transport is compatible with CD-R and cd rw media.

Such simplicity means the CD5 is as user-friendly as it could be. Internal construction is tidy and neat, as with other Cambridge products. Much of the circuitry is on a single ALi M5673 processor; the DAC, meanwhile, is a Wolfson WM8761 (followed by an analogue 2nd-order Butterworth active-filter). This DAC might be able to manage 192/24, but it is constantly fed 44.1/16 here as no upsampling tricks are applied by the CD5. Providing the backdrop muscle is a conventional 'linear' power supply.

SOUND QUALITY

The CD5 did not, as our boxout shows, do especially well on the test bench. Nevertheless with my CD of Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures, classics like She's Lost Control flowed quite nicely when it comes to tempo and pace; the sparse feeling - an amalgam of Ian Curtis' exceptional vocal delivery, Peter Hook's melodic bass guitar, Bernard Sumner's angular guitar, Stephen Morris's mechanistic percussion and producer Mark Hannett's pioneering use of digital-delay effects - managed to convince, via two replay chains (Roksan K2 BT amplifier/Acoustic Energy AE109 speakers; Standard DAC2 HGC/R headset. Bass weight is alas not what it could be, although what you hear is well defined.

It can also be surprisingly revealing the background, for a budget player hum at the beginning of Time on Pink Floyd's peerless Dark Side of the Moon. Nonetheless, in turn this classic record reveals a significant shortcoming of the CD5 - and one that just isn't adequate. A number of other CDs - specially assorted dance-music ancient works and compilations - are similarly-changed. If by opportunity that is improbable your CD set consists entirely of albums with neatly- tracks that are delineated then you certainly should be OK.

Stravinsky's colourful Rite of Spring (Simon Rattle/BSO) is also plagued by the 'gap' difficulty, spoiling the chimera of a live performance. The tempo, tempo and detailing noted previously were apparent here also, the latter only enduring during the loudest climaxes when more strident ones masked some more subtle aspects of the orchestra. This was noticeable to a greater extent with MP3 files - no great surprise! - But tonal balance and drive were mostly preserved. Occasionally, a slight 'advantage' to proceeding can be heard during quiet passages (Rite of Spring's bassoon, for example).

DECISION

The CD5 is more showing, and contains more of the rhythmic 'snap' that brings - for example - dancing and rock to life. However, the Blu-ray player in question did manage to play 'gapless' CDs without...urn...gaps. The CD5's inability to do this marks down it.