CD72/92 Design Details
The performance of the DiVA CD72 and CD92 compact disc players confirm just how far Arcam has come in defining the high level of sound quality available from this well established replay medium.
Arcam has made award winning CD players since 1987 and we have spent many years improving their audio performance. Since its launch in June 1999, the Alpha 7SE established itself as the best sounding mid-priced CD player on the market, helping Arcam to achieve the number one market position by value for CD players in the UK in 1999 and 2000.
The new CD72 uses a 24 bit Burr Brown multi level delta sigma DAC and a proven Sony CD text mechanism. Special care has been taken to optimize the master clock design for extremely low jitter, whilst the main circuit board uses carefully tuned analogue filters with audiophile quality components in all critical areas. The player also comes with a large well screened power transformer and six separately regulated power supplies. Damping is applied to key components which are subject to microphonic effects. The chassis is rigidly constructed for best mechanical characteristics and includes a slab of Sontech sound deadening material, until now only seen in our very expensive FMJ CD player; this too has a major beneficial impact on sound quality. Both optical and coaxial digital outputs are included for connection to an external DAC or digital recorder.
The CD92 adds a sophisticated output module, incorporating an ultra low jitter master clock and the custom built dCS** Ring DAC circuitry from the FMJ CD23. The Ring DAC combines the low level linearity of bitstream converters with the clean ultrasonic-free output of the best multibit converters, and delivers near 24 bit resolution with negligible differential non-linearity. Digital filtering is provided by the latest Pacific Microsonics PMD200 24 bit digital signal processor, which also decodes HDCD recordings. The module has extra power regulation on board to minimize interaction between stages and is constructed with a four layer circuit board to ensure optimized grounding and the shortest possible signal paths.
The CD92 was designed and manufactured in the UK and available in black or silver finishes.