CD-327A - Grant Fidelity

Phone: (403)251‐0466
Toll Free: 1‐888‐477‐5379
Email: sales@grantfidelity.com
www.grantfidelity.com
‘Now You Can Afford Hi‐Fidelity Audio’ CD-327A
Performance Series Tube CD Player
MSRP:
USD $949.00
A clean and classic design available in Black or Silver that will visually and sonically match
any system. Competes with CD Players costing multitudes more, and often wins hands
down in listening tests.
The first thing you notice when listening to the CD-327A is the exceptional detail. Every
note is faithfully reproduced. Even complex music has room to breath, allowing
you to separate and focus on the finer details of each instrument.
The CD-327A is based on over 15 years of hi-end manufacturing experience, including a
designer whose dream is to create a CD Player that can reproduce the fine details of
Vinyl - the CD-327A comes very close. Quality and pricing that make the CD-327A one
of the best buys in hi-fidelity for accurate music reproduction.
At critical points, MCAP, Solen and ELNA components are
used, which is unheard of in this price range.
"I can honestly say that this CD player is the best I
have heard anywhere near this price point and should
satisfy the most discriminating listener"
(Todd Arthur – Affordable Audio) www.grantfidelity.com Page 1 Phone: (403)251‐0466
Toll Free: 1‐888‐477‐5379
Email: sales@grantfidelity.com
www.grantfidelity.com
‘Now You Can Afford Hi‐Fidelity Audio’ The CD-327a uses a SONY 213Q pickup
with a PhillipsSAA7824 servo.
Amplification is provided by the Burr
Brown OPA2604, known for its smooth
sound and wide frequency response.
The custom hand wound transformer
ensures a quiet and clean power supply to
both analog and digital circuits.
The CD-327a has a coax digital output for
direct output connection to the custom DAC
and one set of RCA (tube) outputs.
Easily swappable tubes from the clear top tube cover allow
you to further tailor or adjust the sound of your CD-327A.
Inexpensive and readily available 12AX7 tubes can
give drastically different flavours to your sound.
Many tube audiophiles even go as far as having different
sets for different styles of music. We call that a ‘tube spice
rack’.
The custom programmed 24-bit/192kHz DAC is a treat to hear,
designed to perform like vinyl, even the tiniest detail is faithfully
reproduced. All the dynamics are presented perfectly. Sound-staging
is realistic.
You can easily tell what tip is used on the drum stick with the
CD327A!.
www.grantfidelity.com Page 2 Phone: (403)251‐0466
Toll Free: 1‐888‐477‐5379
Email: sales@grantfidelity.com
www.grantfidelity.com
‘Now You Can Afford Hi‐Fidelity Audio’ Selectable/defeating up-sampling is another amazing feature of the CD327A which gives you 3 different sounding tube CD Players in one
machine with the push of a button. And that is even before you can
further tailor the sound you want by rolling in different tubes. Old CD’s
sound like you haven’t heard them before, by selecting 44 or 88k and
letting the tubes perform their magic.
A full featured weighted brushed aluminium remote control provides all the
functions to program and set your CD-327A.
Custom designed anti-vibration, adjustable
levelling feet to eliminate externally caused
jitter. The synchronized Drive to DAC clock
rate eliminates internal jitter.
At 22 lbs. you know you have entered in to the world of high class audio with the CD-327A.
Everything about it is just right.
Specifications
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Class A Tube Circuits
Custom 24 bit/192khz DAC
Custom hand wound power transformer
Selectable 44.1, 88.2, 176.4 kHz Up-sampling
Adjustable Vibration Isolation Feet
Tubes: Shuguang 12AX7 x 2. Quick Swap See-Thru Tube Cover
Full featured Aluminum remote control
Brushed aluminum faceplate (Black or Silver)
Frequency Response: 20Hz-20KHz (+-0.5dB)
Dynamics: > 100 DB
THD: < 0.005%
PHILIPS SAA7824 servo system SONY laser pick up
Compatible Discs: CD, HDCD, CD-R, CD-RW
Dimensions: 430 x 330 x 95 (mm) Weight: 11 KG
Available with Silver or Black faceplate
www.grantfidelity.com Page 3 THE
E-ZINE
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FRUGAL
AUDIO
ENTHUSIASTS
Affordable$$Audio
Issue Twenty-Five: January 2008
Grant Fidelity CD-327A
By Todd Arthur
toddarthur@affordableaudio.org
Specifications
Frequency Response: 20Hz~20KHz (+-0.5dB)
Harmonic Distortion : <0.005%
Dynamic range : 100dB Input Voltage : 110V
Dimensions: 430 x 330 x 95 (mm)
Weight: 28 lbs.
Price: $849
www.grantfidelity.com
The Grant Fidelity CD-327A is a high quality
CD player that is manufactured in China for
Grant Fidelity which is based in Canada.
Grant Fidelity is headed by Ian Grant a Senior Systems Designer and Engineer with an
extensive multifaceted background in construction, audio, mechanical design and project management. Although Grant Fidelity is
only one of his many endeavors, this company is an outgrowth of his love of music as
recording engineer and musician. Grant was
also a member of the AES and NAMM and has worked extensively to develop new music technologies with Seer Systems using advanced Midi Technology. The list of Ian’s accomplishments goes on and on, suffice it to say that Ian
Grant is entering into the high end audio field in the same way that he does everything else with an all out effort.
After talking to Ian Grant regarding his line of audio products, it became apparent to me that these were designed
for the music lover and the audiophile alike. For instance his approach to marketing is somewhat different than
most, Ian is developing a grass roots demonstrator network. Individuals can purchase a demonstrator package of
equipment for a modest investment and sell Grant Fidelity products to the music lovers in their locality from home.
Not that he eschews the standard hi-fi dealer Ian just believes that the more folks hear his products on a personal
level the greater success he and his dealers will have. This is quite a novel approach now days when many dealers
don’t even want to take the time to do an adequate demonstration. One dealer I know won’t even demonstrate
entry level products if they are available on the internet, he just carries the line so customers will have a local option to make a purchase if they so desire.
I selected the Grant Fidelity CD-327A for review from the demonstrator package the Ian sent me to examine. It was
hard choosing which product to review since they are all well built and offer excellent value for the dollar. I settled on the CD-327A CD player due to my belief that the there is a lack of well built CD players at the sub $1000.00
price point.
Since Grant has heavily embraced modern technology one would think that his products would use new technology
and they do including a custom designed 192khz / 24 bit high end DAC. But, in fact Grant Fidelity has also embraced old technology, the vacuum tube for the for the same reason most guitar players have, the vacuum tube in a
properly designed audio circuit just sounds better than solid state. Grant Fidelity is all about good sound and that
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means utilizing the best technology for the application. Accordingly the Grant Fidelity CD-327 it uses two Philips
12AX7 vacuum tubes in the analog output stage to improve the sound of the digital source.
I have an agreement with my wife regarding audio gear. If I keep my gear out of the living room, she doesn’t really
care what it looks like. The Grant Fidelity CD-327A is one piece of gear that really looks nice and shouldn’t be hidden away. The 22 pound 17” W X 13” D X 4” H enclosure is made from heavy gauge black painted steel, the
brushed silver aluminum faceplate is beautifully beveled and finished especially for a $829.00 USD product. The
front of the player has push buttons for power on/off, drawer open/close, play, pause, stop and track forward/
reverse. The rear apron has high quality gold plated RCA outputs for the right and left channels, an IEC power cord
socket and a coax out for connection to an outboard DAC. Access to the two 12AX7 Philips analog output tubes is
made via a small acrylic cover on the rear right hand side of the top cover. In addition the unit is supplied with a
solid full function remote and IEC power cord. Another note, the factory packaging is excellent, the CD player is
completely surrounded with durable foam padding and then double boxed for safety. None of the items I received
had a scratch from shipping damage.
Since this unit was fresh out of the box, I initially set it up in my bedroom system to break it in before doing any
critical listening. The factory manual sent with my unit was written in Chinese and since my Chinese is a bit rusty I
wasn’t able to review it for set up instructions. Regardless even without instructions I was able to set the CD-327A
up and have it running after just a few minutes. My bedroom system consists of a S.E.T Audio Baby Sophia tube integrated amplifier, an Oppo DV-970HD and a pair of Triangle Stella or Usher S-520 two way speakers mounted on 24”
high lead and sand filled Plateau speaker stands. The listening position is situated so that my ears are about 7 feet
back from the front plane of the
speakers. I have the speakers
pulled out from the wall 12” and
separated by 6’. For purposes of
this evaluation I used a 1 meter
pair of Discovery Plus Four interconnects between the CD player
and the Baby Sophia integrated.
Listening
After set-up, right out of the box it
was apparent that this is an extremely nice sounding player.
There is a 20 second delay after
turning on the unit to allow the
tubes to warm up and then the
player operates normally. I played
background music for the better
part of a week before comparing
the CD-327A to the Oppo DV970HD. I consider the Oppo to be a
nice sounding player for the money
but the CD-327A is much more musical, and smoother even without
much break-in. I listened to Modern Cool by Patricia Barber one of
my favorite modern jazz CDs.
While listening to “You & The Night
& The Music” track number 3 from the disc, Barber’s vocals were front and center the notes from the piano floated
in space filling the soundstage. The bass was solid and percussion was tight and rhythmic. You could really hear the
texture and passion in Barber’s voice. The Oppo by comparison was lean, bright and slightly grainy. Small details
such as the hand stroked conga drums were politely ignored. Compared to the Oppo, the Grant Fidelity conveyed a
warmer, liquid and more detailed presentation.
After a couple of weeks in my bedroom system I decided to try the Grant Fidelity CD-327A in my reference system.
My reference CD player is a Primare CD 30.2; I was curious to see how the Grant Fidelity would perform in comparison when playing through my Audio Research SP15 vacuum tube preamplifier and Conrad Johnson MV60SE vacuum
tube amplifier. The connections for both the Primare CD 30.2 and the CD-327A to my preamp were made using Dis2
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covery Essence Interconnects. The connection between my preamp and amp was accomplished via a 1 meter pair
of Discovery Plus Four Interconnects, while the speaker cable I used was Discovery Essential Speaker Cable. For this
evaluation I decided to use my Paradigm S2 Monitors secured with DAP Fun Tak, to the top of 24 inch high, lead and
sand filled Target speaker stands. The speakers are situated 38 inches from the back wall, 8 feet apart and toed in
on axis to the listening position which puts my ears 8 feet back from the front plane of the speakers.
What became apparent immediately was how good the Grant Fidelity CD-327A really is. I played “The Look of
Love” by Diana Krall in its entirety on both CD players and was really impressed with how musical the CD-327A
sounded. It gave up some dynamic energy and bass heft when compared the Primare but it sounded quite smooth
and warm. It in no way had the hard, bright sound that is often present in CD players under the $1000.00 mark.
What really impressed me was how close the two players were in performance. The Grant Fidelity did an excellent
job of fleshing out the details, the brush strokes on the snare drum, the breathy sound of Krall’s voice were all
placed within a wide and deep soundstage. Yes the Primare sounded richer providing a more dynamic and lively
sound but it should, it cost 3 times the price of the Grant Fidelity CD-327A.
I put the Norah Jones CD Come Away With Me in the CD-327A and played track number 1 “I Don’t Know Why”. The
CD-327A did a remarkable job of articulating the fine details of Jone’s voice and her performance on the piano.
The bass, guitar and drums were presented in a smooth coherent manner that is usually not found at this price
point. I noticed that in particular the acoustic guitar was rendered in a most realistic manner. When I played the
“Painter Song” track number 10 from the same disc, the guitarist seemed to be sitting right in front of me. The
combination of this fine recording and the Grant Fidelity CD-327A was an intoxicating combination. In contrast the
Primare CD 30.2 provided a bigger, bolder sonic picture and was perhaps a bit more detailed.
The dynamic contrast between the two CD players was most evident while playing rock music. When I played
“Texas Flood” the title track on the Texas Flood CD by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, the bass and percussive impact was superior while playing the Primare CD 30.2. You could “feel” the notes as Vaughan squeezed every
drop of sound from his guitar. The Grant Fidelity CD-327A in contrast reproduced every note, drum beat and bass
line in an accurate fashion but with a little less visceral impact.
Conclusion
During my time listening to the CD-327A, I never felt as though I was making compromises, which is a rare thing in
audio. What it lacks compared to the more expensive gear is some dynamic impact and the large deep soundstage.
Beautifully crafted audio gear that is this detailed and smooth sounding used to be extremely expensive. Ian Grant
has lowered the price of admission bringing the Grant Audio CD-327A to a price point that we can all afford. I can
honestly say that this CD player is the best I have heard anywhere near this price point and should satisfy the most
discriminating listener. If you are looking for a CD player anywhere near this price point the Grant Fidelity CD-327A
should be on your short list to audition. Well done Ian!
Associated Components
Audio Research SP16 Preamplifier
Conrad Johnson MV-60SE
Trends Audio TA 10.1
S.E.T. Baby Sophia Tube Amp
Primare D30.2 CD Player
Oppo DV970HD Universal Player
VPI HW19 MKIV Turntable
Rega RB 600 Tonearm
Benz Ruby 2 MC Phono Cartridge
Paradigm S2 Signiture Monitors
Usher S-520 Monitors
Triangle Stella Monitors
Discovery Essence Interconnects
Discovery Plus Four Interconnects
Discovery Essential Speaker Cables
Eichmann Express Six Interconnects
Zebra ZC SP12SD Speaker Cables
Zebra ZC SP14DBI Speaker Cable
Copyright 2008 Affordable$$Audio www.affordableaudio.org. Used by permission.
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