MAPLESHADE MODDED CAMBRIDGE 550C

Again, hats off to Pierre Sprey for another remarkable modded component...his modded Cambridge Audio 550C CD player gobbled up all the top CD players I auditioned in the up to $3000.00 range. Upgrading key areas of this well-designed player, Pierre worked his magic and the end result was a musical performance which drew me deeply in along with providing an emotional involvement that was very close to analog. The ability for this player to convey all the positive attributes of digital and be almost void of the negative ones while offering many of the great aspects of analog is the real enchantment here. Of course, all of this would not be possible if the modded Cambridge Audio 550C was not coupled to a 4" Mapleshade maple platform with a set of isoblocks under it. Pierre, thanks for your passion and gift for getting the best performance out of select components in audio/video playback systems." - James S Serdechny, Stefan AudioArt


The standout value among today’s under-$1000 CD players is the Cambridge 550C ($549), well beyond the bland smoothness and somewhat boring dynamics of the best of the current crop. Absolute Sound agrees: “In this competitive climate it’s not enough to market consistently great-sounding well built gear to match a given price segment...The hat-trick is to execute the preceding and offer class-shattering performance gear that competes outside of its league. The Cambridge Audio Azur 550A and 550C fulfill this role brilliantly and most importantly, musically.” Because it had the unbeatable Wolfson 8740 DAC chip and sounded so good in stock form, I just had to spend a few months seeing how far Mapleshade modding could push this gem. Answer: far enough to exceed any $2000 CD player around (or any $4000 DVD/SACD player)—astonishingly deep bass impact and articulation, excitingly expanded dynamic punch, mesmerizing clarity and sparkle all the way to the highest treble.

Our mod package includes:

• threaded Low Triplepoints integrated into the chassis
• Clearview Double Helix Mk I Plus AC Cord
• upgraded internal grounds/wiring/capacitors/fuses
• upgraded toroidal transformer and power supply filtration
• cryogenic treament of all chip, circuit and power supply components

With our mod package, the 550C sounds so good that you won’t get you noticeably better sound until you get to the $2500 class —and that’s backed by our 30 day money back guarantee.