Background

The first CD players I heard were horrible. Like everyone at the time, I expected CDs to offer perfect sound forever. The early CD players were barely listenable. At this time, many audiophiles condemned the CD media as the problem. They cited the limitations of the standard--16 bits, and proclaimed that the CD was not up to audiophile standards. Over the years, players got better and better. Many audiophiles acknowledged that some CD players did indeed sound very good. Unfortunately, most of these audiophile quality CD players were quite expensive. Many of them were simple modifications to existing commercial players.

Eventually, the quality of CD players got better and better. About 14 years ago, I bought a California Audio Labs ICON. It got very good reviews in Stereophile and other high-end magazines. The price was quite reasonable. I paid about $800.00. The unit was built better than the other CD players I had. It also sounded better.

After about 10 years, I gave the CD player to my daughter. She still uses it. Even if the technology is a bit outdated, the unit is certainly capable of providing even a few more years of enjoyment. Since giving up the ICON, I have been using DVD players as my main CD. The DVD player sounded better than the old ICON so I simply assumed that the sound was "state-of-the-art". Besides, the DVD players I had were all over $1,000 new.

Today, most DVD players are less than $500.00. The low priced DVD players have poor audio quality for CDs. Nonetheless, I had been holding off because I was waiting for newer generation disks that would offer better resolution than standard disks.

I have collected about 2000 CDs over the years. No matter what technology might come out, I still have a substantial investment in CDs. Despite my investment in CDs and my investment in audio equipment, I never bought a really great CD player. When I looked at the prices of the high-end CD players, I just couldn't bring myself to pay those high prices.

I found out that California Audio Labs used to be a Thai company. I was surprised. I thought that they were made in California. Not so. They were made in Bangkok. Go Video purchased California Audio Labs a few years ago and they are now based in the United States.

I found out that many of the engineers who designed my ICON and other players were here in Thailand. In fact, while the company had been sold, the factory remained in Thailand. I met with the owners of the factory and talked about making a CD player for nOrh.

Features

• 24 Bit/96 KHz Burr Brown PCM 1728 24-bit D/A processor
• Highest quality Matsushita transport with anti jitter circuit
• Two transformers--one for analog and one for audio
• 7 power supplies
• Dual 12AX7 tube analog output.
• 106 dB dynamic range
• 105 dB Signal-to-Noise (A-weighed)
• Crystal CD8414 Low Jitter Receiver
• Includes remote control

The CD-1 is an original design. It is not a retrofit of an existing player. Many retrofits suffer because they begin with an inexpensive player. The transports are cheap. The D/A converters are cheap. The op amps are cheap. The nOrh CD-1 is built from the using very high quality components. The result is a CD player that makes all your CDs sound better than you have ever heard them.

I have never owned a really high-end CD player until now. I simply couldn't bring myself to pay several thousand dollars when the technology changes so quickly. I used to dream about owning a $10,000 CD player but I always had other priorities. One of the great things about owning your own audio company is you can simply build whatever you want. I wanted a high-end CD player and now I have one.

Specifications

• Sampling Frequency: 16 kHz - 96 kHz.

• Output Level : Left and Right (Input 1.0 kHz), Limit: 2.0 V.RMS. (+/- 0.2 V.RMS).

• Channel Balanced : (Input 1.0 kHz).

• Frequency Response : Left and Right (Input 1-20 kHz.), Limit: 0.5 dB (Max).

• Distortion ( THD + Noise) : < 0.05%.

• Dynamic Range : 106 dB.

• Signal / Noise Ratio : < - 90 dB.

• Output D.C. Offset : 0.5 mv

• Min Load Impedance : 10 k Ohm

• Digital output : Limit 5V. p-p.

• 24 Bit 96 kHz Sampling Stereo D/A Conversion

• 8 x Over sampling at a 96 kHz Sampling Rate

• Multi Level Delta - Sigma DAC

• Low- Jitter Sensitivity, On - Chip Clock Recovery

• Repeat Last Sample on Error Option

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