ATC – CD2 CD Player/DAC

Not All CD Players are Created the Same: British-Made ATC CD2 Focuses on Exceptional Purity, Features Discrete Class A Output Buffers, TEAC Transport, 32-Bit AKM DAC

While other manufacturers have chosen to integrate their CD players with other components or load them down with noise-inducing bells and whistles, ATC makes no apologies for keeping its British-made CD2 a standalone unit focused on sonic purity, exceptional performance, and unrelenting consistency. Ready for practically any connectivity needs with both coaxial and Toslink outputs as well as balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA outputs, CD2 plays back your discs with exacting precision, alluring detail, crisp transparency, and vivid realism. Favorite CDs you’ve had for years will sound better than you ever thought they could, while recent and future purchases that aren’t available on any other format will reward you with lifelike texture, dynamics, and presence. The handcrafted CD2 proves all CD players are definitely not created the same.

Devised as an ideal partner with ATC’s SIA2-100 integrated amplifier/DAC, and sharing the same 2/3-width compact size, CD2 features an audiophile-grade TEAC 5020A-AT transport in favor of a computer-type or slot-loading drive. Internally, a premium 32-bit AKM DAC operates in concert with an output filter stage comprised of a digital filter and ATC’s own low-noise multiple-feedback analog filter. Four gain stages – each with an impressive 11 discrete components – provide true differential output for both the left and right channels. If such bang-on engineering wasn’t enough, CD2 offers output stages configured as Class A, unity gain complementary compound (Sziklai) pairs. Furthermore, the positive and negative drivers are arranged in parallel to maintain close similarity between the signal delays and phase shifts on each side.

ATC has also gone to great lengths to reduce distortion and noise in every area. The company’s preference for distributed “local” power regulation and decoupling means no fewer than nine individually calibrated power regulators are deployed in the circuit design. In addition, CD2’s digital coax output uses a high-performance isolation transformer to prevent possible hum loops if both audio and digital signals are connected to the same equipment. Finally, all PCB track lengths are as short as possible, with grounding and screening done with optimal care.

CD2 carries ATC’s industry-leading six-year manufacturer warranty (two on the CD mechanism) and, of course, comes with our 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. If you have a disc library of any size, you deserve to hear what CD2 can do for you.

“The ATC CD2 is an understated CD player in both looks and sound. It’s purposeful and unfussy as you’d imagine a piece of studio gear to be. No coincidence there given ATC’s provenance. But few players get to the heart of the music quite so competently.”
—Jason Kennedy, Hi-Fi+