Arcam Solo CD player

Looking at the Solo on a component rack or using it for a few minutes rapidly gives you the impression that this is a product that has been designed as much as engineered. The metal casing has a pleasing matte silver finish with neatly rounded corners. The front panel is dominated by a blue LCD display with an adjustable brightness setting. Two 1/8" mini-stereo jacks are also located on the front panel, one for headphone output, and one as an auxiliary input for a portable music player (anyone?) or similar device. The Solo lacks an old fashioned knob for volume, which happens to be my preference, but navigating the volume via buttons, along with the other front panel buttons is simple enough.

Looking at the Solo on a component rack or using it for a few minutes rapidly gives you the impression