Price Paid:  $400.00 from 2nd hand

Summary:
If clarity and accurate sounds reproduction is what you want. Hunt no more. If classical is what you hate, listen to it classical using X-ray will change your taste of music towards classical. Dont get me wrong, this CD player has a very clear transparent sound reproduction giving superb sounstage that will smack right in front of your face for all type of music as well. This CDP will last me "forever" unless it die. Hope not :) MF X-ray, Arcam FMJA22, PSS Octet IC, Mordaunt Short 908, QED silveranniversary biwire - High, Kimber 8TC low.

Strengths:
Produce sweet musical high yet accompanied by bass.

Weaknesses:
Rather aged, might not be the best CD player currently. A love it or hate it affair due to its sheer transparency. BEWARE: ACCURATE SOUNDS REPRODUCTION: keep bad recordings CD away.... Question is: Will the rest of your system be the weakest link?

Similar Products Used:
Marantz CD6000KI (my friend''''s not mine) Marantz CD6000OSE (auditioned) Rotel CD player (auditioned)

Price Paid:  $900.00 from SevenOaks HiFi

Summary:
Very hard to beat for value. Having read all the reviews, I suspect that the other components in the system will colour appreciation of this player. I am running it with a Hovland HP100 pre-amp. Bryston 4bST and Zingali studio monitors. Gives a very true reproduction of both voice and instruments. It reproduces drums accurately, (compared it with my Sonor 6 piece kit).It does not always get the soundstage quite right, but hell, for the price it takes some beating. However, if you really want to hear it at its best, you've got to try putting in a Ringmat CDI blue statmat on top of the CD. Sounds crazy I know, why should a stupid piece of plastic on top of the CD improve the sound? It does believe me!! I recently auditioned the Chord 64 DAC with the X-ray and it sounded worse than the X-Ray with the statmat. Saved myself over $2500.

Strengths:
Good value for money. Neither adds nor takes away. Try it with a statmat for best performance.

Weaknesses:
Can't find any major problems

Price Paid:  $1150.00 from Sevenoaks HiFi

Summary:
Trying to describe the sound quality is somewhat difficult, it has very few if any real vices that can be attributed as providing any real overall character. Strengths that have on occasion proved a pleasant surprise are a silky background silence and dynamics that just simply happen.

On a personal note what really sold this player to me, I enjoy opera, in particular the soprano/coloratura voices (Sutherland etc) the ability to keep older and some times quite rough recordings under control, No need to hide behind the sofa any more as the top notes are reached.

Please do not think that this player is just for the classical enthusiast, my other music interests are hard house, euphoria and trance dance music. The ability of this player to carry a convincing bass line is not under any doubt.

Strengths:
Plays music without interfering

Weaknesses:
Don't like remote layout

Similar Products Used:
Teac vrds7, Exposure, technics various

Price Paid:  $700.00

Summary:
Very good CD player, the best in it's class also the twin brothers A3CD.

Summary:
I would take Mr Conboy's remarks with a grain of salt, since he wants to justify the considerable outlay he made for the player. That said, I have no reason to doubt the quality of the X-Ray, and believe it is held back primarily by the limitations of CD audio.

Strengths:
Industrial design

Weaknesses:
44kHz, 16 bit limitations of CD audio

Similar Products Used:
Rotel RCD 971 (similar Burr-Brown DACs)