Hegel Viking processes the audio from a CD in an incredibly impressive manner, which is both surprising and gratifying.

Hegel Music Systems' Viking presented every CD with enough verve, transparency, and natural detail to make each disc sound distinctly different, which shows that the player's sound was not swamping the disc's sound.

Hegel’s latest CD player makes an extremely good case for the five-inch silver disc, delivering very high musicality that engages the soul and the body in equal measure and had me routing through my collection for albums that haven’t seen the light of a laser beam for many moons.

While it's a surprise that Hegel has launched a new CD spinner, the sonic characteristics of the Viking shouldn't shock any brand regulars.

Whether the Viking is Hegel’s CD swan song or not, there’s no doubt that it’s one of the best CD players we’ve ever tested.