Price Paid:  $5000.00 from reseller

Summary:
Excellent CD player. Sounds very natural. There is flesh around the bone. And emotion. I use it with Diamond Plus interconnects. Note that they need a long break in. These cables get better and better with time, like good red wine. Back to CD1 : if you look for LP sound with CD usability, then here you are.

Similar Products Used:
Mark Levinson 39 (a couple of days, too bad), CD3 then CD2 then CD1 !

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
The YBA1 with the blue LED (not laser!) is a truly fine player, and although it is still one of the best out there, it isn't as superior as it once was. YBA isn't changing with the times, and now others are surpassing it. Even the cheap Audio Aero Prima 24/192, at $2500.00 Cdn., is better than the over-priced YBA1 now. The Audio Aero Capitole wipes-up the floor with it. (it took another French company to topple YBA, apparently!)

Weaknesses:
aging digital technology

Summary:
The YBA CD1 produces music - there is no digital edge evident. I haven't listened to BAT, Linn, Naim, Levinson players etc but I'm so happy with my YBA CD1. The sound is unambiguously superior in every way to anything I've heard before in my home. I'm very happy with it. My last set up was the MSB Dac with my industrial strength Pioneer as a transport. The sound was fine but there was no mistaking the digital edge and the sound was not unfatuiging. The YBA is truly musical by comparison - combining detail with effortless naturalness - a rare combination for a CD Player. I highly recommend it.

Strengths:
Undigital,unfatiguing, musical, absense of glare, absensce of harshness and yet still transparent and detailed

Weaknesses:
Cosmetics are a little unorthodox and arguably antiquated. Not exactly high tech look and feel, but ohhh the sound....

Similar Products Used:
MSB Link DAC III, Arcam Alpha 7, Pioneer DV09.

Summary:
Recentlu I upgrated my CD2 to YBA 1 player .After initial burn in the trip to paradise started. Pure music.It extracts all the musical details and it transfers the listener to pure musical nirvana.It is the best music transducer ever made Partner it with YBA amplification andd you end up sleepless forat least two days

Strengths:
Everything

Weaknesses:
None

Summary:
CD players don't come any better. Mark Levinson, Naim, Meridien... are incapable of reproducing sound as mellifluous as YBA. The company's patented Blue Laser technology is nothing short of brilliant, even when used with YBA's humble entry-level Integré amp.
I've got an interesting question: Does a better sub-$10,000 CD player exist?