Yamaha CD S300. Has anyone heard it?

Hi folks

I'm planning to get a new, non expensive CD player. This one grabbed my attention because of some great reviews and because it has USB port

I'd like your opinons. Thanks

 

I bump this thread because I think this CD player will be a great seller next year in UK/Europe

Whathifi gave Yamaha A-S500 amplifier not only 5 star review but Best stereo amplifier up to £500, Awards 2010.
http://www.whathifi.com/Review/Yamaha-A-S500/

According to Simon Lucas, Features Editor, What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision
Our January issue (on sale December 9th) features the CD-S300 in partnership with the Award-winning A-S500 amplifier as part of our (traditional and much-anticipated) One-Make Systems enormo-Test

So I'd like your opinions my friends

It seems at that budget price we can't go wrong

 

I bump this thread because I'm seriously thinking in buying it when I land in the UK

It's about £200 and it looks good. I can't think of any other CD player with USB port and its specifications at that price

 

Yamaha's own website doesn't even show it. As a marketing company Yamaha must be a 1 out of 10. They make great products most never hear about. Come on Yamaha...develope an ego would you?

What hifi didn't care for the cd-S700 so...(they did not note how many hours were on their review unit? I am guessing I would want 100 hours before judging putting a cd on repeat for 4 days and come back)preferring an NAD 545BEE model over it. Best listen before you buy.

 

INDEED! if any Hi-Fi company has any right to be conceited,
it's sure as hell is YAMAHA...

i mean, check this out; http://www.thevintageknob.org/YAMAHA/CDX10000/CDX10000.html

 

I agree with you. Yamaha doesn't have a good marketing department. The Yamaha A-S500 was not only 5-star reviewed @ whathifi but chosen Best stereo amplifier up to £500, Awards 2010 http://whathifi.com/Review/Yamaha-A-S500/

... and there's nothing about this on Yamaha official sites :thumbsdn:


As for NAD545. First, it's way more expensive. Second, the reliability of NAD products isn't good. Even on NAD official site there're a lot of problems reported by consumers, and 545 isn't exception. Third, it doesn't have USB

 

As I mentioned somewhere on this forum, perhaps US Yamaha doesn't see the point of marketing a single-disc dedicated CD player. If you look around, I think TEAC is the only mainstream Japanese manufacturer which market a single-disc dedicated CD player.

 

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The NAD is $499 and The CD-S700 is $1K, and I guess with the currency conversion the Yamaha in question would be $400+. If the NAD 545 is better than the twice the price Yamaha I am not sure where that puts the CD-S300.
Marginal input options don't do it for me, but it is your money.

I am still waiting for a review of the Arcam DAC. You might also see if the new Marantz 8004 comes to www.accessories4less.com as a refurb at a lower price as it has a usb input. The previous model, 8003, always got good reviews.

 

No, the AS 1000 costs around 1000, the 700 half of that, street prices are even below, the problem is that the units are EVERYWHERE in germany and many other european countries, but for whatever reasons the situation is different in the US.
I owned the AS 700 amp for 6 months and was satisfied.
Many functions, decent Phono input, double wiring, more power than i could ever use in a pretty large room with medium eficient speakers. Overall no bad at all and probably the best amp for this price.
NAD comes close - soundwise, BUT not in the long run, Reliability etc,
The 1000 series is another beast with audiophile virtues.
Another ball park.
These 300/500/700 items are solid HiFi...the stuff most call mid-fi here...


whathifi.com is not the most reliable source when it comes to reviews.
I found out they often rate the products I like lower than the gear I don't like that much.

 

It changes country-to-country. If you consider Marantz to be a Japanese company, they still make the CD-5004 (under $350) in America. But my pick would be NAD (which is technically Canadian, OEM-ing from Malaysia and China).

I think the reality is that 90% of CD players out there are really CD or DVD-ROM transports tied to a board, a power supply, and a cabinet. It costs about the same to make a DVD player or an SACD player, so it's not very cost-effective to mass-market a single-disc CD-only player any more. These days, I just tell people, "buy the best Oppo you can afford."

It's amazing how much the bottom fell out of the high-end CD player market once SACD (and DVD-A) hit. I was a little chagrined myself when I had a couple of $3000 DVD players become worthless overnight when Blu-ray hit, but we knew that was coming.

 

My friend, I'm going to UK, not to USA

So I'm not looking at models and prices in USA but in the UK
The Yamaha CD-S300 is in the UK right now

http://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/au...layers/cd-s300__g_color_variation/?mode=model

I'm looking for a good CD player with USB port at a non-expensive price

I still haven't found reviews so I'm asking if someone @ this forum owns it

 

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This discussion is really making me wonder just what the state of the US market is for HIFI these days? Is it that we are so IPod, IPad, and cell phones with apps crazy that the audio market is almost non-existent?

Maybe it is only mail order audio outlets like AudioAdvisor, MusicDirect, and the NeedleDoctor who are truly the audio model left to survive in this mp3 world. Being able to really audition anything is getting to be problematic. I guess if you can find a good audio dealer within 30 minutes to an hour of you, you are doing well.

Yamaha must have too many more profitable irons in the fire to offer their "full line" of audio here in the US. At least the likes of Marantz gets it. I guess it is too bad their 5004 CD player does not have a USB receiver. It has got to be a $5 per unit add in at the most if MusicStreamer can do the whole thing for $150. You have to spend a grand on the 8004 to get the USB receiver option.

I also find that many manufacturers do a poor job with their dealer locator apps on their home websites. There should always be a link to the dealer's web site there as well. Just a suggestion.

Maybe we are not even 1%'rs any more.

 

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You might check out this forum site:

http://www.avtalk.co.uk/

 

Ponkine...Perhaps you've already seen this, but it is the only review of the CD-S300 that I could find on the web.

http://www.tone.co.nz/reviews/yamaha-cd-s300-cd-player-cd-600-cd-changer-review-80

As you can see, the review is both for the CD-S300 single-disc player, and the CD-C600 disc changer. Since the reviewer seemed to say that both units sound pretty much the same, you may also want to read customers' reviews of the CD-C600 here:

http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-CD-C60...dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

I have not heard either of them. But Yamaha makes good, reliable products. I have a Yamaha CD changer that is the predecessor of the CD-C600. The model is CD-C697. [In fact, this model is still current in Canada, as both it and the CD-C600 are available.] I found its sound to be very good. I once compared its analog output to a digital output through a DacMagic. While I think the DacMagic sounded slightly better, there was really not a big difference between them. In fact, I was not even sure that I would be able to consistently tell them apart in a blind test.

 

Hi all!

Finally, after all these months, I have it!

I bought it last weekend and I've been listening to it a lot
Here's my two cents:

First impressions: A lovely little machine. It's lighweight (3.5 kg) and not big at all (435 x 86 x 260 mm). Mine is black finish. Very elegant with solid look, quite the vintage Yamaha one (haven't taken pics yet)

Remote control looks bad, really. A let down, but functionality is great, and that matters. Also manual, interconnects and power cable are included

Haven't changed power cable yet. Is an "8" one, not the 16A plug. I do listen to it with my Audioquest King Cobra interconnects, though. Not the factory-supplied ones.

It runs rather fast. When you insert a CD and press "open/close" you can wait a couple of seconds and it display total number of tracks and running time (also it was CD text). When you insert the CD and press "play" automatically it will close the disc tray and start the CD from track 1.

Sonically this machine is up to the expectations, and beyond.
Right out of the box it sounds creamy, highly addictive. Great bass extention, controlled, not boomy, but you can hear what the bass is doing even on early Rolling Stones songs. Mids are the highlight IMHO. Vocals don't sound sibilant, separations between instruments, great tune and rythm. I can hear details I didn't notice before. Highs are natural, not sign of harshness. I tried with one of the most painfully harsh recordings I know: Hey Jude. Tambourine is ear-bleeding. Also with those Genesis remixes I know you love . With this machine there's a much laid back treble, so I can now listen to those bright recordings without ear-fatigue. It does rock when it needed. Deep Purple's Speed King or Who's Baba O'Riley sounds like they should.
Yesterday I heared Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick (25th anniversary) and I heard details for the first time: Organ sounds, acoustic reverbs, etc. For the first time cymbals didn't annoy me!.

I tried this CD with everything (Ray Charles, Jean Luc Ponty, Joe Cocker, Depeche Mode, Scorpions, Stones, Clapton, CCR, Gabriel, Art Blakey, Platters, Floyd, etc) and it doesn't disappoint.


I'd say this is a very natural sounding CD player. Compared directly with CDX 497 this is less bright, with deeper bass and greater mids. Transparent, detailed and more "European" sounding.
For my reference: Over the last months I heard NAD (a very expensive model, with SACD surround capacity, out of my budget, sadly), Marantz CD5004 (great sounding but HIGHLY UNRELIABLE. WITHIN 10 MINS FAILED AND NEVER RECOVERED! GLAD I HAD FULL REFOUND), Cambridge Audio Azur CD640 (Too bright for my system, wasn't impressed with it), etc.

As for the USB port. I tried with pendrive and portable hard drive. The last one can't be read, unfortunately. Haven't tried with iPod yet, but I'll borrow one by weekend. 320 kbps MP3 files sound nice, but definitely not as good as CDs. It's more like a "bonus feature". Didn't notice differences with "Pure Direct" for CD. MP3 sound a tiny bit better with pure direct.

Overall, I'd recommend this CD player for anyone who have a rather bright system and want a more listenable, more laid back sound. Good purchase!

 

Nice review. Too bad it doesn;t play FLAC files. Or does it?

 

Yeah, no FLAC files. I tried them and it displays "UNSUPPORT".

I don't know about a CD player reading them all by USB

 

Thanks so much for your review

Did you buy it here (Chile) or did you have to import it?

 

You're welcome

Yes, I bought it here in Chile
IMHO, worth giving a listen. Within its price range must be one of the best CD players around. This little machine does deliver the goods

 

I wonder how different the UK model is to the US spec, if there is a difference. There always used to be a different tonal calibration between the units, and Yamaha admitted a difference for the Japanese market on the amps - can't remember the source, but it was a quote from one of the guys at Yamaha.

We picked up the A-S700 amp, based on wanting to replace an ageing and dying AX-470 (1994!). Saw a review on Australian Hi-Fi magazine and it made a significant amount more sense than the tripe that is copied and pasted from pamphlets in What Hi-Fi.
What an amazing sound. What we were looking for and more. Very smooth, warm and natural, yet soo much cleaner than we'd expected. It's like a veil had been lifted from the system. Plenty on power on tap, and when turned up, doesn't loose composure, just gets louder and brings the band into the same room with you, like a live performance.

I've seen the 700 amp and CD bundled and reviewed on a German site, with the quirky word order that is the product of google translate. Seemed to indicate a healthy match together.

I guess we'd be looking more to the CD-S700 than the 300. Something to replace the Marantz CD6000ose and DR6000 recorder (playback).

What irks me is that the USB playback doesn't seem to support lossless formats of any kind, not even the basic and obvious .WAV file type. C'mon how hard can it be to put a couple of extra line of code in to read the .WAV files?

I was also considering a DAC - but as much as I read positive things about the Arcam rDAC, I keep getting hit with "works OK for like 20hrs, then sounds awful for 100hours, then sounds good again". I also get the impression it's a bit more treble happy that we are looking for.

 

It does read WAV files

I don't remember exactly (I'm at work now) but I think it has voltage selector, so you either can plug it in the USA or UK

Mine is European version, black

By the way, I tried it some days ago with iPod Touch 16gb, 320 kbps files

It sounded a bit brighter than CDs. Otherwise pretty good quality. Unlike pendrives, you can do it all from your iPod. You can select a folder then a song, etc while other one previously selected is still playing

 

I'd love to see Yamaha develop a high end US line to sell nicer products like these to music lovers and audiophiles. Something like Onkyo does with Integra. Right now, Yamaha has a marketing problem with all of their audio lines lumped into one brand. Right now, lines like these are needed for music lovers to grow the hobby.

 

Yamaha's 'problem' is that they absolutely dominate the AV Receiver market in low medium and ultra high class. They simply know how to d things right and that is where the money is atm. Every one and their dogs wants that AV event at home.Esp. in the US of A !
The HiFi market is a whole other bag; very divided between low class and beginners audiophile oriented stuff - that would be the AS and S class from 300 to 700 and then 1000 and 200. Do not forget the new MP 2000 Network Streamer, basically the equivalent of the CD - S 2000 , just with WiFi streaming only-looks good and sounds excellent.
They even add higher than usual quality power cords (!). They are one of less than a handful that do that. Funny thing they use another type for Europe as they use in Japan..lol

They know a thing or two about audio.
As much as I wished to replace my vintage RX-495 Receiver in the bedroom-I an not justify it. It sounds soo good after all these years with a cheap and always buggy annoying but honestly great sounding NAD C 515BEE and those excellent vintage T+A Tritons. Such a full bodied natural sound with a large stage behind the speakers and an oomph, that is hard to believe..
My 5 K rig in the living room gots to stretch out if it wants to rival those strong points - This got other strong points of course - so no complaints soundwise AT ALL.
Thank god !!
and this forum...

 

So they do play .WAV?

I saw that the product page for the CD-S300 had WAV mentioned, but only MP3 and WMA are actually mentioned anywhere in the literature.
If the 300 plays WAV, then they presumably all should.

It would make absolute sense if a machine that could play CD's, and had support for USB could play WAV, seeing as WAV is essentially the data that is needed, albeit packaged in another way (or not so packaged as it seems). I'll have to go to a shop with a USB drive and some WAV's on it to check it out, and a few differing sample rates - it may have a reasonable sample rate converter in there, for playing back audio ripped from DVD's (48kHz 16bit).

Whilst that's irritating that they don't support FLAC, with it's benefits of smaller file size and correction information (a Hi-Fi world magazine suggested it did!), but WAV's would do. A 32GB SDHC card is soo cheap now, especially at Class 2 standards, which I assume is more than enough speed to work for audio.

I' really gonna have to have a listen.

 

I just noticed this.

Did you know the A-S500 came out, and then disappeared, to be 're-tuned', and it's that tweaked model that gets the glowing review. I somehow think Yamaha swung from their more passive, smooth and natural sound, to a bit more bump and sparkle which produced the review. I remember reading the article and thinking ...hmm doesn't sound like something I'd necessarily like.

What HiFi never reviews Yamaha well unless there is nothing in it's category. As soon as Marantz or Technics (when they used to be about) brought a product, the Yamaha's would just be ignored, or else called "lacklustre", "boring" or "polite". The truth is, What HiFi reviewers have a craving for detail and punch. They get something subtle and natural, they don't like it. Each to their own, but they are supposed to be unbiased - as in writing a review!

The A-S500 also has a sub-woofer output port on the rear. Something more akin to an AV amp than stereo Hi-Fi.

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As for the .WAV issue, I looked again at their site, and yes, it does say WAV as well as the other known formats, under one of the tabs, with big icons for USB and such.

I think the same Burr Brown D/A converter chip is in the 700, 1000, and 2000 players, whilst a different one is in the 300. This is from various online sources I have dug about on. 700 has a the same silent loading mechanism, and is silent in playback too. 1000 is the 2000 without the balanced connectors. I think, the patch is still balanced, internally, but just not featuring XLR outs (although that doesn't explain £200 difference). The 700 is not 'symmetrical' like the top two.


I wanna haul my bum to a shop and listen...