Even casual music fans are aware of the great vinyl revival – but not all will know that there has been a similar resurgence for their smaller successor.
CDs, the last major audio format before the digital and streaming era, are among the physical media seeing a surge in demand. The discs are seeing steady sales growth, with internet searches for “CD players” seeing a five-year high last December.
And here at What Hi-Fi?, we couldn't be more delighted. We’ve been banging the CD drum for years, and continue to review the players still being released and making sure our collections still get some love.
We saw fit, then, to highlight some of the best CD players we have reviewed and recommend, as well as some of our favourite discs to test them with. So whether you’re getting back into CDs and your old micro system doesn’t cut it any longer, or you’re a young Gen Z whippersnapper trying the format for the first time, there’s a little something for everyone.
All of the CD players below have been tried and tested by our expert reviewers, and all have earned at least four stars and are among our top recommendations.
We haven’t reviewed the CDs themselves, but all have made appearances in our test rooms over the years. We’d love to hear what your favourite test CDs are in the comments below (but keep heated music debates civil, please!).
The Marantz CD 70 was released only a month or so ago, but it has already established itself as our go-to recommendation at this level. With clear, insightful sound, solid, tight bass and a solid build, this Marantz is doing an excellent job of keeping the humble CD going strong.
Our CD player Product of the Year – and not for the first time – the Arcam CD5 is a tremendously entertaining mid-price offering with an engaging, muscular sound. It continues to impress our review team, and will no doubt be in the running again for this year’s Awards.
The Cyrus 40 CD is undoubtedly premium in price, but it has the performance to match. Offering subtle detail, rhythmic precision, punch and power but also superb control, the 40 CD is a brilliantly engaging premium player for anyone with the budget.
If you already own a DAC, the Cambridge Audio CXC makes perfect sense. Despite being released more than 10 years ago, this CD transport is still in production and still very much recommended. It offers a smooth, open and enjoyable sound as well as good rhythm and musicality.
The Marantz CD6007 may have been succeeded by the recently released CD 70, but there’s still stock available and at a lower price. And, as a six-time What Hi-Fi? Award winner, this is no sonic slouch – it offers high levels of insight as well as an excellent build and finish.
MORE:
Here are six CD player buying tips for when you want to revive your disc collection
We rate the best CD players
