Atoll CD80 Signature CD Player $1750

(3.75h, 17.32w, 12d, 14 lbs)

Made in France With Three Year Warranty!

As regular readers know, I’m a big fan of CDs and CD players. As a classical piano fan first and foremost, I don’t care to listen through mechanical noise and PRETEND is isn’t there. IT IS.

The same holds true for great female singers with sparse accompaniment. I also like to choose the disc I’m going to play and am very likely to listen to the entire program- as the artist intended. The silver disc is my favorite format for this. I find streaming fine for keeping me company. But for diving into the depths of Chopin, give me CDs seven days a week. Please ignore CD naysayers. They know not of which they speak.

Atoll has hit the nail on the head of marvelous sounding gear at reasonable pricing. Atoll designers carefully listen to their products in the design phase. Atoll prefers the Burr Brown DAC sound for CD’s vs a myriad of competitors. They’re quick to tell you that what they DO around the DAC, is more important than the DAC itself. Atoll’s line stage, post DAC, is discrete. They don’t run a pile of chips. In actuality, Atoll “voices” the sound of its CD players. They don’t sound sterile.

CD80 Signature has a fast, responsive mechanism. It’s a joy to use. Most CD players, even the fine Marantz line, tends to be tardy in response to your commands.

CD80 Signature has a uniquely open/airy sound for this reasonable price point. If we compare it to the most logical competitor, the Denon DCD1700, the Denon (1 year warranty by the way) is darker sounding. The Denon’s pace sounds more plodding.

I much prefer Atoll’s spacious image- which also delivers a tight foundation of bass. Many modestly built CD players cut corners in the power supply and deliver a sound that’s too lean for my liking.

Atoll achieves this lovely balance in CD80 Signature by using EIGHT regulated power supplies. It runs multiple transformers and has almost 13,000 uF of filter capacitance- more than most 50 watt amplifiers have.

We have chosen CD80 Sig over CD 50 Sig, because it’s only $100 more. The 80 has two more power supplies and not quite double the filter caps. For a C-note, I’ll “force” you to buy CD80 Signature.

If you insist in buying at the popular $1k price point, you’re going to get something from China or Viet Nam that isn’t nearly as refined in sound, or build, as what Atoll has created. Please consider stepping up to CD80 Signature as your silver disc player for the next couple of decades.