Yamaha CDX-700D (1987)
The Yamaha CDX-700D was a mid-1980s CD player built around Yamaha's proprietary "high-bit" digital filter technology. It came out in 1987 at ¥63,800 in Japan.
Documentation on the CDX-700D is thin. Almost everything known comes from a single Japanese spec-sheet source. No professional reviews, service manuals, or owner forums have surfaced in the archive's research. What the record shows is a technically interesting player for its price class. It used a 4× oversampling high-bit digital filter with a coefficient word length up to 32 bits, paired with a "glitchless" high-speed D/A converter. That was Yamaha's attempt to suppress the switching noise that plagued early CD players. The signal processing and servo control were integrated into a single Yamaha-developed LSI, which the company claimed reduced parts count, power consumption, and noise. The optical head used a 3-beam system in a floating suspension to resist external vibration. The rear panel had a 75 Ω coaxial digital output with its own on/off switch.
Specifications were respectable for the era. Frequency response was 5 Hz to 20 kHz ±0.3 dB, harmonic distortion 0.004% (1 kHz, EIAJ), signal-to-noise ratio 100 dB, and dynamic range 95 dB. The player measured 435 × 107 × 347 mm and weighed 4.7 kg. Features included a 24-song random-access programmer, delete-program and random-play functions, repeat modes (one, all, program, A-B), index search, a space-insert function for roughly 4-second gaps between tracks, a two-speed monitor search, and timer play for use with an external timer. An 8-digit FL display with calendar function sat on the front panel, alongside a headphone jack with volume control. A 24-key wireless remote (model RS-CD9) was included and could handle nearly all operations, including tray open/close.
Surviving units show up in classified listings with mixed fortunes. One Russian seller described their CDX-700D as in excellent technical condition and reading all discs, priced at 18,000 rubles. Another unit sold as junk on Yahoo Japan for ¥700. One listing documents the CDX-700 being cannibalized for its laser pickup to repair a Kenwood D-3300P. The swap reportedly got the disc spinning but not fully reading. No information exists on the specific pickup model used, and no formal reviews or production figures have been found.
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