Plays music without interfering

Don't like remote layout

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.

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Teac vrds7, Exposure, technics various

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

Great sound, build, look.

I hope I don't have to get the thing serviced.

Bought this from AudioAdvisor.com without auditioning other options on the strength of its reviews and my reaction to the Musical Fidelity X-Can headphone amp. The clarity, accuracy and soundstage are all very satisfying. This was a demo, so it was already "burned in" when I got it. From the consistent mention of "neutrality" in the reviews, I was a little concerned that the sound might be dry or technical, but the sound is colorful and lovely whether I listen on speakers driven by my old tube amp or on headphones.
I have a small apartment so I rarely listen to speakers at any great volume - I save that for the headphones. I was immediately struck by the detail that was present at low volumes over my relatively modest speakers (Sound Dynamics RTS3s and Advent Smallers). I listen to classical, rock and jazz recordings, vocal and instrumental, live recordings and studio, and I have yet to listen to anything with which I was not pleased with the X-Ray's presentation.
The industrial look of the X-Ray is a love-it or hate-it proposition. Myself, I love it. The construction is stout and the small footprint is convenient for my setup.
I would recommend this CD deck without hesitation to anyone looking for a high-quality single-play deck at a reasonable (relatively) price.

Rest of system:
Dynaco ST35;
Belt-driven kit-bashed turntable w/Grace tonearm & Grado red;
Musical Fidelity X-Can headphone amp;
Sennheiser HD570 headhoines;
Sound Dynamics RTS-3 speakers or Advent Smallers.

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Moved straight from a mass-market Sony deck. Nothing high-end previously used.

Replacing a Harmann Kardon HD7500 the MF X-Ray is a major improvement. Taken right out of the box, this CD is still much better than the old HD7500. Everything sounds different, and more right. Suddenly the room sounds much different. More spacious with correct dimensions. Real pianos are much more distinguisable from electronic pianos (beleive me when i say, that it was hard to hear the difference sometimes using the HD7500).Voices are exceptional. I listen to allmost everything.
The first CD in the machine was Lisa Ekdahl's When did you leave heaven.
Even though i have listened to this CD numerous times (i don't count), and listened to it through much more expensive equipment (Krell CD and amp and Sonus Faber Extrema) i now hear new details, and is even more in love with her beatifull voice.
Another example is Roger Waters' Amused to death.
Again the soundstage is wide. Perspective is excellent. Pinpoint accuracy is what comes to mind. The complex scenery is more easily dissolved than earlier, even without being analytic or sterile. It almost comes to life.
I would have liked to rate it with 5 speakers, but i think there are better CD available. I would probably have bought the Electrocompagniet EMC1 if there was a danish distributor, but my wife would then kill me, and i wouldn't enjoy that.
The EMC1 is almost twice as expensive than the X-Ray.
In Denmark, i pay'd the equivalent of 1408 $ or 879 £.
My equipment is:
Holfi Pre 8 and Holfi Power 8 amplifier.
B&W CDM2 standing on homemade stands with 27 kg. sand inside.
AudioQuest interconnects.
Dali speakercables.

The Musical Fidelity X-RAY is by far the best player I have ever owned. My previous CD machine was (it lives on in the office system) the much reviewed Marantx CD63 mkII KIS. It sucks by comparison to the X-RAY. The MF player is solidly built and very solid in the bass, my fave part of the audio spectrum, and very sweet and detailed in the midrange. Even my wife, who is a singer and never really listens to anything carefully, immediately remarked that she was hearing much more of the mix, and getting a greater sense of what was going on in the studio. What is even better about the X-RAY is that it works this magic with my quite ordinary Monitor Audio Monitor One speakers and ancient Onix 30W integrated amp and to even greater degrees with my Rogers E20 and Rogers monitors. I could not recommend this player highly enough. I know there are better CD payers made (hence the 4-rating), but I have never been able to own one. I do, however plan to keep my X-RAY for a long, long time. The MF X-Link cables are worth buying too, since they seem well-suited to the job.

GREAT, GREAT, GREAT, a trully reference on its class, the detail you get with this one is unbelieveable for its price range, it can put to shame some players costing 5 times more.But because of the resolution, forget to play bad recordings, they will sound as they are: awful.

Recovers great detail and definition from CDs. Good transparency. Good build and great value

Lack of HDCD compatability. Somewhat lean sound.

Bought the X-Ray brand new at a sale. At the price I paid for (US$770) it is a terrific value. The X-Ray does recover greater detail and offer better definition than my current Sony. Enjoyed the sound do much that I literally wnet through my CD collection (over 500 CDs) listening to them in a new light. Sound is somewhat lean, and not as full as my Sony but I believe more transparent and neutral. It is great with good recordings but can sound hard with poor recordings and in this respect it plays the CDs as they are.
Highly recommended.

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Sony CDP=XA1ES

Supercool looks, great build quality

Sounds absolutely dreadful!

I was deeply disappointed with the sound of this player, after all the great reviews it's had.

Now, I think it is one of the best looking and best built players on the market, but my opinion of the sound is:

neutral, clean tone
drab, recessed, lifeless presentation
excessively narrow stereo imaging
obvious lack of scale, bass, bottom-end
loss of fine detail

I was as surprised as anyone at my reaction to this unit.
All the flaws I've picked out are meant to be the exact opposite of what this player is known for.

Looking back at one of the reviews, there is one word that
I now agree describes the sound of this player:
ANTISEPTIC

I urge you to audition before buying!

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Primare D20

Quality of sound, Looks

None

I had been after an X-Ray for some time and had planned not to audition. Given the previous negative review I changed my mind and listened to the Linn Genko and Arcam Alpha 9 in competition, albeit through MF X-A2 / X-A200. Possibly this gave the X-Ray an advantage through being "matched" to related products. The audition used a Linn reference disk.

All three machines were an unbelievable improvement on my current Phillips player - that should be no surprise. Equally all three players would have made a happy addition to my set-up, and I enjoyed the experience of the audition immensely. As I had to make a decision a thought process was quickly put into pace.

First, in terms of sound I DID like the X-Ray. It certainly has a 'clean' sound but I did not feel antiseptically clean. I thought that the Arcam sounded closest to it and the Linn furtherst away. Where the X-Ray seems to expect your ears and brain to do some work in assembling the eventual output, the Arcam is less so and the Linn not at all. The Linn was the easiest player to listen to and the X-Ray the hardest, in terms of the actual output from the loudspeaker. Decision one, therefore, became philosophy: Would I be happier with the Linn approach or the X-Ray. I decided X-Ray and cut the list to two, dropping Linn. I repeat, the Linn was a great player.

Second, after getting the primary consideration of sound out of the way I looked at style and features. The X-Ray looks you either love or hate and I confess to loving. The Arcom is a beautiful looking machine in a far more tradiional sense - I had discounted the Linn, but that was a surprise as I thought it looked brilliant. I thought that both machines in the equation remained similar in terms of features.

The difference in looks is reflected in terms of build quality. The construction of the X-Ray gives an advantage in that it looks and feels industrial and solid. The Arcam does not, but has nothing to suggest poor quality in any way.

Finally was price. I was now fairly sure that the X-Ray was for me and I managed a better deal on that than possible on the Linn and Arcam. The X-Ray was bought.

I have not been disappointed by my purchase and family and friends all agree that it sounds (and looks) fantastic. The little issue I have is that I have a number of, shall we say, "unoffical" recordings of rock concerts on CD. These sound absolutely awful - Garbage In - Garbage Out?!

Neutrality, imaging, looks sexy to some

Looks ridiculous to others, sounds awful with crappy CDs, can be addictive!

Like with all its X-siblings, The X-RAY's cute looks belie its sober character. This is an honest, neutral player. Feed it crappy CDs and it will regurgitate crap. The X-RAY is cut out for natural reproduction, not signal pampering. Particularly overly bright CDs (mostly garbage kranked out by Sony or lousy remasterings) will leave you screaming for mommy. With these recordings it sounds clinical, and can give you hell in brightish systems.

Properly mated and supplied with decent material it really comes into its element and reveals uncanny detail and ambience while retaining its musicality, without racking your nerves. As with all X-siblings, the treble is exceptionally clean and grain free. This is a serious player for acoustic material; classical CDs are a dream!

The X-RAY appears to have some inherent power filtering; with the HMS Energia filter board it sounds more refined through the analog source filter bank than through the digital (which uses a stronger filter).

4/5 stars for not sounding just a teensy bit warmer.