CD/SACD-проигрыватели и транспорты — Audio Note CD Zero

The CD Zero is the compact CD player that opens the digital range of Audio Note (UK), which meets the firm's Level Zero criteria and which the maker describes as its most cost effective way to play Red Book CD. In one box it combines simplified versions of two separate Audio Note products, the CDT Zero/II transport and the DAC 0.1x converter. The UK price is GBP 2,400, and production to order takes roughly eight weeks per unit. Three fascia finishes are offered - anodised aluminium, black acrylic, and white acrylic on a white chassis.

Key specs that matter

A Philips TDA1543, a 16-bit multi-bit chip, does the conversion, and one 6111WA dual triode forms the output stage. The player reads discs through a custom-modified Philips mechanism with a 3 beam laser pickup at 780 nm. Reference output is about 3.0 V RMS from an output impedance of less than 2 kOhm, and channel balance is within 0.25 dB. The case is 300 mm wide, 98 mm high and 270 mm deep and the unit weighs 3.5 kg. It runs on 100 to 120 V or 220 to 240 V mains at 50 or 60 Hz and draws at most 48 W.

Engineering and use context

Audio Note uses the TDA1543 without oversampling and without a digital filter. The chip receives the disc data at its native 44.1 kHz rate and converts it directly, instead of passing it through the interpolation filter found in most players. The TDA1543 is a multi-bit device that outputs a current, and the 6111WA triode then does the work of an output amplifier, bringing the signal up to line level without an op-amp. Audio Note describes the 6111WA as a long-life sub-miniature valve, and its small size is part of what lets a valve stage fit inside a case under 10 cm tall. With only one valve in the signal path, the analogue section stays short and there is a single tube to replace when it reaches the end of its life. The maker says it tuned the player for listening results rather than for specification sheets, and the published data accordingly omits distortion and noise figures. The disc format is limited to Red Book CD at 16 bit and 44.1 kHz, with no file playback or streaming.

Pairing

With its high output level the CD Zero drives most line inputs to full volume at a low setting of the level control, and the compact case suits shelves or racks too shallow or narrow for full-width electronics.

Alternatives

The Audio Note CD 2.1x/II is the Level 1 player with a full 445 mm width, a Philips L1210 mechanism and Audio Note tantalum resistors.