I for one applaud the recent rush of new CD player announcements. ATC must also believe that there's still life in the silver disc yet too. However, I am glad that, instead of offering a one-box system with integral disc spinner, ATC has decided to go with a matching pair that has an RRP of £4,000 all in.

The chassis of both the CD2 and SIA2-100 are constructed to be weighty, rigid and well damped. The precision machined 12mm aluminium front panels are finished in brushed and anodised ‘titanium' silver.

ATC CD2 CD Player

The ATC CD2 Stereo CD Player employs a TEAC 5020A-AT transport, a proven mechanism that has been given ATC's nod of approval.

The DAC is from AKM and operates in conjunction with an output filter stage comprising a digital filter and ATC's own low-noise multiple feedback analogue filter.

The CD2's four gain stages, each comprising 11 discrete components, provide a true differential output for the left and right channels via XLR. The output stages are configured as unity gain complementary compound (Sziklai) pairs, biased in class A.

ATC's preference for distributed local power regulation and decoupling means that no fewer than nine individually calibrated power regulators can be found in the circuit design.

The digital coax output uses a high-performance isolation transformer to prevent possible hum loops if both audio and digital signals are connected to the same equipment.

ATC SIA2-100 Integrated Amplifier

The SIA2-100 integrated amplifier/DAC has is the perfect partner to the CD2 to create a compact separates system and covers digital to analogue conversion and pre/power amplification duties specified to generate 2 x 100W (continuous into 8 ohms).

There are separate power supplies for the pre-amplifier and power amplifier sections to reduce intermodulation and cross-talk aberrations.  

ATC's discrete analogue design and use of multiple local power supply regulators provide the best operational platform for the SIA2-100's AKM onboard DAC and USB receiver.

The SIA2-100 incorporates two pairs of stereo line-level inputs on RCA phono sockets, a digital SPDIF optical Toslink input, a digital SPDIF coaxial input on an RCA phono socket, and a USB B digital audio input port.

The USB input will handle PCM sample rates from 44.1 kHz to 384 kHz, with word lengths to 32 bits, and also decode DSD sources at 2.822 MHz (Single rate, DSD64), 5.644 MHz (Double rate, DSD128).

There is a single pair of stereo power amplifier outputs on 4mm binding posts, a stereo line-level output on RCA phono sockets, and a front panel mounted headphone output on a 6.35mm/ 1/4-inch jack socket.

The headphone amplifier is biased in class A and is specified to drive a range of headphones from 32 to 600 ohms.

If you want to see and hear these new components in action, ATC will be demonstrating the CD2 and SIA2-100 at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show in Room 102.

Price and availability

Both devices will be available from April 2019 at the following RRP:

• CD2 - £1500
• SIA2-100 - £2500

For more information, go to ATC.

THE BRISTOL HI-FI SHOW

The Bristol Hi-Fi shows runs from Friday 22nd February through Sunday 24th February 2019 at the Marriott City Centre Hotel, Bristol.

To book your tickets for the show head to the Bristol Hi-Fi Show site.