Onkyo C-7030 Home Audio CD Player - Black

A review of the Onkyo C-7030 cd player -The short version? It looks good, it sounds good and it is reasonably priced. Highly recommended.The long version? well... I have been looking for a dedicated, single tray cd-player ever since my Teac PD-80 (an early '90s cd player) had developed a transformer overheating problem. In the interim I have not bothered with using one of the DVD players I have laying around (they are rubbish as far as playing CDs is concerned) and instead I've been scouring the web with the goal of finding a decent player for no more than half a grand. While there are quite a few choices in this price range from Cambridge Audio, Teac, NAD, Marantz, etc. for some reason or other (e.g. the info available, overall look of the player, other customers' reviews) in the end I down-selected to two units from Onkyo, the C-7030 reviewed here and the C-S5VL SACD/CD player, and finally I settled for C-7030. The choice became clear once other reviewers posted some pictures of the inside of the two players on this forum. A picture is worth a thousand words. Well, there were a lot of pictures posted, and of-course, when you factor in the various component data sheets from manufacturers, you can really learn a lot before buying something. So, first let's see what one could learn about C-7030 by looking at some pictures.The C-7030 uses a fairly good quality cd-servo/processor (Toshiba TC94A92FG) which is capable of 1x and 2x CLV (constant linear velocity) and outputs data in I2S format. This would imply that the player is using a Philips, rather than a less desirable Sony transport. [The player uses a SF-P101N, Philips type transport manufactured by Sanyo - see info provided in a comment below by Noway.] Aside from providing tracking, error correction, etc., the Toshiba processor contains a 24bit DSP core with 1MB of memory and is capable of processing data from the cd-transport and from USB mass storage devices (sticks, SD cards, MP3 players etc.) The USB input section, however straightforward to implement, was not pursued for this cd player. We'll come back to this omission a little later. In addition, the processor provides the MP3/WMA decoding and S/PDIF signals for the optical and coaxial outputs of the player. The Toshiba chip is in fact a complete cd player solution and as such it also features a two-channel/stereo DAC. Nevertheless, the Onkyo engineers have paid no attention to this (somewhat nondescript) Toshiba DAC and neither shall we. From the processor, the digital data makes its way to a WM8718 D/A converter. This is a high performance switched capacitor DAC (of the sigma-delta variety) from Wolfson, but while certainly not their top of the line (it was in fact designed to bridge the performance gap between the lower high-end WM8728 and the state-of-the-art WM8740 and launched sometime back in 2002) it does have some very attractive features, such as: fully differential multi-bit digital processing (up to 192kHz/24bit), differential analog output, and a linear-phase low-pass digital filter good for 60dB (attenuation or -60dB gain). The CD player's listed S/N ratio is 107dB so if you are wondering how you get from 60dB to 107dB the answer lies with oversampling and with the fact that the DAC is followed by an analog low-pass filter. This filtering scheme is actually one of the reasons I ultimately preferred this player to Onkyo's C-S5VL SACD/CD player despite that player's use of an unquestionably superior DAC. More on this later. Now let's return to the issue of filters and more specifically to guessing at the analog filter implemented on the C-7030.The question of which type of filter is better in the context of audio equipment: analog or digital? is an old one, and will probably not find a definitive answer any time soon. In the end (for the consumer) is just a matter of personal preference. Personally, I think analog filters help smooth-out the output of D/A converters and (if properly designed and implemented) provide better high frequency response, especially in lower cost gear. In addition, by using a less aggressive digital filter, the filter ripple is reduced and so is the amount of high frequency noise from the DAC. This design philosophy is certainly not unique to Onkyo (with this player) but is also employed by Cambridge Audio, Teac and Marantz (to name a few) all of which use some type of analog filtering in their "low-end audiophile" cd-players e.g. CA-Topaz, CA-Sonata, CA-Azur 350C and Azur 550C, Teac CD-P650 or Marantz CD-5004. The Wolfson recommendation for the WM8718 analog filter is a unit-gain multi-feedback (MFB) low-pass filter with differential input and single ended output, and this seems to be the route taken by the C-7030 designers. A quick back-of-the-envelope analysis reveals that the cut-off frequency of the Wolfson recommended filter is about 144.6 kHz. This value is improbable for this cd player, since it would require 32x oversampling in order to provide enough octaves for the necessary -47dB filter gain between the cut-off frequency and the noise-band. (On a quick side note, the WM8718 was designed to fully support the implementation of the DVD-A format, 96kHz/24bit and thus it may be that the Wolfson filter recommendation is designed to address that application.) The WM8718 (with its 37MHz maximum clock rate) is certainly more than capable of 32x oversampling of a data stream coming in at the RedBook 44.1kHz sampling rate, however the S/N gain at 32x oversampling is 15dB, which if added to the theoretical RedBook CD S/N (of 96dB) would result in an actual S/N ratio of 111dB (or just about max out the DAC's S/N capability). Since the listed S/N ratio of the cd player is 107dB, it is much more likely that the oversampling rate used in this player is 16x. With that, the S/N gain by oversampling is 12dB which, when added to 96dB gets us to 108dB. Now that's much closer. To practically realize the listed noise level of the player one needs to implement an analog low-pass filter at the DAC output capable of at least -47dB gain (or 47dB attenuation) within a frequency range having the first oversampling image of the audio band as the upper bound (this is a somewhat simplistic way of looking at things, as there are also some random, modulation and quantization noises which have been pushed out of the pass-band by the DAC's noise shaping filter, but it will have to do here). Assuming this oversampling rate (16x) the first image of the audio range will be pushed to 705.6kHz (that's center, with the image starting at 705.6kHz - 22.05kHz = 683.55kHz) and the cutoff frequency of the analog filter may be something just under half the cut-off in the Wolfson recommended filter, let's say 67kHz. Assuming, further, a second order Butterworth filter implementation (-12dB/octave) we'd get -3dB gain at 67kHz, -12dB at 134kHz, -24dB at 268kHz, -36dB at 536kHz, and -41dB at 683.55kHz. The remaining -6dB can be easily taken care of with a simple (first order) passive RC filter tuned to a very high cut-off (e.g. 268kHz) placed in series with the output. The Butterworth MFB is in fact the ideal low-pass filter for this application since it provides high gain, a high quality factor and a superior high frequency response. The high cut-off frequency of the MFB filter (e.g. the 67kHz considered here) ensures that the response of the analog filter is completely flat for the entire audio spectrum, maintains linear phase, has negligible ringing and (practically) a constant group delay. Nevertheless, the performance of any analog filter will depend on the tolerances and quality of the parts used and the stability of its power supply. Here the Onkyo does not disappoint either. Power is supplied by a large, well shielded EI type transformer (not some cheap switching power supply), the amplification duty is performed by JRC/NJM4580 dual op-amp chips and the caps seem of very good quality. The 4580 op-amps used to implement the analog filter, (again) are not the best out there but reasonably good for the task at hand (15MHz gain-bandwith, 0.0005% THD, 5V/us slew-rate). The typical group delay of the DAC with the analog low-pass filter is provided by Wolfson in their application notes for the WM8718 and is around 0.6msec. This is about twice as low as the threshold of audibility of group delay distortions at 2kHz, more than 3 times lower at 8kHz, and negligible above. The output of the analog filter (ah! and there is that VLSC circuit somewhere in there too, but let's just move on) is then reduced to single ended for each channel. Clearly, Onkyo could have easily provided a fully balanced analog output for this player but I guess they decided to not go too overboard with it (and surely they must have also considered that users in the market for a cd-player in this price range are less likely to consider amplifier gear with balanced inputs).A couple of notes: First - from a purely technical standpoint the C-7030 should be superior to both the Cambridge Audio Topaz and Azur 350-C as these use inferior Wolfson DACs (WM8761 and WM8728 respectively). On the other hand, the CA-Sonata or Azur C-550 players with their WM8716/WM8740 DACs (which have higher attenuation digital filters i.e. -80dB and do allow for the implementation of a Bessel transfer function in their analog filters) should provide marginally improved transient response. I've not listened to any of those to know for sure, but factor in the price and the C-7030 is still the best bet. Second - there are people out there that buy a CD player (like this one) or like the Cambridge Audio players, etc., and then use it as a disc transport with some receiver or external DAC that can take that optical or coaxial 44.1kHz/16bit output and "up-sample" it to 192kHz/24bit. Now, that may just be one of the least recommended things that anyone can possibly do. As argued above, the actual analog output of this player comes from a simple 705.6kHz/24bit or (16x) integer oversampling or symmetrical up-sampling/interpolation of the signal by the internal DAC (i.e all original samples are preserved identically in the new signal). So unless your external DAC can do better (i.e. has significantly better interpolation filters, better low-pass filters etc.) conversion to 192kHz is not going to do anything good. For starters, to convert from 44.1kHz to 192kHz the external DAC has to do interpolation by approximation with rational numbers i.e. it needs to oversample 640 times to get to 28.224MHz and then it must apply an anti-imaging filter, and then it must decimate 147 times and apply an anti-aliasing filter to get to 192kHz. Or it could go 160x oversampling/interpolation + anti-imaging filter (to get to 7.056MHz) followed by 147x decimation + anti-aliasing filter (to get to 48kHz) followed by 4x interpolation again + anti-imaging filter to get to 192kHz. Ludicrous! By converting from 44.1kHz base frequency to a 48kHz base frequency signal (such as up-sampling/interpolation to 192kHz) few or none of the original samples are preserved, and are instead replaced by approximate values at the new sampling intervals. Symmetrical up-sampling by an external DAC to 176.4kHz, 352.8kHz, etc., should be okay as long as the external DAC is higher performance than the WM8718. However, note that this cd player does not output the data in I2S externally (just coax and optical) and thus, if the external DAC cannot strip the source clock coming with the data and re-clock internally, the connection jitter may deteriorate the output quality. So, considering that the C-7030 has a pretty good internal clock (about ten times better than other cd players at its price point) personally, I would not bother with an external DAC (... and don't, don't, don't even think of a run-of-the-mill AV receiver!)Now, going back to the other Onkyo player, the C-S5VL. This player is a SACD/CD player (not an universal player, which was something I did not want) and that (from a clocking point of view) was fine, since the two do operate at sampling rates which are integer multiples of each other (the SACD samples at 64 times the CD) and as such they can be properly timed from the same clock. The most attractive feature of this player is its state of the art WM8742 Wolfson DAC. But that is where the good things sort of come to an abrupt end. On the side of less desirable features: the player uses a relatively cheap DVD type servo and (the thing that was the real deal breaker for me) it has a switching power supply. While switching power supplies are okay generally, they are not the thing to have in an "audiophile quality" player. The main problem with switching power supplies is that they are extremely high-frequency noisy, so noisy in fact that their output needs to be very well low-pass filtered. Nevertheless, some high frequency switching noise always remains. And maybe that is okay with the digital side of the player but it is hardly recommended for the analog side. In any case, personally I've never been too taken with the sound of SACD despite the extended frequency response. Perhaps the problem (with SACD) is that since 1-bit DACs cannot be properly dithered, the only recourse to moving the noise out of the pass-band, is to subject it to some absurd levels of noise shaping. Thus, while some take it to be the true revelation, others believe the extra nuances and "new things" many have sworn they hear on SACD's are in fact nothing more than the nonlinear ringing (induced by that brutal noise shaping filter) and aliasing of that not-quite-random high frequency noise leaking into the audio band. In fact, it is this (modulated high frequency) noise problem that limits the useful frequency range of SACD to about 50kHz, way short of its theoretical limit of 100kHz. But I digress. Some people like their sound, others don't, well... not my problem. Another interesting feature of C-S5VL as a RedBook/CD player is the choice of several different types of digital filters, of which, of-course the most talked about are those of the apodizing variety and Meridian fame. The apodizing filters, or in loose translation "without feet" are filters that implement a transient transfer function (impulse response) without the pre-ripple i.e. they remove the pre-ringing sometimes discernible with inadequate implementations of the linear phase filters - or the filters that do have little feet in their impulse response. The belief is that if the ripple occurs only after the actual sound then it is more natural (it becomes an echo, a reverberation, etc. - this may, in fact, artificially enhance the feel of spatiality of the sound stage). Be that as it may, the use of such a filter e.g. the minimum phase apodizing does come at a high price: a doubling of the post-ringing effect, slightly higher roll-off of the high end spectrum, and non-constant group and/or phase delays, etc. (or all those things that determine spatial separation, staging/imaging, etc.) Again, all things considered, interesting but not enough to sway my decision to steer away from this player.Of course the next thing was to read the comments of the other reviewers. Except for a few that have experienced various "burn-in phase" type of problems, the reviews of the C-7030 are largely positive. One reviewer did point to some early "high frequency roll-off" and "lack of sharpness" of the leading edges of the notes. This, at the time, intrigued me although the reviewer in question did seem to think that the two problems he noted are somehow related and caused by a systematic (and somewhat universal) bias of the equipment manufacturers toward a certain type of sound. Now, technically the two issues (where present) would be caused by different things. Early high frequency roll-off would be the result of the (wave amplitude) attenuation in that part of the audible frequency range by the use of, for instance, a filter. The second issue is somewhat more involved as (it regards the player's transient response and) it could be caused by a variety of factors, such as: insufficient component bandwidth, low slew-rate of the active components (such as op-amps), improperly designed low pass-filters, gross variation in group or phase delays, etc. All these things, were they to be present, would bias the true signal rate of change (would change the attack if you will) at the leading edge (and the resolution at the trailing edge as well) and would result in noticeable distortions of the sound. But, considering what I've already surmised about the player (see above) I found it very hard to believe that these issues would be at work here. Regarding the former issue, attenuation at high frequency is possible in theory but technically there is nothing to force the implementation of an early roll-off. For instance, the analysis of the Wolfson published digital low-pass filter response (for WM8718) shows -0.05dB attenuation at 20kHz, a cut-off frequency (i.e. the -3dB point) of 21.6kHz, a gain of -8dB at 22.05kHz and full gain of -60dB at 24.5kHz. This response is quite typical of a cost effective, interpolated finite impulse response filter (IFIR) designed to achieve full gain within a very short transition band, here 21-24kHz. The analog low-pass filter (as argued above) has an even higher cut-off (e.g. the 67kHz worked out above). Clearly, an early roll-off on technical grounds is quite remote. A voluntary roll-off before the RedBook's own limit? What would be its purpose? The latter issue also did not seem to track well. Take for example the instantiation of the analog filter. The 4580 op-amps have a nominal slew-rate of 5V/usec. Even at 705.6kHz (the rate the DAC would be updating the D/A conversion at 16x) the rate of change (voltage swings) these amps are capable of with sufficient rail voltage is 7V. This voltage swing is about two times larger than the overall peak-to-peak analog output at any frequency. The group delay? Certainly not a problem, according to Wolfson. The DAC bandwidth? The DAC is a 37MHz device. That's hardly insufficient bandwidth. The op-amps bandwidth? The op-amps are operated in unity-gain mode or as impedance converters and perhaps as small gain amps (say 10-20dB or 3-10x amplification) The gain-bandwidth of the 4580 is 15MHz. At a gain of 10, the bandwidth of the amps is 1.5MHz. Fast enough. The issues described, though, may occur (potentially) by some sort of unfortunate pairing (or non-optimal matching) of the player with the rest of the audio system or, quite simply, they may be caused by bad interconnect audio cables.So, with all that in mind I ordered the C-7030, which I have now been listening to for about a week. But first things first - the fit and finish: out of the box, the most striking features of the player are its size and heft. The thing is heavy (having a transformer the size of Texas and extra thick steel framing will help do that). Then comes the overall appearance. The player has a minimalistic design, and a utilitarian, almost industrial look with a brushed aluminum face-plate and a centrally mounted cd tray framed by the control buttons and some subdued lettering. But somehow, the addition of that large glass screen with the green display and the inwardly recessed power button makes the whole appearance of the player work well... very well, indeed. Frankly, the thing is quite stunning, which brings us back to the omission of the USB input. Mounting a USB plug on the face of the player would really have detracted from its appearance (even if it could be hidden by something) and positioning it in the back would have made it quite useless. So, I'd venture to say that this must have been the reason the designers have opted to leave the USB out. Functionally, the player passed all the tests I threw at it. It tracks well both CDs and home made CD-R/CD-RW (either in RedBook format or MP3/WMA) The test CD-Rs were recorded for the purpose of these tests on my old MacBook using Roxio's Toast 7 and a LaCie DVD/CD external DVD/CD RW drive (through FireWire). For mp3/wma the player can display all sorts of info (e.g. track titles, sampling rates, track time etc.) with a scroll-across type of motion on the display. It will support 32-320kbps at either 44.1kHz or 48kHz, and the files can be mixed. The remote, is made of plastic with a thin brushed aluminum face-plate, is large and is somewhat sparse (the buttons are small and there is a lot of unused real estate) but it works well and so far no glitches. With the Audio Technica ATH-A900 headphones (40ohm impedance) the C-7030 headphone amp is arguably a little better than the headphone amp on my old RCA STA-3900 stereo amplifier (although the RCA has better bass detail) but falls short of the Matrix M-Stage headphone amp by every measure. The conclusions below describe performance with the headphones and the M-Stage. With the RCA amplifier and the Sony SSF-5000 floor-standing speakers, the sound does get some coloration but maintains the spirit of the player's presentation. [Note: The Matrix M-Stage has two analog (line, 47kOhm) inputs and a face mounted switch which toggles between the two and allows for direct comparison between two sources playing the same material at the same time. The test CDs were duplicated (x2) by direct transfer on some Imation brand CD-Rs using the LaCie drive and the MacBook computer. These copies were then used rather than the original CDs. The connections were made with the RCA cable supplied with the player and two other similar RCA cables (same length 2 - 3ft, appearance: color, cable size, end connectors etc.) sourced from a local store. Nothing fancy there.]The sound of the player can perhaps be best described as coherent, with little unnecessary harmonic coloration and good overall balance or, in short, remarkably musical. Compared to the Teac PD-80, the C-7030 bass seems somewhat softer (at times, especially with older AAD recordings) but has a better extension and a slightly better definition. Also compared to the Teac, the mid range shows better focus but is slightly emphasized resulting in a somewhat forward placement of vocals in an otherwise well defined stage. The treble is clean and (again compared to the old Teac) it has what could probably be described as more precision without being harsh. Treble extension (as much as CDs permit it) is also superior. Separation (e.g. of instruments in classical music) is good to very good, and the individual instrument signatures are essentially free from ringing, noise, intermodulation distortions or group/phase delay induced time or spatial smearing. Compared to the XMOS USB Audio 2.0 Reference Design asynchronous DAC, the Onkyo performs on an even plane with the XMOS DAC playing the same source tracks symmetrically up-sampled (by a custom program) to 176.4kHz/24bit and played back in iTunes on a MacBook-Pro. With the up-sampled tracks, the XMOS is perhaps marginally superior in the treble extension (likely due to a more sophisticated interpolation filter I've implemented in a custom up-sampling program) however, compared to the Onkyo, the XMOS DAC presents a mid range a tad less focused and a somewhat recessed bass - no doubt the results of its being powered from the USB. Similarly, the XMOS gains the upper hand in the high frequency range when playing native HD 24bit 88.2/96kHz or higher tracks. On the S/N - THD front, the Onkyo is the clear winner with a lower (overall) noise floor than both the Teac and the XMOS DAC.[Note: The Teac PD-80, a decent player in its time, features a three beam tracking/reading system and a very interesting 16bit/176.4kHz laser trimmed resistor string CMOS D/A converter, the SANYO LC7881. This segmented DAC uses the r-string for the first 9 most significant bits (MSB) combined with pulse width modulation (PWM) for the middle 3bits and dynamic level shifting (DLS) for the lower 4bits. Also, the Teac is equipped with two processors, the SANYO LA9200NM for beam-tracking and servo control and an YAMAHA YM3805 digital signal processor for oversampling (2x) and digital filtering. In addition, the output analog low-pass filter is implemented with discrete components. Is the old PD-80 in the same league with the Onkyo? Perhaps not, but it is a remarkable machine nevertheless. Aside from still being operational today, it was good enough to keep the desire to upgrade at bay for two decades. It remains to be seen if the Onkyo will prove that resilient.The XMOS USB DAC features the 24bit/192kHz Cirrus Logic CS4270 audio codec (differential multi-bit sigma-delta conversion, switched capacitor) and the 32bit, 500MIPS/8threads, XMOS XS1-L1 event driven processor. It supports all sample rates from 44.1kHz to 192kHz and uses two dedicated on-board clocks (for 44.1kHz and 48kHz and their multiples). In addition, the XMOS DAC uses the SMSC USB-3318 high-speed USB 2.0 transceiver, clocked separately by a 13MHz reference crystal and the NCP699SN18T1G low quiescent current LDO voltage regulator from ON Semiconductor. The XMOS D/A solution is largely considered one of the best implementations of the "asynchronous" USB Audio currently available although a pricey one, see for instance the 6moons review of the April Music Stello-U3.]In my opinion, both the Onkyo and the XMOS DAC (and to a good extent the Teac as well) are at a level where the deficiencies in the source material e.g. unnecessary dynamic range compression, clipping, mastering artifacts due to improper transfers, etc., are laid bare (especially with the headphones) well before one begins to question the limitations of the RedBook standard. (Note: I've also listened carefully for the early high frequency roll-off and the transient response issues (as mentioned in the paragraph above) but could detect none. Could have done some tests, but in the end I just preferred to listen to it rather than waste time running unnecessary tests.)Perhaps the best way to summarize this (most ridiculously long review of a less than $200 piece of equipment) would be to say that the Onkyo C-7030 is a great example of a system where good design and proper execution raise the whole a cut above the sum of its parts. If you are in the market for a dedicated, single tray, entry level "audiophile" CD player, look around at the many options out there but do consider the C-7030: it may surprise you. Unequivocally - 5 star.UPDATE 09/28/2012: I've uploaded graphs of the player's frequency response. For test description and discussion see posted comment.

I have owned several cd players over the past 25 years(Sony ES carousel,Pioneer,Technics,Kenwood,Emerson, Fisher,even a JVC DVD player).With my Sony, certain instruments and background vocals,the air produced by the instruments,the breath the vocalist would take,crisp plucking of guitar strings were lost,blended,hidden,fuzzed over.Musical and rhythmic hand claps were non distinct; Now, I can tell if there are two or three or more background singers/peformers clapping their hands. The Technics was harsh sounding. The Fisher, overtly bright sounding. The Kenwood,edgy or grainy in sonic characteristic.The Pioneer was the only one that barely impressed me, but NO wow factor as with the Onkyo.The Pioneer pales in comparison to the Onkyo. None of them ever came close to the sonic performance or build quality of the Onkyo C-7030, which I have lived with for the past month...and I must say, life has not only been good,it's been great! It is the first cd player in which I have listened to cd after cd for as long as three to four hours of non-stop, digital audio bliss. Why? I am hearing detail like I have never heard before. I had never purchased a cd player that was near in performance or on target as an audiophile grade component. I also realize that the word "audiophile" gets tossed around a lot when describing cd players or any hi-fi components that do not warrant the title or the dubious honor and distinction of being labeled as such due to less than stellar or just poor audio sound,build quality and reliability. Audio performance, build quality, and visual aesthetics of the C-7030 do warrant the audiophile label. I'll explain why.I have read other reviews with the majority giving it high praise, and a few dissatisfied reviews or "meh" comments about the C-7030. The sound quality to MY ears is impeccable(I've only been utilizing the provided RCA cables and not the optical or coax digital options on the back chassis panel). Again, remember, this is coming from a guy previously never owning a cd player remotely near or rivaling the quality of this Onkyo, but I do KNOW quality when I hear it(vinyl record aficionado for the past several decades,also,here). For the first few days, out of the box, I noticed how balanced the high frequencies sounded; They are not bright,etched,shrill,artificial,harsh or exaggerated. Certainly NOT rolled off,dull,warm,or "smeared". Crystalline is how I can best describe the experience.Piano keys, the tinkling and tickling of the ivories ring pure sweetness. Cymbals sound REAL.Trumpets sound true(I listen to a lot of Latin and jazz, some classical,swing,big band). Heavy electronic,synth laden and New Age music sounds fantastic without the Onkyo adding any digital coldness or harshness that is often the case with lesser players.Any genre of rock and R&B sounds remarkable without distortion and while maintaining the clarity of each instrument's distinct sound(electric guitar,fuzz guitar,synthesizer,drums) . Those genres sound lively and organic.The highs just FLOW.It is an overall happy medium with the highs. Absolutely no mind or ear fatigue as experienced with my previous cd players(made me think that THAT was THE norm for digital audio). Certain audio component manufacturers roll off the highs and call that a "warm analog presentation". It's not. Dull is dull. Others "enhance" the highs and while it may add that wow factor at first, fatigue on the ears and brain begins to set in.The mids are also pleasing to these ears. No upward tipping of the mids for that forcefully pronounced, sonic characteristic that translates to harshness(that can also cause ear fatigue).Female vocals sound very natural, almost live (you are there or they are there with you in the room!). Male vocals could be a tad more convincing, but are still in the very acceptable audio range characteristic for said type of vocals(male vocals are not recessed, yet, could use just a smidge more "oomph").Very noticeable,precise,clean articulation of lyrics and enunciation of words have also amazed me like never before.Now,I have read a couple of other Amazon reviews where the bass was described as unimpressive. Let me tell you, the bass IMPRESSED me. It's clean and taut without being overly tight. The deep bass is there when called upon or needed. There is no loose, bloated, or boxy low end frequencies. Thin or anemic does NOT come to mind. Clean and correct come to mind. As far as sounding like a warm analog component akin to a turntable or vinyl record, first off, a cd will always sound like a cd and a record a record. If I wanted a cd player that sounded exactly like my turntable, then I would just stick with my turntable and vice versa or record my entire vinyl collection to the CD-R format(even then, I can still tell that it's a cd recording of a record and does not convince me that it sounds 100% like the vinyl source it was recorded from). However, if you are talking about the easy-on-the ears analog sound characteristic, yes, the C-7030 is absolutely close(there is a thousands of dollars audiophile cd player that has been described as sounding like the master tape, so it can be done and done right with digital audio)! To me, music is "audio liquid" coming from the Onkyo C-7030 which translates to soothing or easy on the ears. Stereo imaging is the best I have heard (compared to my lower end cd players). Excellent and distinct separation of the left and right channels and VERY solid central imaging; Instruments,vocals,effects are where they are supposed to be. No smearing or leaking or crosstalking artifacts;There should be none. There is also depth with regards where instruments are placed on the sound stage. Even without the lights turned out and me sitting dead center or in the sweet spot, it is evident that this player has an exceptional stereo sound stage and proper imaging! Much,much blacker backgrounds between tracks and in between solo instrumental breaks or pauses. Now, if you DO turn out the lights, close your eyes, no distractions and just the music, it becomes even more apparent why the Onkyo is such a worthy, budget priced, audiophile component.The build quality and aesthetics are exceptional for a cd player in this price range (almost weighs 12 lbs.).The centralized placement of the cd tray is aptly located without mistaking this for a low end generic cd player or low budget dvd player.The controls on the faceplate are well laid out, but could be a little bit bigger with much sharper white screen print above them.The disc tray drawer could open and close more smoothly for near silent operation.The display dimming feature is quite welcomed. The remote's controls could be larger, but it(remote) makes a cool Bang & Olufsen(as one fellow Amazon reviewer already noted) knock off statement without looking tacky or cheap.It's very Euro looking. The total design with brushed aluminum face plate is positively understated(minimalist,clean,sleek,modern) without bordering on dull or the opposite of clutter or busy; This player means business with class. The black C-7030 is the formal dinner tux version, while the silver overseas and European model is the sleek business suit version. Both are ultra-cool looking.There are much more higher end quality cd players with exotic material grade internal components(audiophile circuitry, power supplies, DAC's, transports,clocks,etc.) with an audio performance to die for. We're also talking in the several hundreds and thousands of dollars audio fidelity realm. From what I understand from others who have owned or continue to own such elite or upper echelon cd equipment, is that between the Onkyo C-7030 and said players, the differences in sound quality may be a subtle increment to not-so-subtle to "The C-7030 just cannot compete..." level. Yet, for those of us on a budget or that have not hit the winning lottery jackpot, the Onkyo C-7030 gives a modestly,yet,impressive taste into that audiophile realm.