Ex-Demonstration Gold Note CD5

The Gold Note CD-5 is a CD player of extraordinary musical authority — a component that combines a precision-engineered transport mechanism of the very highest order with an AKM AK4493 DAC of outstanding specification, housed in the precision-machined aluminium chassis and Italian aesthetic that defines the Gold Note electronics range, and available here in ex-demonstration condition at a price that represents a rare and genuine opportunity to own a reference-level CD player at exceptional value. This is the CD player that demonstrates, beyond any reasonable doubt, that the compact disc format — properly read, properly converted, and properly outputted — remains one of the most musically rewarding digital sources available at any price.

Precision Transport — Eliminating Jitter at the Source

The CD-5's transport mechanism is a precision-engineered component of the very highest order — selected by Gold Note's engineers for its combination of mechanical accuracy, vibration resistance, and jitter performance, and integrated into the CD-5's chassis with the isolation and damping provisions that ensure its mechanical operation introduces the minimum possible contamination into the sensitive analogue circuits downstream. Jitter — the timing error that transforms a theoretically perfect digital signal into a source of sonic degradation — is addressed at the transport stage with a thoroughness that the finest CD players of the reference era demanded and that the Gold Note CD-5 delivers: a transport whose reading accuracy and timing precision ensure that the digital signal presented to the AKM AK4493 DAC is as close to perfect as mechanical disc reading can achieve.

AKM AK4493 DAC — High-Resolution Conversion of Reference Quality

The AKM AK4493 converter at the heart of the CD-5 is a digital-to-analogue converter of outstanding specification — a component whose combination of dynamic range, signal-to-noise ratio, and harmonic distortion performance places it firmly in the reference class, and whose musical presentation has the clarity, tonal naturalness, and low-level detail retrieval that the finest analogue sources demand as their equal. Gold Note's implementation of the AK4493 in the CD-5 reflects the same commitment to circuit topology, power supply quality, and analogue output stage design that characterises every Gold Note electronics product — ensuring that the converter's specification is fully realised in musical practice, and not merely on paper.

Italian Build Quality — Precision Machined, Beautifully Engineered

The CD-5 is built to the standards of Italian precision engineering that Gold Note has maintained throughout its history — a chassis of precision-machined aluminium whose structural integrity, vibration resistance, and visual authority are immediately apparent, and whose build quality communicates the seriousness of the engineering within. The attention to mechanical detail that Gold Note brings to the CD-5's construction — the quality of the transport mounting, the rigidity of the chassis, the precision of the fascia finishing — reflects a manufacturer for whom build quality is not a marketing claim but an engineering discipline of fundamental sonic consequence.

PSU-10 Evo Upgrade — External Power Supply

The CD-5 is designed to accept the Gold Note PSU-10 Evo external power supply — a modular upgrade of genuine and substantial musical consequence that removes the power supply entirely from the CD-5's chassis and delivers power of reference quality through a dedicated umbilical connection. The elimination of the internal power supply from the chassis environment removes the principal source of electromagnetic contamination from the CD-5's sensitive analogue circuit — and the improvement in noise floor, dynamic authority, and musical naturalness that the PSU-10 Evo delivers is audible immediately and without qualification.

Versatile Connectivity

The CD-5 provides both analogue outputs for direct connection to an integrated amplifier or preamplifier, and digital outputs for use with an external DAC — ensuring that it integrates into any system configuration without compromise, and that its transport mechanism can serve as the disc-reading foundation for an external converter of even greater ambition should the listener's system develop in that direction. Those building a complete Gold Note digital system will find the Gold Note CD10 the natural next step in Gold Note's CD player hierarchy.

Condition — Ex-Demonstration

• Lightly used in a controlled showroom environment
• Fully tested and in excellent working order
• May show minor cosmetic marks consistent with demonstration use
• Full Martins Hi-Fi warranty included

Technical Specifications

Who Is It For?

The CD-5 in ex-demonstration condition is for the discerning music lover who understands that compact disc, properly replayed, remains one of the most musically rewarding digital formats available — and who wants a CD player of genuine high-end engineering at a price that reflects its demonstration history rather than a compromise in its capability. It is the natural entry point into Gold Note's CD player range, and those whose systems already include Gold Note analogue components such as the Gold Note PH-10 phono stage or a turntable from the Gold Note Mediterraneo range will find the CD-5 a digital front end of entirely coherent character and musical authority.

Buying from Martins Hi-Fi

Martins Hi-Fi has been in Norwich since 1968. Elizabeth Gould runs the business today, and we stock only brands we have heard properly and stand behind. We can demonstrate the Gold Note CD-5 in our Norwich showroom, connected to a suitable amplifier and loudspeakers, so you can hear precisely what a CD player of this engineering ambition achieves with your own music. When you get in touch, you'll be speaking with Dave, Chris and Tim — experienced specialists who can advise on this product and your whole system.

Contact us at info@martinshifi.co.uk, call 01603 627010, or WhatsApp on 07554 687137. You can read more about how we work on our Why Martins Hi-Fi page. We are at 85–91 Ber Street, Norwich, NR1 3EY.