Yamaha CD-S300 and CD-S700

Quick question; the brochure says the output voltage is 2V (+/-0.3) Every other CDP out there specifies a 2V. Is it just that every player has this (normal ?)variation and doesn't state it on the specs or is there something different about the Yammie ?

Bad news : Yamaha Argentina discontinued the 300 in favour of the way more expensive 301 (with the wifi/Spotify/Airplay useless -to me- features) U$890 vs 790. I tried an importing service but it was a scam; got my money back but they kept U$ 8, so I can't find any unit locally.

Good news : the 300 RK can be imported for U$ 630, but no warranty.

 

That i'm not sure on (the 2V output). I haven't experienced any issues. Do you have any attenuator's if an issue arises?
Have you tried Amazon Germany or UK for shipping?

 

Also not sure on the 2V, but with more dynamic range and better signal to noise numbers, I'd expect the 301 to sound better and have an upgraded DAC. Remember, the 300 model is 10 years old.

 

You won't believ it! The delivery man (the actual store owner) arrived all smiles and handed me the box. I've smiled and then I saw those words: "colour black". It was the black version! He clearly misunderstood me, he admitted that much after double checking emails, took the thing back and I'll have to wait for one month for the silver version to arrive. Because, it has to be silver! Anyway, stopped crying already and glad the search is over. Now... just have to wait 4 to 6 weeks.

 

Man, that sucks! Sorry to hear that.

 

The silver unit is worth the wait. Wished I could get one; Yamaha only sells the black one down here.

 

If you want an upgrade - get a better DAC, and use the trouble-free 300 as a transport.

 

Cambridge CDP's suffer from reliability issues. My CXC transport needed a new optical unit in 4 months after purchase. Took six weeks to fix.

 

I own one of these. Steve was interested in the "current mode" model, I have the "voltage mode" one. It's nice, sounds very "analog", if I can use that term to describe a digital player.

It has a few drawbacks: a) it's very lightweight, and thus susceptible to skipping due to footfalls, needs to be isolated; b) the analog output is quite low: I have to up the volume when playing it to above the levels used with vinyl playback - it's nowhere near the usual 1.5 - 2.0 V; c) the remote overlaps frequencies with another remote in the same system, so pressing pause/play will throw the preamp off the current source and onto the next one; d) on occasion, it will make a strange noise and will fail to read any CD, will have to turn it off and give it rest to get back to normal.

It was custom built for me in Japan, and cost $1,500. While fairly satisfied with it, as I use it quite rarely nowadays, if I had to ask myself would I buy it again - the answer would be a resounding no. I still lament not being able to purchase the Primare CD32 that I was lusting after.

 

Living in the USA, this is the reason I am very reluctant to purchase costly non-USA equipment. I've had a similar experience.

 

All I hear about this brands is these kind of comments. Would never buy Cambridge Audio. An engineer friend of mine had an awful experience with a Cambridge amp; and he told me the sound was hideous to boot.

 

if you can quote me one USA-made affordable CD player of good quality - I will buy one.

 

I have a top of the line Cambridge amp - the Azur 851A. The sound is anything but hideous, I can assure you of that, and no issues whatsoever, either. Perhaps the lower end models are not as good, haven't owned or heard one. The CXC transport I own is a great piece of equipment though, despite having been fixed once. If they could work out their quality control, by design most of their products are great for the money.

 

Good point.

My "similar experience" wasn't with Cambridge (haven't owned anything by the company yet), but it was with a brand located outside the US. Lots of time was involved in the shipping and repair. Call it pessimism, but when making an expensive purchase I always try to factor in the "if this thing breaks (and it very well might), what is it going cost in terms of money and time?" factor.

 

Rather general. One bad unit does not a poor manufacturer make. My 752BD has been trouble free for five years.

 

Each to their own. I'd never go with anecdotal advice typically, and as I pointed out above, the Cambridge player I have is fine. As in it's never had a problem. I've five years, I call that pretty reliable .

Extend it out a little, my Leema Stream is over ten years old and that's the same. No issues to speak of.

I get that bad batches appear, but quality control and standards are mostly pretty good today I think.

 

I'm feeling understood Plus - like in silver coloured cars - dust takes more time to be noticed

 

Hey! I didn't read the whole 8 pages of this thread, however I had the 301N (the one with the streaming features) and just switched to the CD-S700.

Yes, as far as CD Player quality goes, it's quite a big one. TBH, my dad has a CD-S2100, which is MUCH more expensive (4 times almost the price of 700) - the difference from 301N/300 to 700 is bigger than from 700 to 2100. Well worth the upgrade.

 

I wish it were. I know a member here who was so disgusted with their quality issues, he sold his Cambridge unit after having it fixed by them and swore to never buy another by them. And on this forum, there are plenty negative feedback as to their quality. I love my CXC (after fixing) and DAC Magic+, and my Azur 851A is also trouble-free, but I will give a ward of warning to people looking at Cambridge CDP's, especially the Topaz line.

 

I agree with you, especially now vis-a-vis my Sparkler CDP from Japan. No dealers or authorized service here, so I might have made a mistake. Hope it doesn't go bad. But with those brands that have a dealer network here, one should be fine.

 

Good info to have, thanks for sharing.

In my case, I had 4 CD-S700s in a row turn out to be defective (trouble reading discs and/or loud internal noise.)

 

Apart from the streaming (which I'd never have use for) is the 301 worth the difference in money ? Is it mechanically more reliable, or faster ? I can't get a 300; all they have left is the 301, and 302, but I guess it's the same machine with the added streaming BS. I don't have any Apple devices, nor intend to own any.

 

As I said already, it can't be the same machine. Different specs.

 

Thats messed up man, sorry to hear that. Its funny, one of the differences between 300 and 700 is yamahas silent motor tech. And its a big difference.

 

You mean between 300 and 301? Just the streaming addition. Its exactly the same as far as cd player capability.