Sony MXD-D3
A CD player and a MiniDisc recorder in one chassis, with a separate optical pickup for each half, per Sony's own service documentation.
Overview
The MXD-D3 is a combination deck: one box, two transports, Compact Disc on one side and MiniDisc on the other. Sony built it as a single unit so owners didn't have to stack a CD player and an MD recorder and run a cable between them. The service documentation spells out the two halves separately. The CD section runs a CDM14H-5TBD26B mechanism with a BU-5TBD26B base unit and a KSS-213BH/Z-NP optical pickup. The MD section uses an MDM-5X2B mechanism, an MBU-5X2B base unit, and a KMS-262A/J1N pickup. Both lasers are semiconductor types operating at 780 nm with continuous emission. The service manual says the CD laser output measures less than 44.6 µW at a distance of 200 mm from the objective lens with a 7 mm aperture, and it quotes the identical figure for the MD side.
It does the two jobs MiniDisc owners actually needed: playing Red Book CDs and dubbing them onto MD. The analog inputs are phono jacks at 47 kilohms input impedance, rated for 500 mVrms with a 125 mVrms minimum, so a weak line-level source works fine. There's also a digital optical input on a square connector, which is the cleaner path if the source has a Toslink output. Analog output is 2 Vrms into loads over 10 kilohms, and the headphone jack is a stereo phone type rated at 10 mW into 32 ohms.
The published frequency response for both sections is 5 to 20,000 Hz ±0.5 dB, with a signal-to-noise ratio of more than 98 dB and wow and flutter below measurable limits. The numbers are identical for CD and MD, so Sony rated the MiniDisc side to the same tolerance as the CD side. That is a statement of confidence in the ATRAC coding and the ACIRC error correction. The MD section uses Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding, EFM modulation, and a CLV rotation scheme running 800 to 1,800 rpm. It's a two-channel system, with no surround.
Sony sold the MXD-D3 in multiple regional variants, and the power supply differs accordingly. Units bought in the U.S. and Canada take 120 V AC at 60 Hz. European models take 220-230 V AC at 50/60 Hz. Certain Asian markets got 220-240 V AC at 50/60 Hz, and other countries received a selectable 110-120 or 220-240 V AC supply at 50/60 Hz. Power consumption is 20 W with less than 1 W at standby on some variants, and 22 W with less than 1.2 W at standby on others. The chassis measures approximately 430 × 120 × 290 mm and weighs 4.7 kg.
Sony shipped it with two audio connecting cords, one optical cable, an RM-D37M remote commander, two R6 (size-AA) batteries, and, for the Singaporean model only, a power plug adaptor. The optical cable means the buyer can use the digital input on day one without a separate purchase.
The deck carries a self-diagnosis display that shows a three-digit code combining a letter and figures alongside a corresponding message, so owners can check the unit's condition without opening it. The service documentation also describes an error-history mode accessible in test mode during servicing. The CD side supports CD-TEXT, and Sony's service material references a CD-TEXT test disc covering tracks 1 through 41 with normal characters, the standard bench reference for verifying text display and error correction behavior.
A note on sourcing: this page is built from Sony's own service documentation for the MXD-D3. The general-interest review record is thin. A search of the period press turns up little beyond a passing mention in EQ Magazine (March 2000, p.104), which noted a Village Jazz Festival recording session cut in High Definition by engineer Andy Strauber and National Mobile Television's Ben Jenkins, with no commentary on the MXD-D3 itself.
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