I have had 2 CA products. An 840 CD deck and (still have) an 840 preamp.
The 840 deck was reasonably reliable until the CD tray failed to retract into the deck on command from the remote. Still worked if manually nudged. Sold the unit soon after that, but the new user has had no problems with it.
My 840 preamp had the dreaded volume relay issue (they use an array of relays and discrete resistors to adjust volume). After a time period, the volume will suddenly jump up when adjusting up or down in level. The issue has been widely reported on the NET. My unit was no longer in warranty as I bought used, but CA was very responsive and sent me an entire set of replacement relays no charge. They are relatively easy to replace if you have de-soldering equipment. I did find, however, that the CA engineers had specified an incorrect part for this relay, because the relay manufacturer states the relay should be used intermittently only, and CA uses these "on" continuously.
The problem has not returned after the replacement, and I suspect the problem is aggravated by using the ramp volume mode where all the relays rattle as the volume is ramped up from a low level.
The 840 deck was reasonably reliable until the CD tray failed to retract into the deck on command from the remote. Still worked if manually nudged. Sold the unit soon after that, but the new user has had no problems with it.
My 840 preamp had the dreaded volume relay issue (they use an array of relays and discrete resistors to adjust volume). After a time period, the volume will suddenly jump up when adjusting up or down in level. The issue has been widely reported on the NET. My unit was no longer in warranty as I bought used, but CA was very responsive and sent me an entire set of replacement relays no charge. They are relatively easy to replace if you have de-soldering equipment. I did find, however, that the CA engineers had specified an incorrect part for this relay, because the relay manufacturer states the relay should be used intermittently only, and CA uses these "on" continuously.
The problem has not returned after the replacement, and I suspect the problem is aggravated by using the ramp volume mode where all the relays rattle as the volume is ramped up from a low level.