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Quad 99CDP cd player. A review by Colin MacKenzie
At last! Quad have produced a cd player suitable for both Quad owners and mortals who just desire great sound.
The new Quad 99 CD-P initially looks the same as the Quad 99CD (only 10mm higher) but that's where the similarity ends. The original 99 compact disc player (99CD) was designed to work only with the 99 pre amp. This was fine for owners of a complete Quad system that had the required inputs (called 'bus' inputs) but if you had older Quad equipment you couldn't upgrade your cd player. It also completely excluded owners of other brands.
One of the first things to notice is about the 99 CD-P has its own independent mains supply and can work with any conventional integrated amplifier. It even goes one better than that. It also has a set of sockets called 'variable output'. This means that you can vary the amount of signal (volume) leaving the player (via the remote control)and feed it directly into a power amplifier. The next paragraph can be skipped by hifi buffs.
The majority of amplifiers are called integrated amplifiers, they have this name as they 'integrate' the pre-amp and power amp. Crudely, a pre-amp is a device to select the source (whether it be turntable, tape or cd). The power amp takes the signal from the pre-amp and makes it loud. Obviously the advantage of plugging a cd player directly into the power amplifier and not through the pre-amp means there are less ways to interfere with the sound and should give better reproduction. Unless the cd player has a variable output you should not plug it directly into a power amp!
The differences between the CD-P and the 99CD are more than skin deep. As well as a complete electronic redesign, the cd mechanism used is the latest Philips designed for hifi and broadcast use, the dac (the digital to analogue convertor) is also of a new high specification. There is a fixed output and as mentioned earlier a high quality variable output. This is a parallel output from the DAC (parallel to the fixed output) which goes simply via a high quality potentiometer. There is also six digital inputs. This means that if you have a piece of equipment which has a digital output such as a dab tuner, mini disc or sky box you can plug it into the high quality dac and improve the sound of these source components. The CD-P is designed to be a stand alone player for anyone wanting to plug it into their own hifi system but it has the 'bus' system which means that if you buy the Quad 99 system you can use the one remote control for the pre-amp and compact disc player.
How does it perform?
The CD-P was first connected into a quad system via the bus connection. The sound was agreeable and detailed. However when it was connected directly to the power amp via the variable output it became clear that this is a world class cd player. The limitation of the bus system is that the interconnect cables are not as high quality as good quality separate interconnects. Listening through the variable output (using a high quality cable) not only was the detail much higher but also sibilance completely disappeared on a recording that always sounded slightly 'edgy' on other cd players. The sound stage and three dimension quality of the instruments was superb, no doubt aided by the excellent Quad 22L speakers which deserve a high quality input. We'd recommend users to try high quality interconnects rather than rely on the 'bus' system.
The first one was sold within 24 hours of arriving in our Falkirk store. Quad are keen to point out this is not a 'combi' unit. I.E. it's not a pre-amplifier/cd player but a stand alone cd player that can be used to bypass a pre-amp for higher quality in certain circumstances.
This cd player offers high end at an affordable price. Used correctly it will perform in comparison to other products which are much more expensive. There is a an old saying in hifi which says" rubbish in; rubbish out". Using this cd player won't give you rubbish. Highly recommended.
Recommendations
Looking for an audiophile cd player? Try the CD-P but use high quality cables. Listen for smooth detailed sound in comparison to lesser beasties.
Specifications
Maximum Line Output Level (RCA) 2.4VRMS
Maximum Line Output Level (Quad-Link) 5.3VRMS
Balanced Frequency Response 20Hz-20kHz (+0dB/-0.5dB)
Total Harmonic Distortion <0.002% at 1kHz
Signal to Noise Ratio >110dB, 24 bit >95dB
16 bit Crosstalk <-100dB at 1kHz
DA Converter Max resolution 24bit
Max sampling speed 192kHz
Upsampling x2
Digital Audio Inputs 3 x RCA Coax 75ohm, SPDIF 3 x Optical TosLink
SPDIF Digital Audio Outputs Optical TosLink, SPDIF Disc compatibility
CD-DA Conventional Audio
CD CD-R Recordable CD (finalised and unfinalised)
CD-RW Rewritable CD (finalised and unfinalised)
Dimensions 80mm x 321mm x 310mm Weight 20.5kg net
