CD 3.1x/II

Level 2 Red Book CD Player. Welcome to the latest version of our long running and highly regarded Level Two integrated machine. The original CD3 was an instant classic, and is still loved and used by many discerning audiophiles around the world. This current version brings the design right up to date, and dramatically improves on the previous incarnations in every possible area.

Whilst the rest of the audiophile world continues it delusional and ultimately doomed love affair with the currently fashionable crop of what are claimed to be 'high resolution' computer sources, we at Audio Note (UK) continue to extract even greater degrees of information and quality from Red Book CD, which is still the best, currently available digital music format.

Audio Note (UK) is highly critical of the digital medium as presented by compact disc; we sincerely hope that you too will find this transport breaks free from the 'digital mould' that we are all so accustomed to, and so opens a new window on your CD collection.

It has been specifically engineered for sonic performance rather than technical specification, and fulfils all Audio Note (UK) Level 2 criteria.

Materials and component quality

The CD3.1x/II is the first model of integrated CD player in our range to feature the highly regarded Analogue Devices AD1865 digital to analogue converter chip, the same device that we use in our more costly stand alone DACs. This 18bit device has consistently outperformed every competing chip we have tested regardless of specification or price.

The transport is our now classic in house modified Philips CD mechanism, designed purely to read true Red Book CD, which in our opinion is still the best possible Digital music format currently available.

The analogue output stage features two ECC88 dual triode valves and our own custom designed and manufactured Audio Note (UK) copper foil capacitors. Our own Tantalum resistors are also used in critical areas, offering a quite remarkable level of performance.

Engineered with audiophile-grade components — premium drivers, hand-matched crossovers, and a hardwood enclosure tuned for natural decay. Every cabinet is internally braced and damped to suppress resonance below the threshold of audibility.

• Custom 6.5" mid-bass driver with paper-pulp cone for transient accuracy.
• Soft-dome silk tweeter with neodymium motor for airy, fatigue-free highs.
• Point-to-point hand-wired crossover using silver-foil capacitors.
• Bi-wirable terminals plated in pure copper.

Place each speaker on its dedicated stand, toed-in toward the listening position. The hardwood enclosure resonates in concert with the drivers — a deliberate, musical interaction rather than a flaw to be eliminated.

Connect to a quality amplifier using bi-wired speaker cable for the most transparent presentation. Allow 50–100 hours of break-in for the drivers and crossover capacitors to settle into their final voicing.