ON TEST Denon DCD-2500NE Super Audio CD Player
30 Australian Hi-Fi http://www.avhub.com.au
Tema III, by Giovanni Sallima, which I loved
not only for the music, which is ghostly and
ethereal, but for the sound, particularly that
of the piano, where Stott keeps her toe on the
sustain pedal for extended periods, allow-
ing all the notes to mix in the air to create
a glorious melange of sound. Also, listen to
where Ma plays in unison with himself,
starting at around 5.04: I could barely believe
it was one person playing a single cello. But
when I say these were my favourites, it was
hard to put these above Messiaen’s Louange à
L’eternité de Jésus (from Quartet for the End of
Time), or Grieg’sThe Wounded Heart, Op. 34,
No. 1(fromElegaic Melodies), and I laughed
out loud when I heard the close-out track was
Schubert’sAve Maria, (D 839, Op 52, No 6)...
very fitting and very funny!If this album inspires you to purchase
Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time (or,
more accurately, Quatuor Pour La Fin Du
Temps), most authorities recommend the
Tashi quartet on RCA, and I’d agree, but if
you can’t fi nd it, try the Deutche Grammo-
phon version with Gil Shaham, Jian Wang,
Myung Whun Chung and Paul Meyer.
My next CD was a world away from
Messiaen, yet not. Spoon’s latest album, ‘Hot
Thoughts’, is the best they’ve ever done,
which is what I think I’ve said of every single
one of the eight albums that preceded it.
The band, led by Britt Daniel, is constantly
inventing and re-inventing itself and has a
talent for layering sounds and melodies
over each other whilst still retaininga forward-moving cohesive musical
thought-bubble. This time around Spoon’s
added an extra layer of funk and paid
homage to hip-hop and dance music styles,
whilst also avoiding these styles forcing it
into any strict tempos. Stand-outs for me
were the title track, Do I Have To Talk You Into
It, and Shotgun, but they were hard to pick
over Whisper... and Can I Sit Next To You. The
Denon DCD-2500NE delivered this album
with a clarity that made me feel I was sitting
in the control room at the studio, and this
is one hell-of-a-well recorded album. Maybe
it’s dynamically a little on the shy side, but
the sonics are fabulous. If you’ve never heard
Spoon, buy ‘Hot Thoughts’ right now to
prove that I’m right, and you’ll love them,
and then buy all their other albums in ‘date-
of-release’ order. You can thank me later.
Switching to SACD playback, the light-bulb
moment for me was that I didn’t experience
the dramatic improvement in sound quality
that I usually do when switching to SACD.
In this case, this was a good thing, because it
means that with the DCD-2500NE, Denon has
finally been able to elevate CD sound to the
same level as SACD. I was able to prove this
with Michael Jackson’s classic ‘Thriller’, which
I own on SACD and on CD. No matter how
many times I hear it, the intro of that creaking
door, the footsteps, the wind, the sudden vio-
lent crash of thunder... I always get a chill up
my spine, plus a delicious sense of ‘knowing’
as I anticipate what will come next... that
great bass line with syncopated percussion.
Was there a difference? Yes, I think the sound
from the SACD was still slightly better, with
a better sense of musical fl ow, a weightier feel
to the deepest bass and perhaps a better idea
of timing, but the CD was so close this time
that it was a super-diffi cult call... and certainly
close enough that I think I’ll keep my SACD
version locked away to increase in value (the
SACD is out of print and reportedly won’t
be re-released) and happily listen to the CD
version on the DCD-2500NE.PRODUCT & CONTACT DETAILS
Brand:Denon
Model:DCD-2500NE
RRP:$4,499
Warranty:Three Years
Distributor:óˁŘǚǔǞñǜ˿³ǜƞ
Address:ʹǮ³ǔɁȭƬǚõɁŘƞ
ÀɁˁȭǜĶŘ˸ƬʁǚƬ˿
VIC 3149
TF:1800 242 426
T2:(03) 8542 1111
E:ǔȭnjɁźɴˁŘǚǔǞƖƋɁȧƖŘˁ
W:˹˹˹ƖɴˁŘǚǔǞƖƋɁȧƖŘˁSEE LAB REPORT ON PAGE 32Ɗ Balanced outputs
Ɗ SPDIF inputs
Ɗ USB inputsƊ Superb sound
Ɗ Build quality
Ɗ SOTA performanceCONCLUSION
Anyone with a collection of CDs wants to be
able to play them back with the highest pos-
sible fi delity. If it seems strange that that is
now best done using an SACD player, rather
than a dedicated CD player, so be it. The De-
non DCD-2500NE is a truly superb machine.
It continues to be available at an amazingly
low price and, although I don’t have a crystal
ball, I chance that it may not continue on
in Denon’s line-up. So if you don’t believe
in taking chances, buy one now... while you
still can! Chris CroftõƬŘƞƬʁʊǔȭǜƬʁƬʊǜƬƞǔȭŘnjˁǚǚǜƬƋǒȭǔƋŘǚŘɡɡʁŘǔʊŘǚɁnj
ǜǒƬɡƬʁnjɁʁȧŘȭƋƬɁnjǜǒƬ<ƬȭɁȭ<,<Ȋɍǣ̋̋ÂFăÄ,<
ñǚŘ˿ƬʁʊǒɁˁǚƞƋɁȭǜǔȭˁƬɁȭŘȭƞʁƬŘƞǜǒƬ³Ä*ÏõÄďÏõł
õFñÏõďɡˁŽǚǔʊǒƬƞɁȭǜǒƬnjɁǚǚɁ˹ǔȭǷɡŘǷƬʊƖThe Denon DCD-
2500NE is a truly
superb machine... buy
one while you can!