Tuesday, 03 February 2015 09:39

Audiolab M-CDT - new CD transport from Audiolab

Written by Karl Erik Sylthe

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Audiolab expands their LAB series with a CD transport. M-CDT thus becomes the fifth product in the compact LAB Series from Audiolab.

British AudioLab has a fairly long history in HiFi industry. They started with the integrated amplifier 8000A in 1983, a product that was very long on the market. But the identity of Audiolab which brands were disturbed a bit when they were acquired by TAG McLarren in 1997. In addition to that the Audiolab name disappeared, also the classic stereo products came some in the shadow from HighEnd AV-processors and DVD players. IAG bought it in 2004, and the brand name Audiolab was given back simultaneously, with the stereo products again given full attention.

LAB series Audiolab have arrived in recent times, and has until now consisted of four components. There are two DACs in the series - M-DAC and Q-DAC, where the latter is a somewhat less expensive version than the M-DAC. There is also a pure streamer in the range - M-NET has no built-in DA-converter. And then we have the power amplifier M-PWR, providing 2x40 watts into 8 ohms.

As a complement to these Audiolab now launch the CD transport M-CDT. It is like all other components of the LAB series a compact unit with a width around 25cm. It has a slot mechanism for CD feed, and is otherwise rather minimalistic, obviously intended a life via its coax or optical output along with one of the DACs in the LAB series, which also serves as digital preamplifiers.

Specifications from the manufacturer:

Specification

Model	M-CDT
General description	CD Player
Design Philosophy and Core Technology	Slot-in CD
Output level	0±0.05 dBFS (@1kHz, 0dB)
Output Impedance	0.5V p-p / 75Ω Ω
Frequency Response	±0.5 dB (20Hz - 20kHz, ref. 1kHz)
Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)	<0.005% (ref. 1kHz)
Signal-to-Noise ratio (S/N)	115dB (A Weighted)
Sampling Frequency	44.1kHz
Digital Output	1 x Coaxial,1 x TOSlink Optical
Dimensions (W X H X D)	246.5 X 60 X 234 (mm)
Carton size (WX H X D)	396 X 153 X 344 (mm)
Net Weight	2.9kg
Aluminium Enclosure	<Yes
Power Requirements(depending on region)	220-230V ~ 50/ 60Hz 110-120V ~ 50/60Hz 100V ~50/60Hz
Safety Regulation Conformity	CE,C-TICK
Standby Power Consumption	<0.5W