Arcam's Radia series offers stylish components that keep the company's promise of true hi-fi at lower prices.
Our content manager, Gautam Raja, shares some thoughts on the silver disc revival.
Back in the day, IKEA sold a CD insert for its beloved bookcase, and one of the prettiest things I've ever had in my living room was an entire Billy filled with orderly jewel cases, arranged in alphabetical order. I could look at each of my 800 or so CDs and tell you where and how I got every one. There was the Rise Robots Rise and St Germain that I discovered in bargain bins at Virgin Megastore in Dubai. The Dr. Octagon that always made me think of the stoner friends who put me onto Kool Keith, Cypress Hill, White Zombie, Rage Against the Machine. The Jane's Addiction album from the friend who led me down the road of Pavement, the Pixies, and The Smashing Pumpkins. The Led Zeppelin box set with the crop circles on the cover that my mom got me on a work trip to England. The Dave Matthews Band album that spoke of unrequited love; the Leonard Cohen album that brought back young, foolish love; the Faithless album that grew with me from new love to lasting love.
As much as I revere high-res streaming and my ability to listen to all the music in the world, I know I've lost something special in this new age of play queues and digital album art. Standing in front of that Billy bookcase and scanning for the next spin was like having my life flash before my eyes, in a good way. A very good way.
I know I'm not alone. Most older hi-fi enthusiasts have stuck by their vinyl, but a lot of us Gen Xers and older Millennials didn't think physical digital media stood any chance against downloads and streaming, especially after "better than CD quality" became the norm. (Luckily, while I got rid of the jewel cases, I kept the discs and the covers, moving them into a set of CD folders that have traveled with me to every home.)
It's clear from the wide range of new disc players, ranging from the $25,500 T+A MP 3100 HV to the $499 NAD C538, that the silver disc—against all expectations—is seeing a resurgence. Heck, even the compact cassette is moving from vintage oddity for Gen Zers to fond memento for people my age reviving their lust for Nakamichis. (While you're digging around in the attic, bring down your portable radio cassette players to ride the boombox revival.)
The Arcam CD25 is part of the Radia series and is a perfect visual match for the A50 Signature integrated amp.
Arcam, the Go-To Recommendation
I'll always have a soft spot for Arcam. My first "real" source after the big-box brands was an Arcam CD72. Its slightly warm, weighty presentation still preserved the music's energy, and while I got a lot more from my next player, the Naim CD5, the CD72 got me hopelessly hooked on the magic of hi-fi. Arcam remains my go-to recommendation for people I know will become serious audiophiles but who, because of their personal budget or the market they're in, can't spend too much.
The Arcam CD25, part of the Radia series, is a lot more stylish than the workmanlike CD72. At just $1,800, you get new-generation ESS DAC chips in a balanced dual-mono configuration, dedicated reference voltage regulation, balanced XLR outputs, and a vibration-damped transport. Like all great hi-fi companies, Arcam extensively uses listening tests to back up circuit design choices. (You can always identify the "measurement-first" brands with products that are clean, clear, hyper-detailed, and emotionally dead.) While there are no inputs to use the internal DAC separately, there are digital outputs that let it serve as a transport with your favorite external DAC.
What Hi-Fi? recently gave the CD25 a five-star review, praising its "breathtaking clarity and awesome sense of musicality." Throughout the review, Andy Madden repeatedly mentioned weight, detail, silence, space, and scale, all "real hi-fi" attributes that Arcam has always excelled at delivering even at lower price points. He promised that not only will you want to bring out your old silver discs, but that the CD25 "will have you shopping for new additions to your CD collection."
Did you keep your CDs, or did you build a collection when they got cheap at the start of the streaming era? You did the right thing! Now, get a great player and start reliving every stage of your life.