Bang&Olufsen Beogram CDX CD-player Review

Like other Bang & Olufsen products, the Beogram CDX Compact Disc player has a unique combination of styling and operating features. The top-loading, low-profile player has a sloping, black-backed clear glass front panel with white control markings and green and red illuminated display numerals. Behind the control section is a hinged disc-loading door that allows the disc to be seen when closed. The only conventional controls are the play (power) and eject buttons at the right and left ends of the player’s front edge. All other functions are activated by touching the appropriately labeled areas of the front panel.

The green track numerals initially show all the tracks on the disc (to a maximum of twenty), but in programmed operation only the selected track numbers are visible. During play, the number of the current track blinks on and off. The red LED numerical display shows the elapsed playing time on the current track, the total elapsed time on the disc, or the current track and index number.

For fast track selection, touching ADVANCE or RETURN moves the laser pickup ahead to the start of the next track or back to the beginning of the current track. Forward and backward search and scan functions are performed with double-arrow touch controls. A disc can be scanned in 1-second, 10-second, and 1-minute increments, and, with a little practice, you can easily and quickly locate any point on a disc. There is no audio output from the unit during search operations.

Programming the CDX is also a simple touch operation. A row of white numerals (1 through 0) and the clear and store controls on the front panel are used to load a maximum of forty track selections (with numbers up to 99) into the CDX’s memory. Undesired tracks can be omitted with the clear control, which is also used to cancel a programmed sequence.

The CDX has pause and repeat functions as well. The pause function is activated by touching STOP, which suspends play, to be resumed at that point when the play control is touched. If stop is touched for more than 2 seconds, however, play is stopped completely and will restart at the beginning of the program. An entire disc or a programmed sequence can be repeated up to four times.

The B&O CDX uses 14-bit digital-to-analog (D/A) conversion, with oversampling at 176.4 kHz (four times the normal 44.1-kHz rate). A combination of digital and analog low-pass filtering is used to remove any ultrasonic components. The CDX has an integral 3-foot signal-output cable. The player measures 16-1/2 inches wide, 12-1/4 inches deep, and 3 inches high and weighs 12.4 pounds. Price: $699.

Lab Tests

With standard EIA loads of 10.000 ohms in parallel with 1,000 picofarads, the B&O CDX had identical outputs of 2.05 volts in both channels from the 0-dB (maxi-mum-level) bands of our test discs. The frequency response was flat within +0.1, —0.2 dB from 20 to 20.000 Hz, with the variations taking the form of periodic ripples on the response curve repeated every 4.000 Hz. The interchannel phase shift was essentially 0 degrees from 1,000 to 20,000 Hz (it was only 4 degrees at 100 Hz), indicating the use of separate D/A converters for the stereo channels. The playback distortion was between 0.02 and 0.002 percent at levels from —20 to 0 dB. The A-weighted noise output, referred to 0 dB, was barely measurable at — 115 dB, and the channel separation was equally noteworthy. Crosstalk was totally undetectable at 100 Hz and an exceptional -112.5 dB at 1,000 Hz.

The error-correction circuits of the CDX enabled it to play through all of the calibrated defects on the Philips TS4A test disc without audible effect on the program. The slew time from Track 1 to Track 15 of the TS4A disc was 3.8 seconds, and the player negotiated the transition from Track 17 to Track 18 of that disc (not separated by a silent interval) without difficulty. It was also one of the better players we have tested in respect to its immunity to physical shock. To make it mistrack, we had to give it a fairly severe slap on its top or an even more violent blow on the side.

Comments

Anyone who has used or tested a large number of CD players is well aware of the great similarities among them with respect to performance and sound quality. As the double-blind listening tests published in January Stereo Review showed, even if a listener with acute hearing can detect statistically significant differences between the sounds of different CD players, the practical significance of such differences is negligible. Similarly, with state-of-the-art test instruments it is possible, though not always easy, to measure certain performance differences between players, but it would be unrealistic to ascribe any audible qualities to most of them.

But none of this is meant to belittle the performance of the B&O CDX, which was exemplary in every respect. No matter which measured characteristic you consider most important, the CDX is likely to excel in it. In addition, it is mechanically the smoothest and quietest CD player we have ever used. Not even a faint mechanical click mars the total silence of its operation.

We could find only two points on which to criticize the CDX. The pristine surface of its black control panel has a strong tendency to gather dust and fingerprints. On the other hand, nothing could be easier to clean. Also, we would have preferred conventional phono-jack signal outputs, since the 3-foot integral cable was too short for convenient installation in our system.

In our view, what really sets the CDX apart from the rest is its unique control system. If you try to use the CDX without first reading its concise, well-written manual, you may be able to play CD’s, but most likely you will never appreciate its full flexibility and convenience. It should take no longer than five minutes to learn how to use its controls, after which its operation will become instinctive. And it is very satisfying to control such a versatile instrument by a (literal) touch of a fingertip.

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