AMC XCDi CD-player
CD-player AMC XCDi is designed exclusively for CD playback (Red Book standard). The manufacturer ignored the compressed formats, focusing on getting the maximum quality from CD-Audio.
The player is assembled on a rigid steel chassis with a massive front aluminum panel, in the center of which there is a loading mechanism. The appearance is extremely concise: a minimum of control and indication buttons, even the display displays only the most necessary information. Approach is the same as in a professional technique.
The company is silent about the chipset used in the digital path, but judging by the passport data, we can say with confidence that they obviously did not save on it. In addition, like the servo system, it is powered separately from the analog stages, which are assembled on audiophile-quality components.
The digital output of AMC XCDi is presented only by the optical Toslink, a headphone jack is not provided. The player is equipped with a remote control designed to control components of the same brand.
The AMC player sounds very legibly, but at the same time not at all mechanistic or callous. Its sound is quite plastic and harmoniously adjusted. Sometimes it seems that this player is of a much higher class - so truthfully and confidently it copes with seemingly unbearable for budget sources phonograms. First of all, the attention is attracted by the sound stage. It is not almost tied to speakers and evenly fills the entire listening room. The positioning of the images in it looks quite accurate, the scale of sources is sustained and stable throughout its length.
The reproduction of the upper range should be recognized as quite accurate and clear, but in some works it may seem slightly blocked. This can be expressed as some loss of air and reverberation of the room where the recording took place. But it is noticeable only on a very serious sound path. A little lack of warmth is also observed in the mid-frequency spectrum - the voices of the vocalists are purely "washed", but emotionally not too rich. Sibilants are natural, which indicates a precise tonal balance. Medium bass is reproduced with a clear structure and proper dynamics. But the lowest part of the working range may seem tight and not too mobile.
