I admit to loving much of the French gear I have heard. YBA, Cabasse, and Jadis are but three of the manufacturers with which I am familiar, all with superb Gallic style. Their equipment seems to suggest fashion and subtlety over brute power, the Jadis tube amps and pre amps being outstanding examples of this style. Dominique Giner, ex of Jadis' digital domain, has branched out and formed Metronome Technologie, a company thus far devoted to producing CD players of refinement at an attractive price. With Giner's CD-1V Signature Tube CD player, this subtlety and refinement continues.

The one box CD-1V Signature is a design featuring logical ergonomics and very solid construction. The Signature model improves the standard CD-1V with better high-end components and tubes, additional power transformers, and adds an AKM 24/96 DAC and Signature tube board. Looking like a mini Pompidou Centre, the CD-1V's proportions are 14.375"D X 19"W X 3.315"H and weighs in at a hefty 28lbs. It feels very substantial and looks like its collective parts and labour will stand the test of time. Purchaser may choose silver or black chassis, according to taste.

Giner sourced a Philips 12 series transport mechanism for both standard and Signature models. In addition, the Signature boasts a 6922/6N1P based output stage, double cathode followers and SCR/SOLEN polypropylene capacitors. Solid brass feet with Delrin cones support the over-engineered chassis (the feet were rendered obsolete in this instance by Diamond Racing cones, which are always in use chez nous). The rear guard is well equipped for connections - Analog outputs/balanced and RCA, with Digital outputs/coax S/PDIF.

While the player is esthetically pleasing, the remote is most definitely its very poor cousin. A cheap and nasty thing, the less said the better. Maybe it was offered as a sacrifice to a price point?

Concurrently with the Metronome, I have been listening to the Rega 2000 CD player (review forthcoming), which comes with the superb 'Rega Solar Wand' remote. The 2000 is much less costly than the CD-1V and does not sacrifice a quality remote. Many manufacturers could learn something from the excellence of Rega's 'plastic fantastic'!

The Metronome emits a lovely blue light via the LEDs and is quick to access the software. It read some damaged CDs easily; no skips heard. The CD drawer seems quite arrogant in the way it opens - very fast and abrupt; the CD seems to be hanging on for dear life. The CD-1V really took knock tests in its stride. I gave it a goodly clunk with a charismatic bottle of Möet. Didn't even hiccup.

The sound Giner has crafted is refined and delicate; it allowed a great sense of many recordings' ambient space. The airy tone (a by-product of a fine tube design, no doubt) permeates many recordings, causing a sense of sophistication and replicating the wonderful timbre of acoustic instruments. The tonality is represented best in the lower and upper treble, though the mids are certainly accurate and beautiful, too. They were richly detailed, yet retained the light touch of treble. Each tessitura, including a deep and characterful bass, sounded clearly delineated in its own space; no blurring and congealed octaves here, so much a character of inferior digital gear.

When coupled with fine ancillary equipment, the CD-1V came a very close second to the superb Cary 303 CD player and the standard section of the Sony SCD-1 SACD player (Wow! Digital has come a long way.). It edged the new Rega Planet 2000 CD player by a nose and sent the venerable Arcam Alpha 6 screaming for the White Cliffs of Dover!

A recent Naxos release of orchestral music by Penderecki (Naxos 8.554491) demonstrated the excellent dynamic abilities of the Metronome. Destined for status among 'The A List', this CD whacks a sizable punch from all the musicians of the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra. The incredible dynamic variations in Penderecki's Symphony No. 3 allowed the CD-1V to strut its stuff - percussive sounds from timpani, bass drum and roto toms were clear and very powerful, allowing this listener to revel in Penderecki's unique orchestration. The soundstage cleared a path well to the sides of the Gallo Solo Nucleus speakers and front to back (a huge soundfield is this particular speaker's strongpoint), while images were clear and well placed in the stage (a lack of pinpoint imaging remains the Gallo's Achilles Heel).

The Metronome played music amplified at very high levels without smearing or distorting. The tube stage kept things in focus, adding nothing but lovely tone to the proceedings (no euphonics from heaven, here). I cranked Familiar to Millions, the recent Oasis love fest at Wembley Stadium. The stadium sound blasted through the speakers with all the subtlety of a plane crash. Amid the melodic strains were the Gallagher boys' vocal antics adding even more life to the evening. The good time could be heard clearly.

The strained piano sound of a live recital by the great William Kapell from New York's Frick Museum was rendered with clinical accuracy. Released by RCA (RCA 09026-68997-2) as part of a collection celebrating his art, the piano playing is legendary, but the dead-as-a-doornail sound and the slightly out of tune piano diminish the overall quality of this volume. Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, however, gave the bass octave(s) a workout. The CD-1V came off the better, allowing the mighty left hand smashes of Kapell to sound with consummate ease.

An excellent high-end player then, and when compared to others of its quality, the CD-1V is offered at an attractive price, is well designed, does not suffer from the 'vagaries' of other French esoteric high end pieces, and sounds gorgeous on varied source material. As such, it lends an honest ear to the original recorded event, and lets you hear that event in a very musical way. C'est magnifique! Félicitations Monsieur Giner.