Cen.Grand GLD1.0 Deluxe Media Player - Reviews | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org   

                    Cen.Grand GLD1.0 Deluxe Media Player

Pros: Top-caliber sound
Superb build quality
Versatile design can run many different playback options
Packed full of proprietary technology
Tons of connectivity
Did I mention exceptional SQ?

Cons: Setup not as straight forward as some other streaming playback devices
Requires a bit of knowledge for customization to really get the best experience
Display could be larger
Front panel controls feel like a bit of a missed opportunity

Intro
First off, I need to apologize. This write-up is long overdue. I've basically written and rewritten it several times by now, reflecting my evolving views on the topic at hand. At this point I'm cutting myself off from any further experimentation in order to get this posted. If I explored every option and did every comparison that I want to do, this post might never be finished.

The topic in question is the GLD1.0 Deluxe Media Player from Chinese firm Cen.Grand. Those who follow my ramblings here will likely recall that I use the Cen.Grand DSDAC1.0 Deluxe as my reference DAC, as well as their Silver Fox headphone amplifier for a lot of my listening. After trying many other excellent options, the DSDAC1.0 Deluxe just hits the spot for me in terms of tonal richness, spaciousness, resolution, and that elusive "special something" which is hard to describe... but you know it when you hear it. The DSDAC has now spent more time in my system than any other DAC, at any price, in quite some time. Meanwhile the Silver Fox headphone amp is equally impressive, being among my favorite amplifiers overall. I still rotate through various tube amps, hybrid designs, electrostatic, etc, so the Silver Fox doesn't quite have the monopoly on my listening as the DSDAC, but it's still a wildly impressive device.

While not headphone related, Cen.Grand also has some massive monoblock speaker amplifiers ($18.5k), and a dedicated preamplifier ($4.4k) too. I don't have experience with those but from what I've read they seem quite well respected. It's only natural then for Cen.Grand to launch a matching transport to round out their lineup. Particularly since designer JianHui Deng has a lengthy history working with media players and transport devices, dating from way back before those were such a common focus on the high-end market. Thus we get the GLD1.0 available as either a regular or a Deluxe version. It looks like Cen.Grand also has a few other models strictly available on the Chinese market, a demographic which seems to have a much higher demand for such things in general. But the GLD1.0 represents their latest and greatest offering in the truly high-end space. I don't have pricing on the standard model but the Deluxe sells for $6,799 and is available now.

Design
So what is the Cen.Grand GLD1.0? They call it a "Media Player", but what exactly does that mean? The audio press tends to use the terms "music server" or "streamer" more often, so "media player" may feel a bit foreign. But I actually like it as far as being the most accurate. Music servers also often stream from Tidal/Qobuz/etc, whilst streamers might also host local files which they serve. So neither term is all that accurate if you really think about it. Media player captures the full capabilities of the thing - it can handle anything from streaming services, a local NAS, an attached hard drive, the internal SSD, etc. And it can even play video if you'd like, not that I think that's really the best use of this machine. Still, Media Player seems to me like the perfect way of describing the full extent of what the GLD1.0 can do.

At its heart, the GLD1.0 is a custom-built computer. It uses some general-purpose computing parts as one part of the equation, augmented with a large variety of customized audio-oriented bits which result in a suitably high quality platform with which to enjoy music playback. Every step of the way - from clocking to jitter reduction to data marshalling and so on - there is some proprietary process happening which makes the GLD1.0 stand out from the average "computer playback" system. There are multiple FPGAs on board working their magic, as well as a proprietary system called POW which we'll discuss momentarily. In short, the Cen.Grand GLD1.0 joins a select few brands in offering highly customized dedicated playback hardware for the most discerning of listeners.

Hardware is only one part of the equation, and can't do anything by itself. We need software, including an operating system, in order to make it work. Here Cen.Grand takes the unusual path of using Microsoft Windows rather than the more common Linux solution. Before you write off their decision as blasphemy, let's see what they have to say on the topic:

The operating system used is Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC (Long-Term Servicing Channel). The advantage of using Windows is its broad adaptability, powerful network capabilities, and the increased autonomy it offers users. Since its operation is identical to a regular PC, users face no obstacles when using it. IoT Enterprise is the enterprise version of Windows, which removes most features and applications intended for personal and commercial use, keeping only the most essential functions. It is typically used in industrial devices and is stable and reliable, making it an ideal operating system for a digital player. The Windows OS is pre-activated when the GLD1.0 leaves the factory.


Knowledgeable readers may recall how common it actually was/is for tech-savvy folks to build custom music playback computers using some version of Windows Server as their OS. They find it simply offers the best sound. Meanwhile plenty of others may recoil at the choice, if they aren't familiar with these more obscure (at least in the audio world) Windows offerings. Make no mistake - there is a ton of potential to be had from certain Windows builds, which are quite different from the bloated consumer versions like Windows 11. The other huge benefit is being able to run whatever software you want, rather than being tied to a factory solution as is usually the case with server/streamer type devices from other brands. Windows gives users the freedom to try a variety of dedicated playback solutions and see which one speaks to their ears and UI sensibilities. I see that as a very good thing, but will qualify it by saying it requires some degree of technical know-how compared to the more plug-and-play nature of other systems.

The GLD1.0 is split into two versions, just like Cen.Grand does with their DSDAC product. The base model follows the same path by using the "standard" enclosure as seen in the Silver Fox headphone amplifier. Despite being the baseline offering, it still offers robust build and certainly looks the part of a proper high-end device. Only when seen next to the Deluxe chassis do we realize there is another level above it. That higher level build used in the GLD1.0 Deluxe is the same as we see in the DSDAC1.0 Deluxe - a massively thick chassis with beautiful custom milled sidewalls shaped in the pattern of a DSD signal. On build quality and aesthetics, these Deluxe components are every bit the equal of top-caliber gear from firms such as EMM Labs, Playback Designs, or Accuphase. Cen.Grand truly does a remarkable job here.

I am not 100% sure of the internal distinctions between the two GLD versions, other than to say the standard model has a lower powered CPU and less RAM. I suspect the standard model is more appropriate for streaming playback using options like Qobuz, Tidal, or an external Roon core, whilst the more potent Deluxe is a better candidate to act as the Roon core itself, or just manage attached hard drives full of FLAC files using whichever software the user prefers. The Deluxe uses a powerful Intel i7 CPU with 16GB of RAM for a fluid experience no matter what you might throw at it, including multi-room playback or various upsampling/EQ options. So from that perspective, the choice between standard and Deluxe really depends on the intended use-case.

One big design aspect where the GLD1.0 stands out from the crowd pertains to their proprietary POW interface. Simply put, Cen.Grand feels that USB audio is a compromise. This echoes the findings of many audiophiles over the years, despite the significant progress made in extracting good sound from the format. Cen.Grand instead prefers to use their own solution which they call POW, or Parting Of Ways. This involves a custom PCIe output card which completely separates the data signal and the clock signal, carrying each over its own cable on the way to the DAC. Cen.Grand feels this method is the absolute pinnacle of digital audio transmission and recommends its use when possible, but also provides a host of other options for maximum compatibility.

We've seen conceptually similar dual-cable systems from other top-tier brands though none work quite like the Cen.Grand POW system. For example, dCS has been using dual AES cables for years, but that was mainly to overcome the sample-rate limitations inherent in that format. This allowed them to handle higher rate PCM and DSD than would otherwise be possible with a single AES cable. Meanwhile the Esoteric ES-LINK system uses two HDMI cables to segment data and clock streams, which makes it the closest thing to POW that I've seen - Esoteric being a legendary Japanese ultra-high-end brand is not bad company to be in. But Cen.Grand remains unique in that their system uses the ideal transmission method for each type of signal. BNC is historically the main choice for word clock connections, whether in a studio setting or with audiophile gear, so that's what the GLD1.0 uses for the clock signal. Meanwhile the data connection uses "telecom-grade optical fibers with G-level bandwidth, capable of transmitting over kilometers" to ensure ideal signal integrity. This is not a standard cable for the audio world but I'm sure designer JianHui Deng tried all options and settled on the top performer in this scenario. Cen.Grand includes the necessary cables with the GLD1.0, and while the BNC is standardized (I already upgraded to a high-end cable) the fiber is unique and difficult to replace, so I just stick with the stock solution.

Obviously this proprietary POW system requires a matching input on your DAC, and so far the only option is the Cen.Grand DSDAC1.0 Deluxe. I'm not sure if other brands would consider adopting this transmission method but for folks using the DSDAC1.0 Deluxe this is a really obvious way to go. The GLD1.0 also has an I2S output compatible with other popular brands such as Denafrips, PS Audio, Holo Audio, Mola Mola, Audio GD, and Matrix Audio. There really isn't a true standard for I2S over HDMI though, so other brands may not be fully compatible with the GLD. Beyond the POW and I2S outputs which I would consider my top choices, there's also AES/EBU, BNC, Toslink, and RCA coaxial connections, so the GLD should work well most anywhere.

To save time on describing the device further, I'll quote Cen.Grand on some of their most notable design aspects:


The GLD1.0 is a high-performance digital player supported by multiple innovative technologies, with its digital clock architecture having been granted a national invention patent.


PCIe Synchronous Transmission Technology

The foremost technology is the PCIe synchronous transmission technology. Through a carefully designed interrupt mechanism and coordination with the host system, PCIe transmission achieves synchronous operation, allowing audio data to be transmitted without errors or packet loss from the main control system to the data processing system. Compared to USB audio protocol transmission, this method ensures complete transmission of audio data, offering advantages that USB audio cannot match.


Clock System

The clock distribution management module is one of the core technologies of the GLD1.0. High-quality femtosecond clocks, through a complex distribution mechanism, synchronize the operation of the PCIe host system and the receiver, providing synchronized clocks for the POW output module and SPDIF output.


POW Transmission and Reception Technology

This is one of the highlights of the GLD1.0. By separating the transmission of data and clocks, it avoids the damage that SPDIF encoding mechanisms cause to clock quality, allowing the DAC to receive high-quality clocks from the front-end digital turntable, similar to an external independent clock configuration. Telecom-grade optical fibers with G-level bandwidth, capable of transmitting over kilometers, easily send data to the POW receiver module. The received data and high-quality clock are recombined into an I2S signal and transmitted to the DAC. This transmission mode is currently the most advanced digital audio transmission technology in the Hi-Fi field.


Electromagnetic Isolation Technology

To prevent the complex electromagnetic conditions of the main control system from interfering with the digital processing system's clock, the GLD1.0 incorporates electromagnetic isolation between the main control system and the digital processing system. This physical separation ensures the digital system remains unaffected by interference, thereby guaranteeing clock quality.



The improvement in sound quality brought about by 100% data integrity is unmatched by any other method. The data loss and modification inherent in USB audio protocol cause severe loss of sound detail, leading many Hi-Fi enthusiasts to adopt the belief that "digital playback cannot match CDs," a widely accepted view in the Hi-Fi community for years. The advent of the GLD1.0 can change this perception. With complete data, the details in the sound are greatly enhanced, harmonics are more pronounced, and the sense of presence is significantly increased—all characteristics of high-end audio equipment. In short, the GLD1.0 is a digital player that will surprise and impress you with its exceptional performance.


I also appreciate how despite all that, Cen.Grand also mentions this:


It should be particularly emphasized that the improvement brought by the GLD1.0 is not of a “dramatic, earth-shattering” nature. Rather, compared to ordinary digital players, it offers more detail, richer overtones, and a heightened sense of spatiality—attributes that are hallmarks of true reference-grade equipment and the very reasons why such products are considered “top-tier.” GLD1.0 cannot transform an inherently poor-sounding audio system into a truly pleasing one; instead, it enables your system to take a decisive step toward the highest level of performance.

If you feel that your current audio system has reached a plateau and no other means of sonic improvement seem available, it is worth considering the GLD1.0. It is unlikely to disappoint. In fact, the GLD1.0 has been on the market in China for nearly a year, during which time not a single user has chosen to part with it—a rare phenomenon evidenced by the complete absence of units on the second-hand market.

For those with a higher-end system—one possessing strong resolving power and the ability to reveal the nuances that the GLD1.0 can deliver in terms of detail, overtones, and soundstage—the GLD1.0 is poised to offer a truly remarkable and gratifying experience.


In an era full of overdone marketing promises, where every little incremental upgrade is portrayed as being a new paradigm in audio performance, I appreciate Cen.Grand being honest about what a top-notch transport really can do for an audio system. Their statement lines up perfectly with my experience and thinking on the subject.

Usage
Moving on from hardware, let's talk about the user experience. The GLD1.0 ships with JRiver Media Center as the default playback choice. JRiver has been around for ages and is very mature by now. They don't try to market themselves as a huge do-it-all ecosystem like Roon. Nor do they try to capture the die-hard, sound-quality focused audiophiles who Audirvana appeals to. In fact I'm not really sure who exactly the target market is for JRiver. But that's my USA-centric opinion, and I've heard that JRiver is quite popular among audiophiles all over Asia, so maybe I'm just out of touch here.

In any case, the first hurdle is just interfacing with the GLD, which requires some type of external device connected via USB. The good news is you don't need anything special, as any mouse and keyboard you have on hand will do the job. You'll want to connect the GLD to your network which should be automatic when using Ethernet but will require a little work if using wifi - just choosing the network and entering the password, nothing too difficult. After that I recommend configuring some sort of remote desktop software which will allow you to control the GLD from a regular laptop/desktop/tablet. This step is not absolutely essential but I feel it makes the most sense in terms of dealing with things easily. Chrome Remote Desktop is a popular solution (and the one I use), while Cen.Grand recommends a program called Anydesk in their documentation. There are probably dozens of other valid options to choose from so take your pick. Note that you won't always have to use this method, but for setup or experimentation it can really be useful. Once you get things configured to your liking, you might rarely use it again.

Once that's done you are free to just listen with JRiver if that's your goal, or to install other options if you prefer. I started with JRiver. then added Roon, and later experimented with JPLAY Femto and Musicbee, all of which had their own unique benefits and drawbacks. If you don't use Roon which integrates Tidal and Qobuz, you could install the native players for those services and use the GLD that way. You could similarly install Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, or any other streaming platform you prefer. As long as it has a Windows program available - and most everything will - you should be able to run it on your GLD. Actually controlling these services will look different based on what you are using though, and there are various ways to handle that.

This is what I mean when I say the Cen.Grand GLD1.0 requires a bit of technical knowledge to achieve the best results. Something like an Aurender streamer is more or less plug and play - if you know how to connect an Ethernet cable, and install an app to your phone, you should be in business. Of course there are always things that can go wrong but that's the general idea. The GLD, at a base level, has similar requirements, but you'll probably want to go beyond that in order to maximize the experience.

For example, installing Roon is simple, but configuring the GLD to display the currently playing track in glorious full screen on the front panel display (rather than looking like a tiny desktop version complete with Windows taskbar and icons) requires some know-how. It's not rocket science but does go beyond the basics, and folks looking for something that approaches the simplicity of disc-based playback - just insert a CD and start listening - might not want that level of fiddling. Even the default JRiver platform takes a bit of exploration to activate Theater Mode and thus make that front panel display nice and pretty.

I think this is a classic case where having more options and customization does require more knowledge to get things configured to your liking. It's always tough to balance that against simplicity of setup/use, and everyone has a different standard as far as what they are looking for. With a little work, the GLD can be configured to function much like an Aurender, with great looking tablet or phone controls and a nice display of album art on the unit itself. It's just that the GLD takes some initial work to get

Listening
After all that discussion of unique design technology, software customization, and compatibility with various DACs, how does the GLD1.0 actually perform? Short answer - this is the best sounding transport I have ever heard.

Long answer - the GLD1.0 is extremely versatile, and anyone willing to spend the time with it should be able achieve the goal of top-tier performance. I prefer using the POW connection to my matching Cen.Grand stack of gear, but other connection types can also sound exceptional in their own ways. I often use the I2S connection to feed a Musician Audio Aquarius R2R DAC which also sounds sublime, in a fairly different way compared to the DSDAC1.0 Deluxe. And I use AES/EBU to connect a Cayin CS100 DAC which I mainly use in tube mode, and again that sounds unique in its own right. I've tried multiple DACs with price tags ranging from 3 digits to 5 figures, and the Cen.Grand GLD1.0 Deluxe always managed to extract what I feel is the full level of performance each device is capable of delivering. Which is really the best compliment one can give to a transport of any type.

From first listen, the caliber of the GLD was obvious. I heard exceptional resolution, beautiful tone, solid extension on both ends, and a nicely layered, open presentation. I only use excellent transports these days so I'm fairly used to this level of quality - it's actually more obvious when I swap in a lesser device, as the difference there becomes more clear. But the GLD fit right into my existing system and delivered results easily on par with what I'm accustomed to. The more I listened though, the more I started noticing little nuances that aren't as present even with my other devices. Little things like a singer taking a breath between words, or the vibration of snares on the snare drum, or just the sounds of audience members in the background of a live performance. These things were not at all distracting but rather served to draw me deeper into the music and make it more convincing.

Speaking of live performances, I found myself more drawn to those types of recordings than ever before. A friend had recommended Emiel Scholsberg's aptly-named Reference Recordings I which was performed and recorded in a live setting. I don't even necessarily love this sort of music but was still mesmerized by the lifelike presentation - particularly of the percussion - that the GLD1.0 unleashed. The bite of the guitar, the projection of the vocals, and the overall sense of space being portrayed were all magical, on the level few recordings I've ever heard can match. It truly sounded like the performers were sucked into a wormhole back in 2017 and transported to the here and now, in my very room. An enjoyable if almost somewhat eerie experience indeed.

Another live album where I absolutely do love the music is In the Ley Lines by Dengue Fever. This was originally a digital download released by the B&W Society of Sound project, which was a subscription-based service in which members received a new high-quality release each month. When B&W discontinued the service, I was sad that many of the titles didn't seem to be available anywhere. Now I notice this one showing up on Tidal, Apple Music, and Qobuz (probably other services too) where it had not been the last time I checked. This album starts with studio performance but switches half way through to live tracks, which to my ears sound excellent and also totally familiar to many live performances I've attended. Note that this doesn't necessarily make it audiophile demo disc caliber (which is what I would call the Emiel Scholsberg release mentioned previously) but something altogether different and arguably better. It actually sounds convincingly similar to the sort of experience one might have attending a real concert in a small venue. The sound might be quite good in many ways but also has some flaws - the acoustics aren't perfect, the crowd is a bit noisy from time to time, and perhaps you aren't sitting in the absolute sweet-spot for the best possible sound. But there's just something special about the way the music hits that really speaks to you, imperfections and all, to the point where you don't really notice or care about those shortcomings. We also have to factor in the sort of jam-band nature of Dengue Fever as musicians, where I personally think they do better live than in the studio. They manage to maintain a very high degree of technical proficiency but with more emotion, more interplay between musicians, as they are clearly in their element on stage. This is opposite of many performers who sound much better on a recording than in real life.

Next I switched to a hi-res download of Brahms: String Sextets Op.18 and Op.36, as played by the Cypress String Quartet with help from Barry Shiffman and Zuill Bailey. After playing together for over two decades, this was the final project for the quartet, which was done on the scoring stage at Skywalker Sound in Marin California. I had the privilege of being in the studio audience during parts of the performance (which technically makes this a live performance of sorts) and would then switch to the recording booth for other sections - taking care not to bother multiple Grammy award winning recording engineer Leslie Ann Jones while she worked. This was one of the highlights of my little career in the audio review space, and I use it frequently as a way of judging equipment. It's rare to be able to reference the actual sound of the performers in person, plus the sound heard by the engineer in the booth, and contrast those with the reproduction of said performance on a home audio system. I can say with authority that the GLD1.0 Deluxe helps bring me closer to that in-person experience than any other transport I've tried. Plenty of others do a great job, with a few giving what I'd call a superb performance. But the GLD1.0 surpasses them all with its lifelike presentation, delicacy, nuance, and again that special something which I can't quite put into words.

Of course, the GLD is not only excellent with live performances. I threw everything at it to see if I could find any areas of weakness. Audiophile approved gems like Miles Davis and Pink Floyd, which I've heard a million times yet still manage to enjoy. I tested the limits of speed and detail with Infected Mushroom. Plumbed the depths of dynamics and slam with my reference track Komputer Problems by Le Castle Vania + Gigantor. Did gritty underground hip-hop from Cannibal Ox, Aesop Rock, O.C., and Apathy. I sampled some of my favorite 90's rock, from Soundgarden to Stone Temple Pilots, Smashing Pumpkins to Social Distortion. I explored all sorts of fairly brutal metal, from Taiwanese band Chthonic to early Mastodon and Gojira to virtuosic technical performances from Meshuggah, Beyond Creation, Obscura, and Gorod. I switched it up and went much lighter with more folksy fare from Sarah Jarosz, Sufjan Stevens, Crooked Still, and Sometimes Why. I got jazzy with The Bad Plus, Ernie Watts, Hiromi, Dexter Gordon, and Art Blakey. I hit my favorite classical pieces, tried some modern pop (it isn't all bad you know...) and eventually found that I had basically tried a little of everything from my ever-growing music library. The verdict? No weaknesses to speak of. Every genre, every artist, was represented about as well as I had ever heard it. Of course a Diana Krall or Norah Jones track will come across as sounding "better" than anything from MF Doom or Bad Brains. But when viewed from the perspective of their individual potential, we could say the GLD maximizes the quality inherent in each recording, no matter how high each one may scale. It's nice to sit back and listen knowing I'll hear the best each song is capable of giving, and not worrying if there is more trapped inside which could be extracted by a better transport.


Competition
So just what are these other quality transports I've been alluding to as my prior references? There's been quite a few, and they come in all shapes, sizes, and budgets. I don't feel that we can always judge a component by its price tag, and that goes especially so for transports which are at their heart relatively simple devices. Thus I've had some relatively humble offerings - the Matrix Audio Element S, the Stack Audio Link II with matching Volt PSU, and the Cayin iDAP-8 to name a few - perform far beyond expectations brought by price, size, or appearance. One of my long-standing favorites has been the Euphony Summus music server powered by the Keces P8 linear power supply, which although not inexpensive still seems like a bargain considering the extreme level of performance involved. I've also had my share of very pricey gear in rotation, including an Antipodes K50, several top offerings from Lumin, Aurender, and Innuos, a Grimm MU1, a Lampizator GulfStream, and a TotalDAC D1. All of these have their charm and play at a very high level, although none was quite good enough to clearly pull away from my beloved Euphony combo. Many of them surpassed it in certain aspects but seemed lacking in other areas, meaning it felt like a bit of a tradeoff considering the costs involved. Only the Cen.Grand GLD1.0 manages what I feel is a clear improvement without any compromise. If you're reading between the lines, yes I prefer the Cen.Grand to all of them, even though some cost significantly more.

I'm not going to get into specific comparisons as that would take ages. See my DSDAC1.0 Deluxe review linked above for a taste of what that would have looked like, and you'll hopefully understand why it is burdensome to get so specific with a review. No doubt, comparisons are useful, and if I had the time I'd be all over it. But as things stand this is the best I can offer.

Tunability
One byproduct of the GLD1.0 running Windows, and thus having many options for software, is the ability to achieve slightly different results based on the sonic flavor of a particular playback engine. Again, I'm not able to go into excruciating details here, but I can say that Roon imparts its own sonic seasoning (compounded by the option for PCM upsampling and DSD conversion), as does JPLAY, as do Musicbee and JRiver. To my ears none of them sound quite identical, though which one is preferable is a matter of debate. One's preferences, equipment, and even mood at the moment might be enough to make one option better than the other. The good news is that users are free to swap out software as needed until they achieve their optimal sound. We could even keep several options on board and rotate through them whenever we want.

Take the above aspect and factor in the variations in sound brought by the matching DSDAC1.0 Deluxe with its selectable DSD upsampling rates (ranging from DSD128 to DSD1024) and multiple digital filter options. Then take into consideration the Cen.Grand Silver Fox headphone amplifier with its choice of four different drive modes (Normal, Active G, Parallel, and BTL), along with its options for tweaking output impedance. Those using the full Cen.Grand three-piece stack end up with dozens and dozens of permutations to rotate through, and those using any single Cen.Grand component still have multiple options with which to tweak the experience to their liking. A lot of the gear I try has minimal or even no opportunity to adjust or personalize the experience, so I appreciate what Cen.Grand does in this area.

Downsides
No component is perfect and I'll reiterate that the GLD1.0 is not either. The main drawback I see is the lack of a simple plug and play experience. There is a requisite level of knowledge required to get things running optimally, and I'd say it is best saved for those who enjoy that sort of tinkering. Otherwise the experience will be a chore. Folks who love that stuff will happily play with the GLD for hours, finding new ways to make the most of its powerful platform. Those who just want things to work as quickly and hassle-free as possible may not be as enamored with the situation. I have no doubt that just about everyone would be thrilled with the end result once properly configured, so it's just a matter of getting there.

From a hardware perspective, I wouldn't mind seeing the front panel display handled differently. For starters, it looks like there would be room to make it wider without much trouble. More screen real-estate is always a good thing. I don't necessarily mean an extreme widescreen display like the HiFi Rose players which takes up nearly the entire front panel, but there does seem to be enough room to expand a bit on each side if they wanted to. Push the hardware transport and power buttons out a little and you could significantly increase the viewing space while still maintaining a similar aesthetic.

Secondly, I think making it touch-capable would have made for a more streamlined user experience. Cen.Grand does give us front panel controls in the form of six buttons used for up, down, left, right, play, and pause/stop. These are preconfigured to work with JRiver Media Center, although in all my tweaking and fiddling I seem to have disabled them for the moment. I'm sure that can easily be fixed but honestly I don't have any motivation to do so at this point, since I've spent the time optimizing for iPad or Android phone controls. Still, if I was planning on using the device from within arm's reach, a touch display would really enhance the experience of interacting with it. I've been using Microsoft Surface Pro devices for ages now and while Windows is still not as optimized as Android/Apple when it comes to touch screen controls, I'd say it is quite acceptable overall. Maybe that option was ruled out due to interference or noise issues, since the focus here is more on sound quality than anything else. I really can't say for sure. But if I had the ability to change something with no drawbacks, the screen aspect is what I would focus on. That said, the screen does seem to be of very high quality, with excellent viewing angles and colors that really pop. I just wish it was a bit more functional.

Beyond that, I can't really find anything else to gripe about. If I remember correctly, there was initially no plan to add I2S via HMDI, since the POW system was such a major selling point. But with the addition of I2S (and it being fairly compatible with other brands) I am thoroughly satisfied by the connectivity involved. The only other change I can think of would be running some customized Linux version. That would make the GLD an entirely different product, for better or worse, so I won't speculate what the result might be. I will say that I hear lots of buzz in the ultra-high-end spaces about a brand called Pachanko Labs who also makes Windows-based servers. Their top model sells for about 4x the price of the GLD1.0 and is very highly regarded by folks who have tried the best of the best. I haven't heard it myself but that seems to be supporting evidence that Windows can make for a world-class experience, even if it isn't the most common in this space.

Last edited: Sep 10, 2025