Moondrop DISCDREAM 2 ULTRA Portable CD Player Review – Interstellar Overdrive

The $289.99 Moondrop DISCDREAM 2 ULTRA is a versatile, battery-operated, heavy-duty, portable CD player that works well by itself or connected via Toslink to your desktop DAC.

The $289.99 Moondrop DISCDREAM 2 Ultra was kindly supplied by SHENZHENAUDIO for my review – and I thank them for that. You can purchase it here.

Introduction

First was vinyl. The older of us spun records during their youth in the 1970s and 1980s. These were large and therefore substantial in our hands, with enticing cover art, nevertheless easily stackable. Then came the pricier CD and took over in the mid 1980s. Cover art shrank and the jewel cases were somewhat chunky. Finally, Steve Jobs started taking tangible media away from us with his iPods, iTunes Store, and airport streaming. Now we had album art on screens of different resolutions and sizes – virtually. That was in the early 2000s. Hands on was yesteryear.

OK, I forgot the cassette, which was more for copying from vinyl or CD because of its handy use in cars and in Walkmen. Outside of North America, it never played a role as a pre-recorded medium.

In recent years, vinyl has experienced a huge comeback, not only in the hipster communities and with nostalgists. People pay $$$ for scratched-up records with chewed-up covers and fiddle with tonearms and pickups. Not for everybody.

While the cassette continues to RIP, CDs, now much cheaper than vinyl, are experiencing their comeback although any decent electronics analyst has always used the 16/44 standard for product analysis. It is simply the best sounding tangible medium. And whilst most of us have ripped their CD collection for streaming or use with our phones, each of us still has stacks of them in their basement. I am still buying CDs, particularly nicely presented box sets. And I still love handling a physical digital format and reading the inlay booklets.

For people like me, some companies released portable or small CD players in 2023. Moondrop had teamed up with a former Sony Discman developer (remember the 1990s) for their DISCDREAM portable, which I tested last year. It was a bit bulky, offered a 3.5 mm single-ended output, a dedicated line out, but no 4.4 mm balanced circuit and no digital out.

You could not connect it to a DAC using it as a transport, which was a huge oversight in my opinion. Apart from CDs, you could also play music from a micro SD card. The DISCDREAM also worked as a (somewhat bulky) “dongle” with your computer via USB-C, but had no Bluetooth capabilities.

The project was somewhat flawed by production problems so that not many units were shipped.

A year later, Moondrop present two new models, the $149.99 DISCDREAM 2 and the $289.99 DISCDREAM 2 ULTRA. Both feature an optical out for use with an external DAC. The company appears to still completely underestimate the importance of this enhancement, as it will make or break the deal for most (potential) customers.

Specifications Moondrop DISCDREAM 2 ULTRA

Physical Things

In the box are: the player, a USB-C charging cable and poster-sized manuals in English, Chinese, and Japanese…and the QC card.

The player’s chassis is made of robust CnC-machined aluminum raising the weight to 700 g, which keeps vibrations to a minimum. The chassis of last year’s original 500 g DISCDREAM was made of much thinner aluminum sheets and appears to be much less stiff and robust.

In contrast to the original, the glass in the lid is recessed behind metal bars in order to avoid finger prints and easy cracking. The lid’s hinge mechanism has not changed from the previous model (still no locking mechanism), but the lid has become much heavier, which may become a problem when the player is not sitting on its rubber feet but rather somewhat upright: the lid may open under its own weight so that a rubber band is required to keep it shut on the road.

Also still missing is a protective storage bag or case.

Check the product page for further details.

Functionality and Operation

The DISCDREAM 2 Ultra does

• play CDs and SACDs gaplessly
• act as DAC and amp for a computer source [and for DAPs, too]
• feature a dedicated line out
• connect to a DAC via its optical output
• offers 3..5 mm single-ended and 4.4 mm balanced circuits

It does not

• play music from a micro SD card (compared to the original DISCDREAM)
• rip CDs
• have Bluetooth capabilities
• have a remote

Interface

Front Panel

…features six buttons for the usual operation and also a crisp display.

See here for operational details

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Side Panels

The right panel contains, an optical output that doubles as a dedicated line out, and 3.5 mm/4.4 mm headphone jacks for the single-ended and balanced circuits, respectively. The left panel is blank.

Back Panel

You find the on/off switch, a pinhead LED (green when charging), and a USB-C port for charging and connecting to a computer.

Playing Music from CD and PC/Mac

You can switch between these two different sources with the button next to the display.

Playing CDs is straight forward…you lift up the lid and mount your CD, just like on your record player…and push the start button. The drive starts swiftly and operates quietly. Track changes (forward-backward) are smooth. If you wish, you can leave the lid up for optical appeal, just like on your turntable.

Speaking of optical…the new Toslink out comes in very handy for my purpose. Connecting the DISCDREAM 2 ULTRA to my EarMen Tradutto DAC and using it as a transport (only) works seamlessly.

As to USB: works for my Mac with the included USB-C to USB-A cable. Since both DISCDREAM 2 ULTRA and current MacBooks use USB-C ports, I had to dig out an adapter. Unfortunately, the USB-C port is NOT a digital out. It doubles up for 5V charging.

Amplification and Power

The DISCDREAM 2 ULTRA has a volume scale up to 100 (check the specs above for detailed numbers). I run the hungry 300 ohm Sennheiser HD 600 on 48 on the balanced circuit at leisurely listening. Plenty of power for most headphones and earphones.

Sound

When using the DISCDREAM2 ULTRA with an external DAC-amp combo, the SQ relies entirely on the latter. The DISCDREAM2 ULTRA is just a transport in this scenario and the sound is produced externally.

When used with a headphone or earphone, the DISCDREAM2 ULTRA’s sonic performance can be compared to a good-quality mid-tier dongle or DAP. I find the sound very relaxed, transparent and widescreen with my Sennheiser HD 600. Very clean, very good separation and resolution. Excellent note definition without any bleeding and well-rounded notes. A good overall balance. No shrillness at all.

I am surprised how good it sounds and enjoy listening to CDs just through the balanced output. Improved from the original…I wonder whether the new power supply makes the difference (apart from the new balanced circuit). Not sure you can expect more from such a device.

My 24 year-old TOTL Panasonic SL-CT780 portable player also manages the HD 600 (to my surprise). It sounds narrower, duller, less organized, and is technically much less refined than the DISCDREAM, particularly in terms of imaging, resolution, and upper extension.

Real-Life Use

The DISCDREAM2 ULTRA is its own paradox as it is bulky and heavy (700 g), has a lid that rests mainly on its own weight, contains a battery and integrated DAC-amp functionalities, and has a small footprint. Paradox? That’s why…

1. (Trans)Portable: On the Road

With difficulties! The ULTRA is certainly NOT ultra portable. It is rather bulky and heavy, has no protective case, and the door would frequently flip open (needs a rubber band). No comparison to the sleeker 1990s “Discmen” which are smaller, lighter (300-400 g), and have (better) lock mechanisms.

A 1990s portable player is more practical for use on the road than the bulky and heavy DISCDREAM 2 ULTRA.

2. Semi-Portable: At Home

Yes, great, it can be its own mobile stack! You can move with your player from sofa to kitchen table to your bed. Thanks to its weight, the DISCDREAM 2 ULTRA sits firmer on the underlying surface than the original model and the “ole” Discman…and therefore runs with lesser vibrations.

3. Stationary: As CD Transport on Our Desk and Hifi Rack

Perfect! Its healthy weight, small footprint, AND optical output make DISCDREAM 2 ULTRA one of the lowest-priced CD transports for the desktop. Connecting the player via Toslink to the EarMen Tradutto DAC works very well (in contrast to my moody Tangent CD II).

And if the (non-servieable) battery will have been consumed 5 years down the road, you can still run the ULTRA from your phone’s 5V power supply (or the higher-quality ifi iPowerX or Allo Nirvana/Shanti). That’s how we can circumvent planned obsolescence, though a battery compartment for (rechargeable) AA cells would have contributed to a greener environment.

The DISCDREAM 2 ULTRA is the perfect addition to my bedside setup (EarMen Tradutto DAC into both Burson Funk and EarMen CH-Amp).

Difference ULTRA to original DISCDREAM and DISCDREAM 2

Moondrop offered their first portable CD player, the $199 DISCDREAM, in Q4 of 2023. The company released the $149 DISCDREAM 2 parallel to the ULTRA in Q4 2024. What are the differences?

The original 2023 DISCDREAM is much lighter than the ULTRA and features an additional slot for playing music from mini-SD card, but lacks a 4.4 mm balanced circuit and an optical output. It was plagued with technical failure and only few units actually left the factory.

The new DISCDREAM 2 (I have not tested it) has more visible plastic parts than the other two, features a 3.5 mm single-ended circuit only, but also an optical out. It is therefore the cheapest portable CD transport on the market…and probably the lightest, therefore likely the most portable model of the three.

What’s different under the hood is difficult to evaluate. The DISCDREAM 2 ULTRA appears to have an improved power supply according to its data sheet.

DREAMING of DISCs: the new, sturdier 700 g Ultra on the left and the original 500 g DISCDREAM on the right. Similar formats, different functionalities and quality. The bars on the Ultra’s lid prevent finger prints and protect the glass from cracking on impact…just like in any jail.

Concluding Remarks

The DISCDREAM 2 ULTRA is a versatile, substantial portable CD-player that fills a niché in our portable audio world. It works as a transport with our desktop stack or stereo system, is its own independent, weighty audio unit for moving around the home, but is a bit cumbersome for use on the road.

The addition of an optical output and use of a heavier aluminum chassis makes this “portable” particular appealing for (semi-)stationary use. Paradoxes, paradoxes…and a hidden pun: DIS CD REAM.

A very useful device for my own setups.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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