NEC 803E (1983)
The NEC 803E was styled the CD-803E in the period review. It was NEC's entry in the first wave of Compact Disc players, reviewed by Audio in November 1983. That one detailed equipment profile is about all the surviving record has on it. It shows a serious, expensive first-generation machine: $1,300 when CD itself was brand new.
Audio (November 1983, p.52) published the manufacturer's specifications. Frequency response is 5 Hz to 20 kHz. Dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio are both better than 90 dB. THD is less than 0.01%, channel separation is above 70 dB, and average access time is 3 seconds. It's a heavy piece by any standard at 26.4 lbs (12 kg), in a chassis measuring 16.93 × 5.9 × 14.17 inches, drawing 48 watts. Output is 1.5 volts, fixed or variable.
NEC did not release full circuit details to the reviewer. He suspected the decoding approach was closer to Philips (Magnavox in the U.S.) than to Sony. He also noted NEC's attention to pre- and post-D/A conversion filtering, using what the designers called "ND" (non-delay) filters to roll off everything above 20 kHz (p.53).
The review praised the 803E's sound without reservation - "the sound quality... can't be faulted" - but the criticisms were ergonomic and technical. The front panel was judged overly complex. In error-correction tests using small black dots pressed onto the disc surface, the player failed to correct or mask missing data for the smallest dots as completely as competing players had (p.56).
Little else is documented about this model. Production years, total quantities, and later history don't appear in the available record.
eBay Listings
As an eBay Partner, we earn from qualifying purchases. This helps support our independent vintage technology research.