Cambridge Audio One CD player

[makropulos]

Except, is not Cambridge Audio pretty much part of the Richer Sounds stable? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_Partnership

How interesting. Never knew that.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I realise that it's a bit of stable doors and bolted horses but, in seeing if there were any reviews of this "player" which mentioned this idiosyncracy, I came across this:

"Is there anything else I should know?

It's worth noting the Cambridge Audio One does not support gapless CD playback. This is a minor feature of CDs most will only encounter rarely. Usually there is a small pause between when one CD track ends and another begins. Some tracks - perhaps most commonly found in musicals - are designed to lead directly into the next track without a pause. This is known as gapless CD playback, and not having this feature means the Cambridge Audio One will have a small pause between these tracks."

from, of all places, Which? Magazine. Why on earth, though, would anyone at Cambridge Audio, which produces some well-designed kit, have thought that anyone would want "gapped" playback?

Which? magazine has been very low in my estimation for many years. Simplistic assumptions are rife.

Re the gapless play issue in general, I had a VW car with a gappy CD player. I complained to the garage who sold the car, and they contacted VW, who maintained it wasn't a fault, but a "characteristic". So I wrote to VW several times, only to receive a one-line reply at the end of the 28 days. This was before Emmisiongate, but I did ask whether the brakes on their vehicles were free from "characteristics".

[Dave2002]

Which? magazine has been very low in my estimation for many years. Simplistic assumptions are rife.

Re the gapless play issue in general, I had a VW car with a gappy CD player. I complained to the garage who sold the car, and they contacted VW, who maintained it wasn't a fault, but a "characteristic". So I wrote to VW several times, only to receive a one-line reply at the end of the 28 days. This was before Emmisiongate, but I did ask whether the brakes on their vehicles were free from "characteristics".

Most consumer organisations are pretty hopeless these days. Trading standards used to have some clout, but are now really deprived of funds. Some consumer organisations are aware of problems, and I think would like to help, but without adequate resources poor firms can produce and sell goods which aren’t fit for purpose and get away with it. Resort to law is an option, but the barriers to doing so are quite high, and many factors tend to swing in favour of the supplier, with only modest chance of success. Some suppliers are trying to be reasonable, but some are blatantly bad, and aware of their own behaviours.

[makropulos]

I realise that it's a bit of stable doors and bolted horses but, in seeing if there were any reviews of this "player" which mentioned this idiosyncracy, I came across this:

"Is there anything else I should know?

It's worth noting the Cambridge Audio One does not support gapless CD playback. This is a minor feature of CDs most will only encounter rarely.

Thanks for unearthing this. Rather shocking that Which? should be so dismissive of something I'm sure everyone on this forum knows is far more than a "minor" feature! As you say, it's disturbing that Cambridge Audio should even contemplate making a machine that doesn't support gapless play.

[makropulos]

Oh dear. Second-hand Denon RCD N-8 arrived yesterday and I set it up this morning. Perfect results for 20 minutes (as long as the much-tracked Paganini Rhapsody took to play perfectly, i.e. gaplessly). I had lunch and returned to play more music. Turned on machine, and there was a terrifying buzz through both speakers then complete failure. It's now dead and the problem feels as if it might be terminal. It's fair to say I'm feeling distinctly aggrieved! Cutting to the chase here, can anybody recommend a reasonably priced, all-in-one machine that plays CDs properly (i.e. gapless playing)? I can't help thinking this ought to be an incredibly simple question that's turning out to have very few satisfactory answers –so I'd be genuinely grateful for any suggestions based on forumites' own experiences about what to buy.

[Dave2002]

The Denon RCD N-8 is, as I suspected, an all in one system - which I think is the type of thing you were looking for. Something like this - https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_n...&ul_noapp=true with network capabilities.

I don't know how fixable those devices are - or whether they are economic to fix. You should check with the seller (assuming it was bought off the web) - maybe the seller would be able to help, though some might stonewall with caveat emptor.

If fixeable, then I suspect there are people who would know how to do it.

I wouldn't expect full size CD players to have this kind of issue, but I think you particularly wanted a small compact unit for use as a second system.

[richardfinegold]

Oh dear. Second-hand Denon RCD N-8 arrived yesterday and I set it up this morning. Perfect results for 20 minutes (as long as the much-tracked Paganini Rhapsody took to play perfectly, i.e. gaplessly). I had lunch and returned to play more music. Turned on machine, and there was a terrifying buzz through both speakers then complete failure. It's now dead and the problem feels as if it might be terminal. It's fair to say I'm feeling distinctly aggrieved! Cutting to the chase here, can anybody recommend a reasonably priced, all-in-one machine that plays CDs properly (i.e. gapless playing)? I can't help thinking this ought to be an incredibly simple question that's turning out to have very few satisfactory answers –so I'd be genuinely grateful for any suggestions based on forumites' own experiences about what to buy.

Have you contacted the seller? And to be fair, the problem isn’t getting a gapless CDP, which may have been unique to the Cambridge unit.
Define a budget. Do you have any brick and mortar stores you can visit, preferably with a sample CD in hand? Another option would be to get separates that are physically diminutive. Cyrus, for example, came out with mini sized components years ago, each one about half the size of a regular component, and other companies followed suit. You could stack their mini CDP/DAC on their mini integrated amp.

[cloughie]

Have you contacted the seller? And to be fair, the problem isn’t getting a gapless CDP, which may have been unique to the Cambridge unit.
Define a budget. Do you have any brick and mortar stores you can visit, preferably with a sample CD in hand? Another option would be to get separates that are physically diminutive. Cyrus, for example, came out with mini sized components years ago, each one about half the size of a regular component, and other companies followed suit. You could stack their mini CDP/DAC on their mini integrated amp.

Do Yamaha still do a mini system - I have one set up in the kitchen/diner, I would guess 10 years old which is a box and small separate speakers with CD/FM/DAB and USB, delivering a good sound.

[makropulos]

Do Yamaha still do a mini system - I have one set up in the kitchen/diner, I would guess 10 years old which is a box and small separate speakers with CD/FM/DAB and USB, delivering a good sound.

I'll have a look and see what there is from Yamaha these days –thanks for the suggestion. I've had very good normal sized CD players from them in the past.

[Dave2002]

I'll have a look and see what there is from Yamaha these days –thanks for the suggestion. I've had very good normal sized CD players from them in the past.

Depending on where you live you might be able to get a demo of a system, and take some CDs of variations to test out the gapless modes, before committing to another one. In the past I was able to get demos in John Lewis, and also in Richer Sounds. If you offer to pay enough (really expensive kit - probably not applicable here) some outlets will lend you kit on home trial, though don't expect to get much - if any - of a discount.

I'm surprised that Denon kit has a problem. Perhaps things have changed over the last few decades - used to be good AFAIK, though of course the thread start was based on Cambridge Audio units.

[makropulos]

I'm surprised that Denon kit has a problem. Perhaps things have changed over the last few decades - used to be good AFAIK, though of course the thread start was based on Cambridge Audio units.

Completely agree –it surprised me too. I have a full size system which includes several Denon components and they've been working extremely well for several years.

[makropulos]

The Denon RCD N-8 is, as I suspected, an all in one system - which I think is the type of thing you were looking for. Something like this - https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_n...&ul_noapp=true with network capabilities.

I don't know how fixable those devices are - or whether they are economic to fix. You should check with the seller (assuming it was bought off the web) - maybe the seller would be able to help, though some might stonewall with caveat emptor.

If fixeable, then I suspect there are people who would know how to do it.

I wouldn't expect full size CD players to have this kind of issue, but I think you particularly wanted a small compact unit for use as a second system.

Not sure how fixable these all-in-one units are. The dodgy Denon may turn out to be an expensive mistake that I'll have to put down to experience. And yes, it's a small second system that's the issue here.

[Cockney Sparrow]

can anybody recommend a reasonably priced, all-in-one machine that plays CDs properly (i.e. gapless playing)? I can't help thinking this ought to be an incredibly simple question that's turning out to have very few satisfactory answers –so I'd be genuinely grateful for any suggestions based on forumites' own experiences about what to buy.

I'm out of touch with the offerings in the audio market generally - gave up reading the magazines over 10 years ago (did I really need to match a CD player to an amp, and to speakers?). Nowadays I would buy a separate and not expensive player for CDs - (now checking for proper=gapless - play) on the basis that the tray/lens/reader is a mechanical component and liable to fail. (Also, unless entering the luxury boutique end of the market, with a shrinking market for CD/DVD readers, all mechanisms are likely to be made by one or two manufacturers - so I just need a digital signal to my DAC).

However - to address your question. Kitchen re-design meant that very little space could be allocated to a sound system, so I bought a TEAC DR-H358i All in One - have to say it was end of line in 2011! Its 21.5cm wide x 10.6cm high x 34.7cm deep -It feeds ceiling speakers which I would warn all not to adopt. Either the very concept is wrong or I need much better speakers because the sound is very harsh. A dealer I respect recommended TEAC products as at that time they did maintain a parts/service facility over extended years and they are a large enough company - also making TASCAM professional units. ON EDIT - most importantly tested today and as I thought its gapless.

I had a quick look at present day TEAC all in one units and they do one, but its over £3,000 with streaming and CD player and at that price its a niche product in my eyes. They may do others, I'm not sure.

I'd agree with also looking at Yamaha offerings as they too are a worldwide company so hopefully observant of the need to play properly. (I would also put Pioneer into that category).

[Dave2002]

Not sure how fixable these all-in-one units are. The dodgy Denon may turn out to be an expensive mistake that I'll have to put down to experience. And yes, it's a small second system that's the issue here.

If it's not fixable (economically) or the seller - assuming you did buy it - is unforgiving - you might find someone would take it for spares - and give you a small return.

[cmr_for3]

I was going to recommend this to the OP on the basis that I have it's partner amp https://www.richersounds.com/tangent-cd-mkii.html

On researching the gapless capabilities of it (alas it is not) I came across this interesting nugget http://audio-talk.co.uk/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=7669

I found a workaround for the gapless playback issue with the Tangent CDII.

I decided to try DSOTM as a guinea pig for a little experiment:
I’d found instructions on the web from Mac expert Kirk McElhearn, on how to rip a CD to a single file using iTunes. It’s one of those hidden features that has been there since the year dot, but I’d never needed it until now; why would I?

Insert CD into the drive, then select it when it appears and iTunes has fetched its track info. Cmd-A (Mac) or Ctrl-A (Windows) selects all the tracks, then using the gear symbol at the right of the window, select the “Join Tracks” option from the drop-down menu. Import the CD and it shows up as a single track once the import is complete.

The single file is then burned to a CDR and, no gaps when the CDR is played on the Tangent player.

As the Tangent has no track display it made no difference that the album was a single file. It’s a workaround that shouldn’t be necessary, but it works perfectly and you only have to do it once for each CD that has segued tracks.
The CDR can be stored in the caddy with the original CD. I just labelled mine “ DSOTM single file version” Job done.
Abbey Road next, but not tonight.



I think this issue must be rather widespread. I'll keep an eye out for something suitable for the OP.