A new budget CD player is becoming an
increasingly rare event, so the arrival of Sansui’s CDD-201V is a welcome one.
A partner to the SAP-201V amp (which scored
four stars last month) this player makes a fine first impression. It’s solid
and well-finished, and the controls work with satisfying precision. We’re less
pleased by the humdrum remote and relatively noisy transport. Our sample was
obtrusively loud at first and reduced to an acceptable (but not inaudible)
level after a few hours.
Sansui
CDD-201V
The CDD-201V’s feature count is basic:
there are optical and coaxial digital outputs, and a single stereo pair of RCA
analogue outputs. That’s pretty standard spec for CD player at this level.
Listen to the likes of Sufian Stevens’
Illinois and this player digs up a decent amount of detail which, combined with
precise handling of leading edges to notes, makes it an insightful player for
the money.
It’s well judged tonally, too. There’s no
hint of undue emphasis at either frequency extreme, and none of the overt
richness some rivals impart to the sound to make things sound nicer than they
should be.
So far so good, then – but there are some
weaknesses. Dr. John’s Revolution from the excellent Locked Down
has a rhythm track that charges along like a train, and if a CD player doesn’t
get this right then the music’s impact suffers. And that’s the case here. For
all the Sansui’s clarity it doesn’t communicate the music’s momentum in the way
it should. We could do with stronger dynamic expression, too.
Listen
to the likes of Sufian Stevens’ Illinois and this player digs up a decent
amount of detail which, combined with precise handling of leading edges to
notes, makes it an insightful player for the money.
But let’s not get too negative. Your $300
buys a well-made player that delivers a fine degree of insight and tonal
neutrality. It’s significantly cheaper than established machines such as
Marantz’s $450 CD6004 too. However, in this case it’s clear exactly where the
extra money goes.
Use it with
Sansui
SAP-201V
The obvious partner really. Mirrors the CD
player’s sonic abilities and has a reasonable on-board DAC too.
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Details
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Price
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$300
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Ratings
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4/5
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