First look
Yamaha's CD-S700 is a amazing monster from the time you lift the box. It’s weight makes you wonder whether you're lifting a graciously powered amp or a CD player! Outstanding finish, incredible build quality and impressive weight are the strong point of this player. It is uncommon to find this kind of build quality.
Technological aspects:
Just open the lid of the CD-S700 and you will understand the secret of the build quality and the massive weight. The whole unit is so filled with components that you will hardly find any space is left. Usually many of the CD players at this price range presents with a large chassis only to maintain the standard width, otherwise they could have been much smaller. On the contrary, looking at the innards in this case, you will realize that the Yamaha engineers must have struggled to accommodate all the components inside this box! Each section of the player is on a discretely separate circuit board.
The power supply secondary windings are separately feeding each board. The DSD1792 chip for the D/A conversion is placed below the analogue board and not in the digital section. This chip is 24-blt Burr Brown chip, which is used in different capacities in various components — even the SACD players, AV receivers and DVD players.
Isolation is a proven vital factor in clean reproduction of sound in the electromechanical equipment. The strong construction of the chassis provides good overall isolation to the player. The result of which, the CD mechanism while making movements on the chassis transmits minimal vibrations to the other parts of the player. Better the mechanical isolation and lower you have the jitter (timing error) and finally you have good imaging In the overall sound output. The CD tray glides smoothly on a belt driven assembly and the tray itself has a good rubber damping to protect the CDs while they are being placed. The tray takes the CD deep into the mechanism, which again to have better steadiness.
Another feature is the pure direct switch on the player, which switches off the display and the digital output of the player, keeping only the essentials running to serve the purest and cleanest of sound.
Yamaha, while keeping the Audiophiles happy, also takes a realistic viewpoint and provided a USB port in the front panel. Through this port you can play MP3 and WMA content from the flash devices or the hard disc, Navigating through the musical directory will be a bit difficult as this player doesn't have a video card to connect it to a monitor or, TV.
An elongated stick-form remote control that offers all the functions except power 'On'/’off'. The number pad allows direct access to a track and then there are all the navigation keys in the main area arranged in a five-button circle-and-centre arrangement. There are separate keys for forward and backward queuing and a dedicated button for (de)activating Pure Direct.
Yamaha has three CD players in this series viz. 700 (entry level), 1000 and 2000. It also has three stereo amplifiers by the same number to make the pair. This makes the decision-making procedure for a standard buyer very easy, as one doesn't have to try amps and CD player combos to make a pair.
Performance review of CD-S700
'Sleek' and smooth are two words that come to mind the minute you see the smooth tray operation of the CD-S700. Place your CD on the rubberized supports and this well-oiled mechanism slides back noiselessly deep into the player. The CD reading response is quick.
Incredible resolution — would be the words that even a beginner would be uttering as the first reflex to this player. Undoubtedly, the CD-S700 digs out the detail that is unheard of in the past.
