Teac CD-H750
Can Teac's renowned
high-end connections help lift the cheapest player here to the number one spot?
Esoteric is
Teac’s high-end division and it’s widely regarded as the maker of some of the
world’s best CD transports. It’s a specialist in optical disc mechanisms and
still supports many legacy products with spares and service - in other words,
it takes them seriously. As you’d expect, with the trickle-down technology from
its high-end division, Teac also has a fine reputation for CD spinners, but
more recently has made its name in mini systems. The new CD-H750 follows this
theme, coming in a very attractive half-width box, available in black or
silver, that’s surprisingly nicely finished considering its price. No expense
appears to have been spared on its lavish brushed aluminium
fascia with rounded corners and side panels, and the remote control even has a
number keypad for direct track access.
Teac CD-H750 front angled view
The Teac
boasts full integration with iDevices; it will play
music files from them digitally through its own BurrBrown
PCM1791A DAC, and display the track names. And its fascia-mounted USB socket
even lets you record music out to a memory stick in MP3 format, or you can play
music off the memory stick instead of using the built-in CD drive. It also has
the usual coaxial and optical digital outputs should you wish to bypass the
unit’s internal DAC. The CD-H750 is a very versatile little bit of kit then,
with the emphasis on convenience and flexibility, but how does it sound?
The CD-H750 is equipped with the
highly-acclaimed BurrBrown PCM1791A DAC
On test
A hint of low
frequency hum may be inaudible at -100dB below the player's peak 2.05V output
but it does contribute about 60psec of overall jitter, bringing the total to a
still perfectly reasonable 175psec. Harmonic distortion is very low indeed,
even at the highest digital levels where the Teac suffers just 0.0005% through
the midrange and 0.002% at 20kHz/0dBFs - improving still further to 0.001% at
20kHz/-30dBFs.
Teac CD-H750 rear view
The 103dB
A-wtd S/N ratio is about 6-7dB shy of the very best
players here, but its low- level resolution remains very impressive indeed with
errors of just ±0.2dB over a full 100dB dynamic range. The digital filter looks
to be a conventional FIR type, but Teac's analogue output stage introduces some
extra response 'shaping' with a gently rolled- off treble reaching -0.1dB/10kHz
and -0.6dB /20kHz. The player's output impedance is only a little high at
415ohm.
Sound quality
In a word, good. Indeed, the Teac proves very impressive considering its price - in some
ways it gives little away to the more highly priced players. What you get is a
very smooth and sophisticated sound for a budget machine.
The CD drive of the CD-H750 is compatible with
not just Audio CDs, but CD-R/RW containing MP3/WMA files
New Order’s
Vanishing Point is fascinating; the opening 16-bar section shows it to be
smooth and devoid of nasties with no shrillness, edge
or distortion. Hi-hats are silky, and singer Barney Sumner’s slightly chilly
vocals come over a little warmer than usual. The often harsh backing synths
aren’t unpleasant to listen to, lacking any sense of glare that often afflicts
cheap digital players. Even more impressively, rhythms are really rather deftly
handled; the interplay between the hi-hat and bass drum is better carried than
expected.
Switching
to Randy Crawford’s You Might Need Somebody, and the
Teac continues to surprise, delivering a really sweet and enjoyable rendition.
All its sins are those of omission, which is to say that it doesn’t quite have
the low-level detail of the pricier machines here, but it never adds anything
unpleasant. There is a sense that images are less tightly located in the mix
than its fellow Group Test competitors, and this seems to provide a rather
diffuse stereo soundstage, but it is still impressively wide from left to
right. Overall dynamics are also slightly compressed, but the player makes up
for this to an extent by being very good at conveying subtle rhythmic
accenting. It is certainly no slouch.
The CD-H750 is Apple "Made for
iPod/iPhone" certified to ensure compatibility with Apple iOS devices,
allowing digital iPod/iPhone connections via USB cable
Bass is a
little lighter than some - the Visioneers’ track Come
Feel the Milky Night isn’t quite as impactful, for example. At the other end of
the spectrum, treble is slightly opaque and soft; it lacks some bite,
definition and focus. But still it makes a very pleasing noise overall, the
Teac showing itself capable of sewing all the strands
of the mix together in a highly satisfying way. It’s perhaps not the absolute
equal of the others here then, but it remains great at the price all the same.
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Details
·
Product: Teac CD-H750
·
Origin: Japan/China
·
Type: CD player
·
Price: $494.73
·
Weight: 4.3kg
·
Dimensions: (WxHxD) 290 x
113 x 316mm
· Features: BurrBrown PCM1791A
DAC, 1x RCA phono line output, 1x optical, 1x
coaxial digital out, USB stick/iPod connectivity
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