Intro
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Who is still buying CDs? And who still buys a CD player? Let alone one over a thousand euros? More than enough people it turns out, because manufacturers keep producing them.
French company Atoll Electronique even makes several models and also makes cd-transports. Their first cd players date back to the early 1990s and are constantly being adapted and improved. They have been evolving for decades and are now aptly named Evolution. We received one of the first models of the new Atoll CD100 Evolution. Let’s check it out!
Construction and appearance of the Atoll CD100 Evolution
Atoll is a little bit boring. Just so you know. The design is rather plain. Look elsewhere if you’re looking for bling bling. That the built quality is excellent is beyond dispute. The Atoll CD100 Evolution is a chunky unit available in silver and black, with or without a dac module. We usually prefer silver but the black used by Atoll is very nice. The front of the cd-player is uncluttered and we like that. Three buttons on the left and three on the right. With the display and loader in between those buttons.
That loader, a Teac mechanism, quietly does its job and reads every disc without issues, even our more tortured ones. The rear has RCA out, coax out, optical out and off course the connection for the power cord. The dac is based on a Burr Brown chip (PCM1796), now Texas Instruments, which Atoll likes to work with. The Atoll CD100 Evolution is expandable with an optional NUM DC 200 dac card. Then you also get a coaxial, optical and usb input with the cd-player.
Evolution
The OLED screen is easy to read, even from a distance, and the matt-white LEDs don’t interfere with your late-night session. Feel free to turn off the screen if it does bother you. The remote control is a button fest, as it can also be used for other devices. We didn’t use it very often because working ‘hands on’ with this cd-player is so much more fun.
The real innovations in the Evolution series are on the inside. First of all, extra attention has been paid to the power supply and we at Alpha Audio applaud this. There is a new linear power supply in the Atoll CD100 Evolution as welle and another ten regulated power supplies, including one with low noise for the dac. The duplex circuits are treated with nickel and gold for durability. The Class A output stage consists of discrete components. All in all, the Atoll CD100 Evolution is a very solid product, made with love in the French Department of Manche.
Hello Geoffrey, thank you for the review.
It’s unfortunate that Jaap hasn’t measured this CD player.
The ones that have been measured have showed poor technical prowess in the design department at atoll.
I have many Atoll pieces at home, but have personally taken a pause on buying any of their Evo products.
You can have great sound and well measuring products (not mutually exclusive), Atoll needs to step up in this department.
Brian