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Review: Shanling SCD-T200 CD Player

Category: Digital

I just got this in and hooked up. I'll give it a few hundred hours to break in before commenting on its sound, but I'll describe the ergonomics and build quality while my initial impressions are still fresh in my mind.

Pros:
This thing is built like a tank. The casing looks like it could stop a bullet. The remote is sturdy as well. The remote also allows you to mute the output which is coming in handy for on-the-fly cable swapping
It's a beautiful piece of industrial art, especially when its running and glowing in the dark.
Packaging is top notch, and the owner's manual covers operations well.
Nice sturdy looking power cord.
optional cone feet included.
Head phone jack with remote volume control.

Cons:
Still trying to figure out were the three cone feet attach. There are four felt feet, but no threaded hole for the three cones. Hmm... The owner's manual makes no mention.

The remote control battery cover is spring loaded. The hex screws went flying when I opened it. Also the remote is not backlit.

I played the included dual layer demo CD in my Eclipse and was not impressed with the Redbook layer. I wonder if the deck is stacked in favor of the SACD layer. I don't blame Shanling, if so. I'm sure it's a freebie to them with the SACD license.

The lettering above the unit's function buttons is in a rather faint white font that's difficult to read in the light: Impossible in dim light.

Well, that's it for now. I'll be back in a couple of weeks with a review of the sound.

Associated gear
VAC Avatar SE, Synergistic Research interconnects, Gutwire Chime Speaker Cable, JMlab Mini Utopia speakers.

Similar products
Sim audio Moon Eclipse CD Player (Redbook)
Denon DCD-1650AR and assorted Asian DVD/CD players.
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Showing 1 response by tobias

tobias
1,534 posts
 
See if the felt feet will unscrew... on my CD-T100 you unscrew two felted pieces ( the front ones, say ). Then you screw points into the resulting holes, and slip a point with a felt top under the chassis near the back to make the tripod.

The SCD-T200 does not play CDs nearly as well as the CD-T100. This is because its chipset is selected for SACD. On the other hand the CD-T100 won't play SACDs at all.

The new remote is a lot better than the old one--buttons are not "for pixies" ( as UHF mag called them ) any more. But apparently the remote could still use a bit of work.

Looking forward to your impression of SCD-T200's sound. I heard it at the Montreal show--stayed for an hour or so.
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