Argon Audio CD1 – Compact CD Player with a Real CD Drive

The Argon Audio CD1 is for the albums you already own. It is a genuinely small CD player built around a dedicated slot-loading CD mechanism rather than a repurposed DVD drive, with an ESS ES9023 DAC handling the analogue output and optical plus coaxial outputs for anyone who would rather send the signal onward untouched. Designed in Denmark to sit alongside the SA1 MK2 and SA2 amplifiers, it brings disc playback back into a modern system without demanding a shelf of its own.

Key Features

• Dedicated slot-loading CD drive: A mechanism built for CDs, not a DVD transport pressed into service.
• ESS ES9023 DAC: Clean, detailed analogue conversion straight out of the RCA line output.
• Digital and analogue outputs: RCA line out, coaxial and optical digital out — feed an amp or an external DAC.
• Very low distortion: THD+N below 0.007% keeps the signal honest from disc to output.
• Dimmable display with temporary mode: Read the track, then let the front panel disappear into the room.
• Remote control and auto standby: Full transport control from the sofa; standby draws under 0.5 W.
• Scandinavian design in Black or White: A compact chassis made to stack neatly with SA1 MK2 and SA2.

Customer Benefits

A CD collection does not need a full-width separate to sound good. CD1 keeps the format's strengths — a fixed running order, no buffering, no licensing gaps — and removes the bulk and the menus. Repeat and shuffle are there when you want them, the display dims out of the way when you don't, and the whole thing runs on 12.6 W. Put a disc in, press play, and listen to the album the way it was sequenced.

Quick Specs

• Type: Compact CD player with dedicated slot-loading CD drive
• DAC: ESS ES9023
• Distortion: <0.007% (THD+N)
• Analogue output: RCA line out, 2 Vrms
• Digital outputs: Coaxial, optical
• Playback modes: Repeat, shuffle
• Display: Adjustable brightness, temporary display mode
• Standby: Switchable auto standby, <0.5 W
• Power consumption: 12.6 W
• Weight: 1.95 kg (net)
• Finishes: Black, White

What’s in the Box

• Argon Audio CD1 CD player
• Remote control
• Power cable

Use Cases / Ideal For

Compact hi-fi systems built around the SA1 MK2 or SA2. Desktop and sideboard setups where a full-size separate will not fit. Listeners returning to a CD shelf that never actually went away.

Compatibility

Connects to any amplifier or active speaker with an RCA line input, and to any DAC, soundbar or streamer with a coaxial or optical digital input. Plays standard audio CDs and CD-R/CD-RW discs.

Pros & Cons

✅ Pros:

• Dedicated CD mechanism rather than a DVD drive
• Both analogue and digital outputs, so it fits any system
• Genuinely compact — a visual match for SA1 MK2 and SA2
• Dimmable display and a proper remote

⚠️ Cons:

• CD playback only — no streaming, USB audio or network features
• No headphone output
• No digital input; it is a source, not a hub

If your albums deserve better than a laptop drive, the Argon Audio CD1 is the smallest honest way to play them.