Plays all disc formats, including SACD, CD-A, CD-R and CD-RW
Supports audio file formats including FLAC, WAV, AIFF, OGG, MP3, AAC and WMA
USB input
Superb built-in 32-bit DAC
Streaming through the music app
Total harmonic distortion + noise = 0,002%

DAC: ESS Saber 9038K2M
Supported discs: CD-A, CD-R, SACD, CD-RW
Supported formats: FLAC, WAV, AAC, AIFF, OGG, MP3, WMA
Analogue outputs: XLR and RCA
Digital outputs: RCA coaxial, optical
Digital inputs: USB, RJ45, RCA coaxial, optical
weight: 6,2 kg

From the official website translated with Google:

Our most advanced CD player, digital audio and network streaming yet

In a sense, digital audio doesn't exist. You'd have to be a particularly boring superhero to possess ears capable of decoding the millions of ones and zeros that make up your CD collection or iTunes library. Whatever the source—laptop, CD player, smartphone, USB stick—the result is just a vibration in the speakers. In other words, everything ends up analog in the end.

Arguably, when playing from a digital format, the most vital component is the DAC or Digital to Analogue Converter. We'll spare you most of the science, but this is what translates that inanimate binary code into audible sound energy. Bit depth, meanwhile, is a key measure of audio quality.

So, if you're listening to a 24-bit WAV copy of your favorite album through a DAC that only converts to 16-bit, there's a lot of detail that's going to be wasted right there. That's why we've included 32-bit DACs across the entire HDA range—the most common bit depth in digital recording—to ensure you get the full sonic vision of what the artist intended.

From the web translated with Google:

Reference quality ESS Saber DAC for premium CD playback
Taking just the CD player, the Arcam CDS50 is already among the best in its class. At its heart is an ESS Saber 9038 DAC (Digital to Analogue Convertor). Used in combination with a high-precision clock mechanism (for ultra-low jitter) and custom-designed power supply, it delivers sensational sound quality.

Super Audio CD (SACD) - the definitive version of the CD
To hear the Arcam CDS50 at its best, try it with Hi-Res SACD. These Direct Stream Digital (DSD) discs offer much higher resolution than regular CDs and are similar in resolution to 24-bit music files. The result is a more natural sound, revealing subtle details and textures in the music.

Furthermore it is also a stand-alone DAC
Thanks to the CDS50 with optical and coaxial digital inputs, it can also be used as a standalone DAC. This means you can connect other components, such as your TV, set-top box or games console and access the 32-bit reference quality ESS DAC. More than just a CD and streamer, the CDS50 also gives your existing digital components a huge advantage in sound quality.

MusicLife iOS Control App
If you have an Apple iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad, you can control the music streaming to your Arcam device with the MusicLife control app. Working with the wireless system, it lets you stream music directly from your device, as well as from servers or computers connected via UPnP (Universal Plug n' Play). The latest version brings Internet Radio, podcasts, and streaming from TIDAL and Qobuz. Advanced features such as library search, sorting, shuffle, and repeat are also available.

Studio-quality balanced XLR outputs
In addition to the regular RCA, coaxial and optical analogue outputs, the CDS50 also features balanced XLR audio outputs. Connect to a compatible amplifier and you'll have a truly professional connection with ultra-low signal loss, even over longer runs.

Backlit remote control with learning ability
The Arcam CDS50 comes standard with a backlit learning remote control. This makes it easier to use in low-light conditions and will control other handy functions, such as the amplifier's volume control. For effortless control as part of a home automation system, the CDS50 also features IR inputs, socketed TRIG, and an RS232 interface.

Get the best from all your digital music sources, with the Arcam CDS50.

Arcam is one of the best-known British high-fidelity audio electronics brands, founded in 1976 in Cambridge, England, by John Dawson and Chris Evans, then students at Cambridge University. The name derives from Amplification & Recording Cambridge, abbreviated to A&R Cambridge and, in the 1980s, to Arcam (stylized as ARCAM on products). Over five decades, the company has established itself in the hi-fi sector with mid- to high-end equipment characterized by understated musicality and rigorous construction. Since July 2017, Arcam has been part of Harman, a Samsung Electronics group company, within the Harman Luxury Audio division.
The brand's first product was the A60 integrated amplifier in 1976, which quickly became a classic of British hi-fi. With the Delta 70, Arcam created the first CD player entirely designed and built in the UK. The Alpha and Delta series of the 1980s and 1990s, and later the FMJ series (short for Full Metal Jacket, later reinterpreted as Faithful Musical Joy), won over entire generations of audiophiles, alongside firsts such as the first external home DAC (the famous Black Box), the first home DAB tuner (the Alpha 10), and the 1992 Delta 100, the only British-built cassette deck with Dolby S audio.
Arcam's flagship technology is Class G amplification, which switches to higher-voltage power rails only when the signal requires it, offering greater headroom and lower heat dissipation. In the PA240 power amplifier, for example, the first 50W are delivered in pure Class A. The AV receivers integrate Dirac Live room correction. The new Arcam speakers use MCC (Micro Ceramic Composite) woofers, DCC (Deep Ceramic Composite) midrange drivers in the three-way floorstanding models, and 25mm aluminum dome tweeters on an Acoustic Lens waveguide.
The series Radia represents the heart of stereophonic hi-fi production and, in the version Radia+ from 2025, includes three integrated transistor amplifiers: the A5+ (50 W per channel, MM phono stage), the A15+ (80 W per channel, MM phono stage and HDMI eARC input) and the A25+ (100 W per channel in Class G, with HDMI eARC input, USB-C input and MM phono stage). All three feature Bluetooth 5.4 with Snapdragon Sound and Auracast. For more ambitious systems, the PA240 stereo power amplifier is available, in Class G, with 225 W per channel into 8 ohms and 380 W into 4 ohms.
On the source front, the CD5 player continues Arcam's long tradition of playing optical media, while the ST5 and ST25 streamers offer high-resolution network playback. The speaker series Radia, launched in 2026, the brand's fiftieth anniversary year, marks Arcam's return to loudspeakers: it includes the two bookshelf models R15 (130mm woofer) and R25 (165mm woofer), the two three-way floorstanders R35 and R45, the R35C centre channel and the R25B active subwoofer with 750W amplifier. For home cinema, Arcam offers the AVR11, AVR21 and AVR31 AV receivers, with Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, Auro-3D, IMAX Enhanced and HDMI 2.1 with 8K passthrough, and the new Radia AV line with the AVA15, AVA25 and AVA35 models and the 16-channel AVP45 processor.
Awards from the specialist press confirm the brand's authority: the Radia A5 integrated amplifier won the What Hi-Fi? Award in the stereo amplifier category in 2023 and 2024, and its successor, the A5+, also received an award in 2025.
Arcam's target audience is the advanced audiophile looking for a high-end stereo or home cinema system without going to the extremes of esoteric high-end.