53 replies to this topic

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Mjr69, on Nov 13 2011, 09:04 AM, said:

Well Al now I think there is only one or two players that you haven't bought/tried. I hope this is your holy grail or some lucky punter will be happy in a few months. j/k

Good review too and good to have a unbiased one as you are probably the only one apart from maybe a magazine reviewer that has spent some time with so many players.

haha thanks MJR. not sure re holy grail...I dont think it exists...

and yeah nothings perfect. but this one seems a goodn...so you never know

thanks re the review, I'll post back as come across and find things in use

[cooksta]

:), on Nov 13 2011, 02:02 PM, said:

In use its been pretty fuss free. off the harmony, things just work. my 3 year old daughter who was used to using the sony, left me jaw hanging when she just walked upto the 751 and pressed the eject button stuck a disc in and pressed the close button to get the disc going. if a 3 year old can just use it just like that off the bat, I would have to say its pretty intuitive in use !  

Have you tried 2 channel cd via the analogue outs Al?
I'm considering upgrading my bluray player for 3D.

Edited by cooksta, 13 November 2011 - 07:35 PM.

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cooksta, on Nov 13 2011, 08:34 PM, said:

Have you tried 2 channel cd via the analogue outs Al?
I'm considering upgrading my bluray player for 3D.

only briefly cooksta, this morning, since if it ever ends up in my bedroom system would be hooking up over analog. And would have to say its pretty decent that way. I'd say along similar benchmark as sony 5000es player I have, the oppo 95 probably a step up. The 751 uses the same dacs and upsampling as the cambridge standalone cd players, but how it stacks up with those back to back youd have to compare to know. But I'd say youd be pretty impressed, if looking for a BD/universal player with good analog performance I'd say this would be one of the good ones. One stand out for this player is it has all the front panel buttons/functionality of CD player. Meaning can just use it as a regular cd player and it does work very well in that role

[cwt]

One thing lacking in the 95 Al is a nice big display not 2 1/2s Its an advantage not too have to load netflix and all the streaming apps we cant get out here for loading speeds I was thinking.

The analog upsampling and filter selection is prime tweaking territory to play with   Was thinking I never could follow how the cambridge lists 5 wolfsohn dacs on the website but its got 7.1 outputs -how its configured - ? shared stereo dacs makes sense I imagine like my pio 51 used its 8470's ;either 2ch or multichannel one at a time. Or Maybe a typo .I wonder how well it is supported with firmwares; probably well considering its sharing a mediatek platform with the oppo..

Must be laid out well inside as the back panel is well split analog/digital;

http://www.cambridge...earDSC_5759.jpg

[Chopsus]

cwt, on Nov 14 2011, 08:29 PM, said:

Must be laid out well inside as the back panel is well split analog/digital;

That back panel is exactly the same as the Oppo BDP93.

[cwt]

Chopsus, on Nov 14 2011, 08:45 PM, said:

That back panel is exactly the same as the Oppo BDP93.

Indeed ; its understandable considering the  oem supplier is oppo's Chinese BBK parent for things like the qdeo ;mediatek main board etc.  Modifications do exist unlike the famous lexicon debacle which is the main thing

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cwt, on Nov 14 2011, 08:29 PM, said:

One thing lacking in the 95 Al is a nice big display not 2 1/2s Its an advantage not too have to load netflix and all the streaming apps we cant get out here for loading speeds I was thinking.

The analog upsampling and filter selection is prime tweaking territory to play with   Was thinking I never could follow how the cambridge lists 5 wolfsohn dacs on the website but its got 7.1 outputs -how its configured - ? shared stereo dacs makes sense I imagine like my pio 51 used its 8470's ;either 2ch or multichannel one at a time. Or Maybe a typo .I wonder how well it is supported with firmwares; probably well considering its sharing a mediatek platform with the oppo..

Must be laid out well inside as the back panel is well split analog/digital;

http://www.cambridge...earDSC_5759.jpg

Hi cwt, yeah I never got the tiny display of the 95, especially since Such a big box and so much real estate, and yet such a small display, always was a bit of a bug bear for me,

Yes don't miss the Netflix, And the streaming cr@p. that makes the oppos sluggish at boot up. Yes 5 stereo dacs, pic linked below gives clues how implemented.

As per Pete above they seem to be well supported, one of the bonuses of the local agent synergy here. Always been very responsive re their product sold here

Chopsus, on Nov 14 2011, 08:45 PM, said:

That back panel is exactly the same as the Oppo BDP93.

Shared platform with the oppo.

There are differences inside

Oppo 93
http://www.audioholi...BDP93inside.jpg

Cambridge 751bd
http://www.cambridge...he Inside Story

[SDL]

Does the CA have subtitle shift working yet?

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SDL, on Nov 15 2011, 02:03 PM, said:

Does the CA have subtitle shift working yet?

Yes ca implemented subtitle shift on the 751bd and it does work

[SDL]

:), on Nov 15 2011, 02:59 PM, said:

Yes ca implemented subtitle shift on the 751bd and it does work

That's good, another option for next time I'm buying.

[:)]

found some good tips here re the 751BDs ISO file support, this is obviously via external hard drive youd plug in via usb

Quote

ISO File Support

Are .iso files or Blu-ray or DVD directory structures supported on external media?

DVD directory structures: no. Some DLNA servers such as PS3 Media Server offer those through transcoding.
Blu-ray BDMV directories and ISO files are supported on local storage.

These are the formats that work within ISO files:

DVD Video
DVD Audio
Blu-ray (including 3D)
AVCHD
Operation and functionality should be identical to the original disc version of each type of content. That means menus, audio tracks, subtitles, codecs, on screen display: everything.

Some limitations and usage notes:

Only the above formats work. You cannot, for example, open archives of JPG or MP3 files in ISO.

CD Audio is not supported in ISO files.

That's not a serious problem: CDs can easily be copied to lossless formats like FLAC.

All ISO files appear under the Movie category of the player browser, even the DVD Audio files.

BDMV folders appear under each browser category: Music, Photos, and Movies. This is like AVCHD and unlike ISO files.

There is currently no way to stream ISO files over a network. It's still an open question as to whether this is even possible with DLNA.

ISO files are not supported on optical data discs. I don't know if this is an oversight or a technical restriction due to transfer rates, disc spin speeds, etc.

Obviously you can burn one disc for each ISO file; I'm talking about copying multiple ISO files to an optical disc and treating them like media files.

This is probably not a common need, but I can imagine someone with a collection of tiny ISO files (cartoons?) archived onto optical media. Currently, these will have to copied to a flash drive or hard disc drive to be played.

Ejecting the tray will cause ISO playback to stop. This is unlike other media files, but like disc playback.

[KEF Ci2000]

:), on Nov 13 2011, 12:15 AM, said:

well curiosity got the better of me !

I do wish too they hadnt have combined the subtitle and audio buttons in one. as that means subtitle cant be triggered by a universal remote. and has to be selected via disc menus.

Is your universal remote programable using HEX keys etc??

The Cambridge website has discrete codes for all operations.

I have all the buttons working, but agree a little annoying as you need twice as many buttons!!!!!

[Dave Williamson]

Hi everyone

I have bought a CA 751 and am seriously impressed at it's audio capabilities, even via HDMI I can't hear a discernible difference to my Meridian transport (which is a major shock!) although to be fair I haven't done any back to back testing, I just threw some CD's at it and went.. "Wow!!" and since then haven't stopped throwing things at it all weekend, Bluray concerts, movies, Flacs both 2 channel and 5.1 and so the poor Meridian has been completely ignored, so further investigation to follow to try to really get a handle on how comparable it is with CD's to my beloved Meridian.

I'm so impressed with the HDMI performance that I can't help wonder what the analogue might bring to the table as I believe that the HDMI bypasses all of those quality DACS??

So.. If I were to connect the analogue L/R to the amp would I just have to swap between BD and CD on the amp to hear the same CD for a back to back comparision of HDMI/Analogue from the 751??

Also how do I go with the 7.1 analogues outputs for multichannel and movies, how would I tell the 751 to use one or the other? Would there be a quick way to once again swap from the HDMI 7.1 to the Analogue 7.1 and back again to check one against the other??

I remember reading that using analogues for 7.1 can cause problems with bass management, what does this mean exactly and how does one deal with it.

Thank you for any and all advice

cheers
Dave

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dave, congrats on the 751  !

dont waste your time re multichannel analog. though no doubt dacs and analog stage better than your avr, its in the vagaries of setup the gains get lost. basically around getting the bass management right is a pig with any multichannel player. read the htfaq re this regard if really a glutten for punishment.

certianly give it a shot for cd via the L&R analog outs.

ps re your meridian though dac tech moved along a long way, I would still suggest get it checked as the years perhaps just not kind to it. but regardless sounds like something very happy in the cambridge it would seem

[Dave Williamson]

:), on Dec 11 2011, 07:11 PM, said:

dave, congrats on the 751  !

dont waste your time re multichannel analog. though no doubt dacs and analog stage better than your avr, its in the vagaries of setup the gains get lost. basically around getting the bass management right is a pig with any multichannel player. read the htfaq re this regard if really a glutten for punishment.

certianly give it a shot for cd via the L&R analog outs.

ps re your meridian though dac tech moved along a long way, I would still suggest get it checked as the years perhaps just not kind to it. but regardless sounds like something very happy in the cambridge it would seem

Very happy thanks Al

Except for a few lock-ups where i have to shut down to get back control and the fact that it only see's 'part' of my network is weird, I can happily connect to the internet and watch youtube at will but the only things its see's on my home network is the Sonos and the printer, neither of which are of any use to me.. So instead of being able to see all of my stored files, I'm having to connect a 1 gig usb drive directly to access my movie/music/photo collection... However I haven't yet connected it via the cat6 connection in the wall as I was trying 'not' to have to pull my whole media centre away from the wall (3m wide and weighs a ton) which is a real pain, so was using the supplied usb modem, I'm hoping that once it's hard wired to the router that all will be good.

But man the audio on my bluray concerts has gone through the roof, listening to 'live' music now sounds more.... live! if that makes sense, and the quality of sound of each instrument and each voice is awesome, I couldn't be happier, and as you know I was tempted toward the oppo but would be massively surprised if someone stuck a 95 into this set up and I could hear yet another level of improvement..

Next step is to replace my AE1's with a air of 805's that I've had my eye on

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Dave Williamson, on Dec 11 2011, 08:57 PM, said:

Very happy thanks Al

Except for a few lock-ups where i have to shut down to get back control and the fact that it only see's 'part' of my network is weird, I can happily connect to the internet and watch youtube at will but the only things its see's on my home network is the Sonos and the printer, neither of which are of any use to me.. So instead of being able to see all of my stored files, I'm having to connect a 1 gig usb drive directly to access my movie/music/photo collection... However I haven't yet connected it via the cat6 connection in the wall as I was trying 'not' to have to pull my whole media centre away from the wall (3m wide and weighs a ton) which is a real pain, so was using the supplied usb modem, I'm hoping that once it's hard wired to the router that all will be good.

But man the audio on my bluray concerts has gone through the roof, listening to 'live' music now sounds more.... live! if that makes sense, and the quality of sound of each instrument and each voice is awesome, I couldn't be happier, and as you know I was tempted toward the oppo but would be massively surprised if someone stuck a 95 into this set up and I could hear yet another level of improvement..

Next step is to replace my AE1's with a air of 805's that I've had my eye on

dave am not sure re the network side, I dont think they are as endowed as the oppos in this regard. but its one of the main reasons I decided to skip on the oppo as it made it quite a slow sluggish player as it tried to continuosly search on the network especially on boot up when all want to do is put a disc in and play. none such bother on the cambridge.

I do beleive the 751 just made to plug into a hard drive if want to play anything off it. but to be honest re media replay youd be better off with a $100 media player than trying to use these disc players for these duties as well.

and it does do very well in role as disc player. ah yes a pair of 805S now that would be a lovely addition !

[cooksta]

:), on Dec 11 2011, 08:52 PM, said:

but its one of the main reasons I decided to skip on the oppo as it made it quite a slow sluggish player as it tried to continuosly search on the network especially on boot up when all want to do is put a disc in and play.

Al with the Oppo 83 turning off BD live speeds things up when loading discs, Thats what I have done with mine. Suspect the 93/93 would be the same.

[texass44]

Well.....I've now also joined club 751BD.  I've been umming and ahhing as to which BD player to get and given that 80-90% of its duties will be Music, I ended up pulling the trigger on the CA 751BD.  I don't have it yet, it's a Xmas pressie.  Thanks to all in this thread / Forum for helping me decide.

It's serious coin......but as my brother in law once told me.....quality is remembered long after price is forgotten.

Roll on Dec 25 !!!

Cheers......Tex.

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cooksta, on Dec 11 2011, 09:28 PM, said:

Al with the Oppo 83 turning off BD live speeds things up when loading discs, Thats what I have done with mine. Suspect the 93/93 would be the same.

missed this post of yours cooksta, how did you do that exactly, keen to try on the cambridge to see the effect

texass44, on Dec 19 2011, 08:15 PM, said:

Well.....I've now also joined club 751BD.  I've been umming and ahhing as to which BD player to get and given that 80-90% of its duties will be Music, I ended up pulling the trigger on the CA 751BD.  I don't have it yet, it's a Xmas pressie.  Thanks to all in this thread / Forum for helping me decide.

It's serious coin......but as my brother in law once told me.....quality is remembered long after price is forgotten.

Roll on Dec 25 !!!

Cheers......Tex.

congrats tex ! you will be well pleased. what a wonderfull xmas pressie !

look forward to reading how you find it

[cooksta]

:), on Dec 19 2011, 07:49 PM, said:

missed this post of yours cooksta, how did you do that exactly, keen to try on the cambridge to see the effect

From memory its just a setting in setup, read about it on AVS,I'm at work atm ........will check tomorrow.

[cooksta]

:), on Dec 19 2011, 07:49 PM, said:

missed this post of yours cooksta, how did you do that exactly, keen to try on the cambridge to see the effect

Al for the Oppo BD live access is in the network setup settings. There are 3 settings; on/limited/off.

I recall reading on AVS that turning BD live access off speeds up disc loading. When its turned on the player willl always try to access BD live when loading discs thus slowing disc loading.

Edit; I believe the Oppo will try to do this wether you have it network connected or not.

Edited by cooksta, 21 December 2011 - 07:45 AM.

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hi cooksta, thanks for comment above, missed it. something will explore.0 or with

I gave the media player side of the cambridge a go today by sticking a usb stick in the front and must say it works extremely well. a lot better user interface and much more pleasing than what you get with the oppos. this is for whether playing music (flac etc) or with just using as a photo viewer. pleasing

[com5984]

Is it possible to utilise all the audio connections on the 751? I want to use the stereo out to my dac then tube amp for cd, then use multi ch out to 4311 for sacd and off course hdmi for movies

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com5984, on 12 July 2012 - 06:06 PM, said:

Is it possible to utilise all the audio connections on the 751? I want to use the stereo out to my dac then tube amp for cd, then use multi ch out to 4311 for sacd and off course hdmi for movies

havent tried at the same time, but am pretty sure all outputs are active so worth a shot.

[com5984]

thanks al, I suppose the 7.1 analogue could go into a unused input on the 4311 just for sacd