Displaying items by tag: cd - StereoLife Magazine

Mission has expanded its compact 778 Series with the introduction of the 778CDT, a dedicated CD transport designed to complete the lineup alongside the 778X integrated amplifier and the recently announced 778S music streamer. The new model is aimed at listeners who still rely on physical digital media and want a purpose-built transport that can make the most of an external DAC or an amplifier with digital inputs, rather than a conventional all-in-one CD player. In that sense, the 778CDT is not just a matching accessory for the rest of the series, but a sign that Mission sees continued value in CD playback as part of a modern hi-fi system.

Vinyl LP pressing plants are churning out records at such a clip they're routinely backed up for six months or more. The once discredited LP has now become one of the few revenue centers for the record business outside of streaming. And now the thunderclap! The format predicted by a tenacious few since the invention of the MP3 - the lowly CD - has for the moment arrested its decline and is again posting sales gains. Defenders of the CD rejoice! Vindication is here! Or is it? Is the long slide really over?

Even the longest journey has to begin with the first step. For Sony, one of these steps was to release the CDP-101 player, which launched the adventures of the Compact Disc format. So this is genesis - the first audiophile CD player. The device was released in 1982 and followed by the first compact album - reissued "52nd Street" by Billy Joel. Sony was ahead of their partner in creating the CD format because Philips unveiled its first player a month later (it was the CD-100). This player was based on a CX-20017 16-bit D/A converter made by Sony (like most of the electronics used for the construction of this machine) and the KSS-100A laser module. These days the CDP-101 was one of the most advanced devices for general commercial use with 34 chips onboard.