Arcam CD25 review

Machines like the Arcam CD25 are becoming a rare sight, which means that when one does appear on the scene it’s an exciting occasion. We imagine you get the same kind of feeling when you stumble across a silverback gorilla in a tropical rainforest. Sort of.

Our excitement has been heightened here by the fact we rate the step-down model from Arcam’s Radia range of separates, the CD5, extremely highly. It’s a five-star machine and a current What Hi-Fi? Award winner.

If Arcam can take the performance of that CD player and elevate it to a new level, we could be looking at something quite special, not to mention a great excuse to pause our music streaming subscription.

Price

At £1499 / $1800 / AU$3295, the CD25 is more than double the price of the entry-level model CD5 (£699 / $699 / AU$1495). It sits somewhere between that model and firm five-star favourite of ours in this mid-tier arena, the TEAC VRDS-701 £2499 / $3799.

Its closest natural rival is the multi-Award-winning Cyrus CDi – we tested it at £975 back in 2014, but this is a model that, after an extremely long innings, is now discontinued and extremely difficult to track down new.

Design & build

In the flesh, the CD25 is quite an impressive specimen.

It’s styled to match Arcam’s other Radia components, so you're getting a large full-width chassis with a moody black finish and yellow accents, including stripes on the left and right side panels, a small yellow ring around the power button, and rings around the base of each foot. Think bumblebee-chic.

Its stance appears a bit more imposing thanks to a cowl, which stretches over the back of the unit to protect the player’s sockets from attracting dust. It adds a little extra depth to the unit, which, in case you were wondering, measures 32.9cm.

The glossy, glass OLED display is a classy touch and gives it a sharper, crisper appearance than the display on its CD5 sibling – the CD25 both looks and feels like a proper step up.

It’s relatively basic in terms of the information it displays – there’s no CD text, for example – but it’s nice and clear, and easy to read.

The CD25 feels solid and sturdy. The loading drawer slides out confidently and quickly, and we’re surprised just how quiet the mechanism is once it’s been fed a disc and starts to tee it up.

Some machines (including the Cyrus CDi) can be a cacophony of clicks and whirs, whereas the Arcam goes about its business calmly and quietly. It’s a very smooth operator.

Our only minor gripe is that there is a slight delay between you pushing the eject button, either on the fascia or remote, and the player actually doing your bidding. We wouldn’t say it’s sluggish, just that some players are a bit quicker.

Features

You won’t find too many surprises on the feature front. There are both analogue and balanced outputs for connecting to an integrated amplifier, or you have the option of either an optical digital or coaxial digital output should you want the player to feed an external DAC.

Through the remote control, you can dim the player’s display and change its playback mode between normal, shuffle, repeat one and repeat all.

You can also switch between the player’s analogue and digital outputs depending on how you want to use it and turn autoplay on or off. Regarding autoplay, we found it mildly distracting for the CD to immediately start spinning every time we closed the drawer, so we disabled it during testing.

Those who like to tinker with their sound have a choice of DAC filters. The options are: Min Slow, Min Fast, Apodizing, Linear Slow and Linear Fast.

We switch between them during testing, and can report that the differences are small and very subtle. However, we settle on Min Slow, which just seems to be the most sonically neutral and balanced.

Unlike on the Arcam CD5, there’s no USB playback – the port on the rear of the CD25 is for servicing only.

As with Arcam’s other electronics from its Radia range, you get a small remote control with complementary black and yellow styling to match.

It performs all the basic functions without issue, although we do miss the time when remotes had a full complement of numbers so you could choose a specific track, instead of having to hammer the skip button repeatedly. Ah, those were the days.

Sound

We plug the Arcam into our main reference system first, which consists of a Burmester 088/911 Mk III pre/power amplifier combination and ATC SCM50 speakers, and the biggest compliment we can give the CD25 is that it doesn’t sound out of place.

We also plug it into a more price-comparable set-up which includes the fantastic Naim Nait XS 3 amplifier and PMC Prodigy 5 floorstanders, and once again we are extremely pleased with the results.

We start with Mountains from the Interstellar OST, and there's an immediate quietness that descends over the track before the wooden clicking kick-starts the song’s tempo.

As the track progresses, it becomes beautifully layered with percussion and strings weaving their way through the background. The clicking is integral to the track’s sense of timing and rhythm, and the Arcam ensures that all the other elements surround the leader, following it with precision and accuracy.

All that space around the track’s individual strands helps deliver a real rush of adrenaline as the strings rise and soar while the track delivers its payload. Each dynamic jump is communicated clearly and accurately – the sense of scale that the Arcam delivers is hugely impressive.

The intensity of the percussion ramps up, as does the feeling of solidity and weight behind the piano and organ play. It’s a confident, assured and wonderfully engaging and believable performance that oozes with detail.

The Arcam manages to capture and convey the drama of the track superbly, and even without watching the movie, you can sense just how big the accompanying scene is.

Our long-term favourite, the Cyrus CDi, is good, but it can’t match the extra gears the Arcam can show, the extra detail it can uncover and that wonderfully clear, quiet backdrop.

We drag ourselves away from Interstellar just long enough to spin White America by Eminem and the CD25 delivers a powerful performance, full of energy and vigour.

The plane screaming across the soundstage in the opening seconds is delivered with power and precision, but it doesn’t sound harsh or edgy.

That quiet background comes to the fore once again, allowing bass notes to hit with authority and conviction. There’s real weight and momentum behind each one.

Eminem’s delivery really stands out too. The Arcam’s excellent insight and attention to detail allow it to communicate the intent and intensity of his delivery. His vocal flow comes through loud and clear, with texture and feeling.

The Arcam CD25 delivers a very grown-up sound, but it’s still an enjoyable listen. It’s detailed but doesn’t overanalyse and is more than happy to just go with the natural flow.

Verdict

If you were considering dumping your CDs in favour of a streaming subscription, it’s machines like the Arcam CD25 that will make you change your mind.

It’s a clear step above any entry-level player on the market and brings a level of sophistication, musicality and clarity that will have you shopping for new additions to your CD collection. A very talented performer that we’d seriously recommend taking for a spin.

Review published: 12th October 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Features 5
• Build 5

MORE:

Read our review of the Cyrus CDi

Also consider the TEAC VRDS-701

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