Yamaha cdx?

ojom

Active Member
Yamaha CDX-1110u anyone know this or have any comments about it, perhaps compared to a current mid-fi CDP?
 
EvanG said:
I just got a CDX-450 is that similar at all?

No, the CDX-1110 (1988) is in a totally different league it has a 3-BEAM, HI-BIT TWIN DAC (one fore each channel, if I remember right). The weight of it is 14,2 kg vs. the CDX-450's 3,6 kg.

The retail price of the CDX-1110 vas about $1,200.00, the CDX-450 $250.00. The CDX-450 is from 1991.

The family of the CDX-450 is; 550, 750 and 1050. You can see it on the last 2 numbers.

ojom: It sounds great compared to the current mid class (there is no such thing as mid-fi, the word Hi-Fi is a industry standard, DIN 45500 Deuchte Industrie Norm)
 
Last edited:
ojom (not EvanG, my mistake)-

Great choice! That CDP is one of the second generation stars. The DACs in it are obsolete, but the transport should be great. I don't know what it has for digital outputs, but you should be able to buy a modern 24/192 DAC for it and get great sound.

If I got it right, it's 8x oversampling, but I think it's only 16 bit. A new external DAc should really work wonders, but that 30+ pound transport won't be easy to improve on.

NB: Edit is to respond to the right member.
 
Last edited:
Sorry for the ignorant question, but what exactly is an external DAC? Where do I buy one, ebay?
 
The CDX-1100U is much better than 'midfi'. It is an excellent sounding piece and very solidly built at a hair under 30 pounds. Do a thread search on the CDX-1100 (with and without the U) and you can read a bit more about it. You can read/download the owner's manual here: http://www.yamaha.co.jp/manual/english/result.php?div_code=av Just type in the model.

yamahammer - I'll take all the CDX-1100 CDPs you can find for $150 and under.
 
B-2, I'm no Yamaha expert, but I think ojom (not EvanG, oops) snagged a 1110, not a 1100. I think the 1110 is 8x oversampling (second gen), while the 1100 was 4x (first gen).

Evan, every CDP consists of a transport, which spins and reads the CD, and a "digital to analog converter", or DAC, which changes the 1s and 0s into a normal audio signal. There has been very little progress in transports, but enormous progress in DACs.

Yes, the best place to buy one would be eBay. You won't get a good one for as little as you snagged that 450, but the difference in performance will be immense. The key things to look for are bits (you want 24) and speed (you want 192), usually expressed as 24/192. They're becoming very common, so be patient.

Ojom, the fact that the 1110 is second gen means that you're not suffering much while you wait. A first gen unit would be tough to listen to for very long.
 
Last edited:
Whatever.....I was responding to the original thread's author. I repeat......the CDX-1100 is a great sounding piece of gear. It is an 18-bit machine and sounds terrific. It is the only 'older' (pre-92) CDP (along with my CDX-1120) that I've owned that doesn't give me listener fatigue on redbook CDs. The newer machines that run the 192kHz upsampling are also good. Maybe even better. But, there is no way they are built to the same level of quality and robustness of the CDX-1100/1120. Do a forum search and you will see the nudies someone posted. Like all TOTL vintage Yamaha, terrific build quality using the best components of the day.
 
EvanG: For 10 bucks any working Yamaha CDX model is a good buy, as I mentioned before yore’s are the little sister in the line of 1991. I believe it only has line out, so you can not use an external DAC.

In a way you can see the CD player compared to an intergraded amp. In an intergraded amp the pre amp and power amp is booth in the same unit. But to archive better performance the manufactures started to separate the pre amp from the power amp (funny enough they are called separates).

The CD player is build of a transport unit (the motor, laser + control units), a conversion unit (D/A or DAC, Digital to Analog Converter). There is also a third stage, the amp unit, that one brings the sound signal up to line level (2V) and is a small amplifier.

To increase quality of the CD player sound, some started to separate the transport unit from the DAC for the same reason as the amplifier manufactures did. Noise, an electro motor makes a lot of noise when running. So away with the motor and the CD separates where born. The philosophy is to keep the signal digital out of the transport and away from the motor (the digital signal is much more tolerant to the noise from the motor), that is done with digital out (coax or optic (better)) from the transport and into the external DAC witch is shielded in its own metal box. The DAC (+ small amp) then converts the digital signal into an analog and sends it to the pre amp.

Attached is the block diagram of the CDX-1060 the generation after the 1050. I hope it made it a bit easier to understand. Try and follow the sound from the laser to the output. (It might be easiest to locate the DAC and go from there).

A hint to go Yamaha hunting is to look at the back side of the CD player, if there is digital coax out it is good, if it has booth coax and optical it's better, if it weights more than 20 pounds and has booth, then you are lifting something great. Grab it! Doesn’t matter if it is from 1987 or 1995 they sound great and the transport in them is as Negotiableterms says even to day hard to beat.

Still I think you will enjoy the CDX-450 and now you know how to hunt in the garage jungle

ojom I back B-2 in the quality of the big Yamahas, of curse you can buy better to day (and then) but not at that price.
 

Attachments

  • Block diagram CDX-1060.jpg
    Block diagram CDX-1060.jpg
    120.4 KB · Views: 207
Last edited:
Thanks for the info, I went ahead with the purchase. Honestly, I listen to my Proton 830r all the time and I think it sounds good it was made in 1986. If I hook up the Yamaha and I do not hear a difference it will not surprise me, but I go forward with an open mind. The Proton works great and, no, does not sound like vinyl, but really sounds clear to me. The 830r plays everything I put in it too. The guy says the Yamaha will not play "blue surface" cd's, or that it does not like them, perhaps it just needs a cleaning, that has been my fix in the past for finicky CDP's.
 
the-real-mandak said:
A hint to go Yamaha hunting is to look at the back side of the CD player, if there is digital coax out it is good, if it has booth coax and optical it's better, if it weights more than 20 pounds and has booth, then you are lifting something great. Grab it! Doesn’t matter if it is from 1987 or 1995 they sound great and the transport in them is as Negotiableterms says even to day hard to beat.


Not necessarily true, The CDX-10000 only has a coax digital output and is considered to be of a little higher quality. Of course it was made in 1987 and (of this I am not sure) digital optical outputs may not have been in fashion or availible. Oh yeah, it is over 20 pounds (try close to 60!)
 
whyaskit said:
Not necessarily true, The CDX-10000 only has a coax digital output and is considered to be of a little higher quality. Of course it was made in 1987 and (of this I am not sure) digital optical outputs may not have been in fashion or availible. Oh yeah, it is over 20 pounds (try close to 60!)

If any finds that machine is a garage sale and don't buy it. Then they never deserved it :yes:

And yes you are right, it only has coax and is from 1987. It is part of Yamahas Centennial line (100 year anniversary).

http://www.thevintageknob.org/YAMAHA/CDX10000/CDX10000.html (just so EvanG has a fair chance) :D
 
I purchased an 1100 back when it was new. It was the first CD player that I had ever heard up to that point that even began to compete with good analog at all.

It was a revolutionary design for the time, and it was the very first player to ever use 18 bit DACs (ok actually 16 bit Dac's that were configured to work like 18 bit DACs).

The 1100 featured 4x over-sampled desing, but it was NOT a first generation player. :no: It was at least a 4th generation player.

First Generation players were either 14 bit with 4x oversampling, or 16 bit with no oversampling. 2nd Gen players were 16bit with 2x over sampling. 3rd gen were 16 bit with 4x oversampling. This was the very first 18 bit player, which made it at least 4rth gen. And it was not a mid-fi piece. It was a 35lbs technological masterpiece for its day. :yes:
 
Last edited:
goldear said:
First Generation players were either 14 bit with 4x oversampling, or 16 bit with no oversampling. 2nd Gen players were 16bit with 2x over sampling. 3rd gen were 16 bit with 4x oversampling. This was the very first 18 bit player, which made it at least 4rth gen. And it was not a mid-fi piece. It was a 35lbs technological masterpiece for its day. :yes:

The dividing lines between generations have never been clear to me. I think that's because different mfrs hit or skipped different iterations. I remember the progression going from 14 to 16 to 18 to 20 to 24, and the sampling going from 2x to 4x to 8x, with some rare 16x thrown in. While all that was happening, there were also single-bit players at various rates. In general, I think Goldear's definitions are good ones.

Regardless of which # gen you like to put it in, I recall clearly the 1100 being a landmark product, and the 1110 and 1120 being improvements. An 1110 for under $150 is a good buy.
 
the-real-mandak said:
And to adjust my guide fore the garage jungle, if it is a Yamaha CD Player. And it weights more or about 10kg (~20 pounds) Grab it!


And it should have a digital output! :thmbsp:
 
Back
Top Bottom