Marantz CD-63B (1983)
The CD-63B is an extra-rare, Japan-only version of the Marantz CD-63. It is finished in black brushed aluminum - the standard CD-63 was champagne. It dates to April 1983 and is otherwise identical to the Philips CD100 (also sold as the Grundig CD30 and Magnavox FD1000). The whole CD-63 family is essentially a Philips CD100 or CD101 with a Marantz badge. Philips didn't distribute the CD100 in Japan, so the CD-63B was Marantz Japan's attempt to offer that first-generation, small-size CD player at home.
What's documented about the CD-63B is largely cosmetic and anecdotal. The source that tracks this model notes a pre-production sample finished in dark grey, considered much more becoming than the production black. It appeared in several Japanese publications shortly after the CD launch, while Marantz Japan was still advertising the regular champagne CD-63. That pre-production unit had incomplete, easily erasable scripting, and its top roundel was dark anodized. On the production units, a response graph was added atop the enclosure, the silver roundel was dropped, and the programming/track scripting was altered to reflect the later CD101.
Known specifications are thin. They include a sampling frequency of 44.1 kHz, frequency response of 20 Hz-20 kHz, and a S/N ratio of 90 dB or better. One marketplace listing cites an output of 2.0 V for the CD-63B (versus 1.5 V for the CD-63), but that figure comes from a reseller catalog and should be treated cautiously. The player used the Philips CDM-1 transport. The original Japanese price in 1982 was ¥189,000.
The source notes that with much of this Marantz vintage, the drawing-board intention was often excellent, but the actual realization was rarely optimal or faithful to the original intention. A restoration thread exists for the 63B, so these units are now old enough to need attention. The person who documented this model would very much like to hear from anybody who still has the dark grey pre-production sample.
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