Yamaha CDR-HD1500 or Cambridge Audio 640H?

[gavp]

Hi Guys,

Apart from the Yammie having a bigger HD and available to buy now, are there any other factors that make one a better option over the other ie mainly soundwise and ease of use?

http://www.avland.co.uk/yamaha/cdrhd1500/

http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/summar...itle=Azur+640H

I've been waiting for the 640H for the last couple of months but the 1500 has got me thinking.....

[Ed Selley]

This isn't easy for me to be impartial on....

I own a 1300MkII and have never failed to be impressed by its resillience, sound quality and recordings. I'm sure the 1500 will be equally good.

But I have been playing with 640H's for a while now (Cambridge are operated by the same owners as MS) and it really is extremely clever. It is best not to think of the units as being true competition. The Yamaha is the best (current) CD Recorder in the world whilst the Cambridge is the most price accessible audio grade music server. The flexibility that the 640H possesses over networks and when paired up together with the playlist organisation and OSD (the 1500's remains a bit primitive AFAIK) it has considerable multiroom potential to boot. If you have the PC apps and hardware that will allow you to get the best out of the Cambridge it really is enormously more flexible.
ToF

[gavp]

Nice one Tons of Fun

Am I right in thinking that the on screen display for 640H will be a bit more user friendly, ie is the Yam industrial compared to a more civilised approach from CA (is this wher Audiofile comes into it?)
For me its about simplicity when making playlists, browsing them and being able to add the titles and artists names easily (i hear the Yam is a pain to do this?)
What are your experiences and opinions, just remembered can you record tapes and radio broadcasts onto the 640 directly?

Cheers

Gav

[Ed Selley]

The 640H is designed around the graphics interface which allows for much more sophisticated options with playlists. I can't speak for the 1500 but the 1300 won't randomise the drive and the creation of a "playlist" normally means physically moving the tracks and creating a new "disc" of tracks on the HD. That said, I suspect the actual recording to CD section of the 1500 will be better thanks to the AMQR function.

As I said- tough call.

[carefactornil]

I'm facing a similar dilemma.

Has anyone else got the Yamaha and any thoughts about the OSD menu system?

Also, Tons of Fun (or anyone really) - have you seen or heard anything about Philips WAC700? This seems to be a similar sort of system, again out soon for a similar-ish price. Haven't seen much about this on the net yet.

http://www.press.ce.philips.com/apps...D?OpenDocument

[Markie Boy]

I assume the Yamaha 1500 has the same OSD as the 1300, which is woeful to be perfectly honest. But that's being a bit pedantic - the Yamaha truly is an amazing piece of audiophile kit.

[carefactornil]

Tons of Fun:

I'm after a music server so the 640H is looking like the best option and therefore waiting for.

Can I ask what you meant by "the PC apps and hardware that will allow you to get the best out of the Cambridge"? How do any PC apps come into this? What other sorts of hardware?

My main concern about the 640H is the disk space. Apart from buying more than one of the things, are there any other options for fitting more CDs on?

I'm new to compression, so maybe that's the answer. I know it's a hard question to answer but how much of an effect does compression have on sound quality when playing back? Are there different levels of compression?

Cheers!

[Ed Selley]

One point at a time. The 640H has its own internal software for playlists and the like. The PC bit comes in with networking- the 640H can be attached to a network for internet access via broadband for album track and artwork look ups and to use PC's for extra capacity and other editing facilities (a colleague has been using it to arrange work he has recorded and edited on a home studio for example). The networking also allows multiple 640H's to chain together. This means for the price of another server reviewed in this months WHF you could have 3 640H's offering 480gb of space. Alternatively, one 640H can control and stream audio off an el cheapo PC with big HD. Don't get too hung up on the capacity of these things- My 80gb Yamaha is only half full after a year because I'd still rather listen to CD's I own through my dedicated CD player.