Arcam Radia CD5 The Arcam Radia CD5 is a compact disc player for those who listen seriously. Arcam have been making CD players since 1986 — the Delta 70 was their first, designed entirely in-house — and that accumulated understanding of digital playback is what the CD5 is built on. New components, new materials, and an ESS ES9018 DAC at its heart. ESS ES9018 DAC The ES9018 is a high-performance DAC that handles everything the CD5 reads — including 24-bit hi-res audio from FLAC and WAV files via USB. For standard CD playback, the result is a frequency response of 20Hz–20kHz held to within ±0.05dB, and a signal-to-noise ratio of 93dB (A-weighted, 16-bit). Play hi-res files from a USB drive and that SNR rises to 115dB. The analogue output sits at 2.1V rms at 0dBFS — a solid, clean output level for virtually any integrated amplifier. What It Plays The casework uses aluminium on the front, top, sides, and rear panels — a considered choice at this price point that gives the CD5 a presence on a rack that plastic-fronted alternatives cannot match. Technical Specifications Specification Detail Supported media CD, CD-R, CD-RW, USB-A Supported files (USB) WAV (LPCM), FLAC, MP3, AAC, WMA Supported bit depths 16-bit, 24-bit Outputs 1× Analogue Stereo RCA pair, 1× Digital S/PDIF Coaxial (RCA), 1× Digital S/PDIF Optical (Toslink) Frequency response (filter 1) 20Hz–20kHz ±0.05dB Max analogue output (0dBFS) 2.1V rms SNR (A-wtd, 16-bit/24-bit, 0dBFS) 93dB / 115dB Mains voltage AC 100–240V, 50/60Hz Power consumption (maximum) 12W Power consumption (standby)
