Arcam CD23 worth saving?

Hmm OK that doesn't sound promising. Peter at Deco audio said the parts were still available so I'll be pretty annoyed if I've sent it away for no reason. It still works as it is just not as well as it should. 

Time will tell then eh.

OK well I've no idea if they can or whether he was mistaken that parts are still available so who knows. If it has to be binned after spending on postage and new optical I'll be a bit upset but I'm sure it wouldn't have been intentional. I'll just get them to send it back and see if I can fix it myself 

Yes it's certainly got the ring DAC, that's what makes it a little special. I must admit I do like the new Ifi audio burr brown signature DACs sound so I'm thinking of potentially buying a transport and a separate DAC. I also like the new ESS Sabre DACs as well like what's in my MOTU audio interface so I'm definitely conflicted here. The Arcam has a certain smoothness and finess that the new generation seem to lack though...

I'm used to listening to studio monitors as well as hifi so I'm torn between clinical and smooth if you get what I mean.

Cool, you know where I'm coming from then! Probably ought to ditch it but it sounds so good...

Thank you, that's a very note worthy reply. I did think it was a bit special... I'll see what the repair estimate comes back as and make a decision from there.

No it can't be used as a DAC unfortunately as it only has digital out otherwise I'd ignore the transport side of it. That was one of my first thoughts but it's just too old.

Yes I was looking at the audiolab 6000 transport. Its a little pricey at 400GBP but has very good reviews. The DAC is another question entirely though. I quite like the burr brown DAC in the Ifi signature but not sure if it's as good as the cd23 ring dac. I received word that Deco Audio has received the Arcam cd23 today so we'll see if it's repairable at a sensible price. If not I'll be going down the transport route and Ifi signature for start or possibly Cambridge audio if it's not up to scratch. It sounds pretty damn good with my phone connected via usb so it might be the way forward, who knows.

Thank you. I'm sure there are many fine DACs out there and although I am on a budget, I'll certainly stretch for the finer gear if I think it's worth it. Streaming services are not really an option for me because the music I play is a bit too underground. We'll not get into musical tastes here as that is purely a personal thing but sound reproduction does matter, even if it's not your cup of tea so to speak. Don't get me wrong I like all kinds of music in small doses but tend to lean towards non mainstream most of the time. Had a look at those links but they are currently unavailable and I'm in the UK anyway so probably wouldn't be worth the shipping and import costs. Like I said before I already have an iFi zen one signature(actually I have two now) so I'm not sure I could better them without spending significantly more. I like the Cambridge audio dacmagic 200m but that is another 500 GBP on top of what I've already spent and one Zen dac would then become redundant. I'll see what the repair costs come back as and take it from there.

The overall consensus here I think is that the arcam was a bit special(and still is) but has perhaps had its day now and it's time to move on if the costs are prohibitively expensive.

Unfortunately due to where I live it's unlikely I'd be able to try out any gear before buying so I'm relying solely on reviews and like minded fellows to guide me. I took a punt on the Ifi zen one signature for playing files from my phone and it impressed me that much that it might just be good enough to ditch the arcam and use a transport to play discs. I've been quietly ripping most of my cds in as high a quality as possible so I think the disc player will be sidelined for long periods anyway. All of my mixes are extremely long so they are digital files only which was the reason for the zen purchase.

I'm pretty sure Peter at Deco audio said it would be around 200 pounds which includes postage, new transport, and labour, but that's before looking at it so the symptoms I described may have led him down the wrong path, or worse the parts are no longer available. I'll have to wait and see but there's no way you could buy a new transport let alone a dac for that amount of money. I have a rotel rcd 12 in another room which could be used as a transport to the zen dac but I'd rather that stayed where it was...

I can't see any picture on my smartphone unfortunately but I get what you mean. I've had a response from Deco audio and they say they can't find anything wrong with it which is very frustrating because the grating noise was very obvious to me and loud enough to ruin the music at lower volumes. I'm waiting for them to get back to me again in a few days after further testing but I can't see why transportation would have cured it but you never know.

its been a wonderful player over the years and I'll be sad if its not fixed after all this but such is life. I've got my eye on an audiolab 6000cdt if it's terminal. I've got several different dacs to play with but none have that cd23 smoothness!