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Issue 46 £4.50

www.hifiplus.com

R E P R O D U C I N G T H E R E C O R D E D A R T S

MAXX Power -

from Wilson Audio

Continuous Sampling -

VPI, Aesthetix and Funk

Passing Through -

Karan, Modwright, Moon

Digital - Top to Bottom

Esoteric, Consonance, Cambridge

IN THEZONE

UK_US COVER 14/7/06 11:43 Page 2

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EQUIPMENT REVIEW

offered, yet (curiously) neither is itmissed. The CD 2.2 Linear is a CDplayer for those wanting refinementand unexaggerated naturalness aboveall other considerations. It’s perfect for naturally recorded Classical andJazz. Which isn’t to say its presentationlacks drive or impact – on the rightrecordings the sound will be stronglyprojected and powerful, but suchqualities won’t be grafted on to the

music by the CD player.

Going fromthe Linear 120 to theReference 2.2 Linear, I was initiallystruck by their similarities rather thantheir differences. Both offer clear well-balanced sound that’s smooth,natural, and very true to life. There’snothing flash or exaggerated about thepresentation. However, the ReferenceCD 2.2 Linear seems to offer greatertexture and separation. I immediatelynoticed this while playing a recordingof a piano trio; the violin and cello had greater substance and a more full-bodied yet sinuous tone quality. The two string instruments soundedcleaner with greater presence andsuperior projection.

There was a better sense of theindividual tonality of the violin andcello – a greater feeling of bows beingdrawn across strings – creating a morevivid and palpable sonic impression ofreal instruments playing in a real space.Although the piano had the dominantpart, you could hear the two stringinstruments come and go as dynamiclevels fluctuated. Very impressive! Butmore impressive was the manner inwhich detail was revealed - withoutundue emphasis or exaggeration. Here is a player that gives you themusic cleanly and honestly, withoutover-dramatising things.

This, it seems to me, is thehallmark of the ReferenceCD 2.2 Linear. It’s notperhaps a player thatimmediately knocks yousideways. Rather, it caresses

and beguiles the ear in waysthat are both informative and

seductive. The sound is very naturaland unexaggerated, very pure andrefined. Clarity seems to be greaterthan the CD Linear 120. There seems to be more space around voices andinstruments, creating a greater sense of depth. It’s smoother and cleaner too. But it’s an inner clarity, rather than detail being thrust at you.

While the Reference CD 2.2 Linear’s musical presentation was not as obviously dramatic and exciting asthat of the Jadis, it wasn’t lacking indynamic incident. The C2.2’s dynamicsmay appear to be of a subtler lessassertive kind, but the gradation of finecontrasts and delicate tonal hues pointsto its thoroughbred qualities. The CD2.2 is a very musical player – very easy to listen to, and extremely

Opera Audio ConsonanceReference CD 2.2 Linear CD Player

by Jimmy Hughes

I’ve already reported favourably on the amazingly affordable Opera AudioConsonance CD Linear 120, finding italluringly subtle and very easy on theear, yet deceptively detailed and surpri-singly revealing. Since then, I have toconfess to a brief but exciting Prescottstyle fling with the mega-expensive JadisJD-3 – an impressively dynamic anddetailed CD player that really had mesitting on the edge of my seat.

The Jadis won’t be to all tastes, but if orgasmic excitement and impact areyour bag, this really is some CD player.May I also publicly state that,after this sordid but deeplyexciting affair, my wife isstanding by me during thisdifficult personal moment in our relatio-ship. Indeed, at this very moment she’s notjust standing by me, but standing on my head with a massive pair of DocMartens adorning her dainty feet….

In essence, the Reference CD 2.2Linear carries on from where the CDLinear 120 left off. Both have the choiceof 44.1kHz or 88.2kHz sampling, anddispense with the digital anti-aliasingfilter on the basis that the cure is worsethan the disease. Sonically they’re alike, in so far as both players produce a smooth well-balanced neutral sort of presentation with good definitionand detail. By the way, there are twoother CD players in the Opera AudioConsonance range – both helpfullycalled 2.2. However, these are 24bit196kHz up-sampling models and arequite different to the Reference CD 2.2 linear reviewed here.

I liked this player for its velvetysmoothness. The brilliance and sheervisceral impact of the Jadis is not

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enjoyable. It’s deceptively detailed andinformative because everything soundsso natural and relaxed. But don’t let thisfool you into thinking the presentation is bland or lacking in real detail.

As befits a more expensive player,the CD 2.2 is better built and morelavishly styled than the CD Linear 120.You get the Cherry wood slats on thetop, and a slightlythicker frontpanel.

And thenthere are the two large chrome knobs on the front panel.What a surprise! These work in Joystickfashion. To be honest, when I first gotthe player, I actually wondered if these wibbly-wobbly knobs had beendamaged in transit. I expected them toturn; instead, they rock up and downand side to side! I can’t say I like thearrangement – it feels a bit crude – but it works well enough, and you can always operate the player via itsremote handset

The transport sometimes sounded a bit clunky, making a rattling noise asthough the disc hadn’t quite seateditself properly. You’ve also got to becarefully when loading the disc, as alight touch on the loading tray causes it to close – and close rather quickly!Once the disc is seated, the transportseems pretty quiet – there’s just a barely audible whirr as the disc spins.

Looking inside, internal build qualityis very good, and the player is logicallylaid out with the power supply on one

side, the audio section on the other, andthe transport in the centre. Althoughessentially a solid-state player, there is a single Sovtek C6H30 valve for theanalogue output stage. D/A converterchip is a TDA1543. In terms of start timeand track access, the player is averagelyresponsive; the CD 2.2 Linear is amachine built for comfort rather thanspeed. There’s provision to dim or switchoff the player’s illuminated display,

otherwise features and facilitiesare pretty basic.

Actually, there were tworeasons I took the top off the player;the first (obviously) was to inspectbuild quality, the second wasto investigate a problem that kept

occurring after about 45 minutes ofuse. Basically there was a hissing/rustling sort of sound from the leftchannel. It would start fairly quietlyand slowly build up. Eventually themusic would all but disintegrate,sounding like a badly worn LP playedwith a blunt pin. After a further10 or 15 minutes the noise would be so bad it was impossible to ignore - you’d have to turn the player off.

It sounded suspiciously like a dryjoint. So I had a quick poke around tosee if I could locate the componentgiving trouble. Alas, no luck. But I didnotice two things. The first – sod’s law!– was that the noise miraculously

disappeared with the top off –indicating that the cause of theproblem was heat build up. No matterhow I prodded and poked, the hissingnoise could not be induced. I’ve since established that the problem isdefinitely heat related; possibly thevalve is playing up when it reaches acertain temperature and a replacementwould cure the noise.

The second thing I noticed was thatthe player sounded even better with the top off! The music was slightly freer -more open and relaxed sounding -

with better definition and detail. The chassis and top of

the Reference CD 2.2Linear are made fromaluminium, and this is known to be lessprone to eddy-current effectscompared with achassis made fromsteel. But it’s still a

metal chassis, andobviously it still has

some effect on things – albeit slight

Because of the noiseproblem outlined, I

ended up using myreview sample minus its top.

However I don’t suggest you try this athome kids, as doing so exposes theinsides (and yourself) to risk of electricshock and possible death. This noiseissue aside, the sound produced by the player was very very good. I reallyliked the creamy smooth refinedpresentation of the Reference CD 2.2Linear. Playing Nikolaus Harnoncourt’sTeldec recordings of Handel’s OperaSaul, the lovely openness and neutralityof the player really helped with thisrather closed-in and slightly boxy Liverecording.

I don’t think I’d ever heard it soundso beautiful and natural. The voicesstill had a slightly backward placementin the soundstage, but it just soundedas though the hall acoustics were

EQUIPMENT REVIEW

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colouring the sound – not the equip-ment. More to the point, the musicalpresentation was very convincingoverall. With opera, there can be atendency just to listen to the individualvoices. But, with the Reference CD 2.2 Linear, the voices were not simplybacked by orchestral instruments; theorchestra was very much an instru-mental voice behind the vocal line –harmonising it exquisitely.

Another recording that benefitedfrom the Reference CD 2.2Linear’s openness andneutrality – alsoon Teldec -

was theset of Mozartpiano concertoswith Daniel Barenboimand the Berlin Philharmonic.Now these have a fairly full/darkslightly ‘thick’ sort of sound, withoutmuch transparency. The orchestra iswarm but recessed, without much biteor brilliance. The Reference CD 2.2Linear did not change the basicpresentation as such, but seemed toopen-up what had previously beenrather thick/dense textures.

It was almost as though therecording was being illuminated fromwithin – if that makes sense. Strings and winds positively glowed, soundingluminous yet sweet and honeyed. I’dnever have believed these recordingscould be transformed like this. Bycomparison, The CD Linear 120 wasless noticeably transparent and refined– in particular, the upper partials of the violins sounded a tad thinner andmore exposed. The Jadis JD-3 workeddifferently; metaphorically flooding the

sound with light to brighten-up dulltextures. Very impressive! But what I liked about the Reference CD 2.2 was the way it retained the essentialqualities of the Barenboim Mozartrecordings while minimising whatmight be seen as their limitations.

In the case of the Barenboim/Mozartset – certainly, with the later moresymphonic concertos - it sounds to meas though the orchestra used was fairly

big, with a reasonably large bodyof strings. So the sound

in the hall

would havebeen fairly dense. If you’re going to reproduce the original soundaccurately you need to suggest this,and not make it sound as though it’sjust a handful of players using bright-sounding Period instruments. This theReference CD 2.2 Linear did - withconsiderable distinction.

When I originally started auditioningthe Reference CD 2.2 Linear, I wasn’tinitially convinced it was that muchbetter than the cheaper CD linear 120. It sounded good, but I wasn’t bowledover by it as I was with the Jadis JD3.However, the more I listened, the moreobvious it became that the ReferenceCD 2.2 Linear did produce significantlybetter results than the CD Linear 120. To prove it, just live with the Reference

Type: CD player with no brick wall

filter and tube analogue

output stage.

Tube Complement: 1x C6H30

Sampling Rate: 44.1 or 88.2kHz

Outputs: 1pr single-ended RCA

1x co-axial digital RCA

Output Level: 2.35v

Dimensions (WxHxD): 430 x 210 x 33mm

Weight: 16Kg

Finish: As shown

Price: £1395

UK Distributor:

Alium Audio

Tel. (44)(0)1273 325901

Net. www.aliumaudio.com

TECHNICAL SPECIF ICATIONS

CD 2.2 Linear for a few days, get used toit, then go back to the CD Linear 120 – No Contest!

While superficially the two playersappear to offer a similar sort of overallpresentation (smooth, natural, and well-balanced) the Reference CD 2.2 is even clearer and more transparent,with better fine detail and a greatersense of ambience and space. It’scleaner too, with less high frequencyedge and hash. You especially noticethis on massed violins, which have agreater homogeneity and tonal allurewhen heard via this CD player. You get

a better sense of the body of sound – not just the bass and

treble extremes. A really good CD

player then – one tomarry rather than havea fling with. For me, the Reference CD 2.2 Linear’s greatest

strength is its sheer easy,unexaggerated naturalness –

it does its job effortlessly well. Sowell, you hardly notice the mechanics

of reproduction. In this sense it’s veryanalogue – even more so than theexcellent CD Linear 120.

EQUIPMENT REVIEW

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