The black Yamaha CD-S3000 Natural Sound CD Player was created with care to ensure rigidity with superior vibration control properties and ultra-precise reading to draw out all the music recorded to the disc. Yamaha incorporated a drive mechanism with added heavy anchors for Yamaha's own original loader mechanism. Installing it on the chassis through the heavy anchors in front of and behind the loader mechanism achieves the highest rigidity and blocks the effects of vibrations from outside. At the same time, it also prevents vibration caused by rotation of the disc from affecting the circuit board. The anchor on the front features two layers and a screw-based adjustment mechanism. This allows for highly precise adjustment of the horizontal level of the front-back and left-right sides of the loader mechanism. The CD-S3000 is assembled by first attaching the drive mechanism to the chassis, then carefully performing minute horizontal adjustments. These efforts eliminate any minute tilting of the mechanism, achieving stable rotation and ultra-precise signal reading. Reducing the load of the servo which drives the pickup, in order to minimize the impact of servo current changes to the signal, provides a clean signal output that is virtually unaffected by noise. In addition, the loader mechanism has a structure in which a highly rigid chassis designed for integration with the loader mechanism supports the entire CD drive. Moreover, Yamaha applied only the strictest selection of parts for the pickup, which aims a beam of light at the disc as it rotates at high speed to read the signals and a drive mechanism which stably rotates the disc. This is how audio data on the disc is read with high precision to achieve the highest purity in reproduction.
The CD tray is made of high rigidity aluminum, reducing secondary vibrations due to resonance of the disc and the high-speed motor rotating the disc, resulting in improved audio signal-reading precision and quieter operation. In addition to the smart design and luxurious texture, Yamaha has fine-tuned the opening/closing action by adding a specially designed meshed wire drive, achieving smoother and gentler operation.
The main chassis, which supports the loader mechanism, was also made as strong as possible, and reinforcing each part improved the rigidity of the chassis itself. Moreover, the front panel is made of 0.28" thick aluminum, contributing to the high rigidity of the entire chassis. The unit is constructed by placing the loader mechanism, which is a rotating body, in the center, then placing the digital power supply and circuit board on its left, and the analog power supply and circuit board on its right, to achieve a total symmetrical structure with the digital and analog parts separated, achieving the ideal weight balance. Finally, to minimize impedance as much as possible, the bottom chassis, which is the standard ground, has been copper plated.
The insulators are crucial parts that block outside vibrations. They adopt Yamaha's original metal legs in order to maximize vibration control performance. The user can select point installation by applying the supplied spikes or plane insulation with the supplied pads, and use these combined with an interlocking rack if desired.
The CD-S3000 has adopted a twin power transformer method, which completely separates the digital and analog circuits from the power supply and equips each with its own dedicated power transformer. Separating the digital/analog circuits from the transformer eliminates sound quality deterioration caused by interference and noise between the digital and analog circuit blocks, which occur when there is one digital/analog power supply. This results in exceptionally clear and low-noise reproduction of analog audio. The power transformer is a toroidal transformer with low magnetic leakage which, for both the digital and the analog units, lowers adverse impact on the signal read from the disc. The power transformer is enclosed in a copper-plated case, in order to reduce the impact of magnetic leakage and vibration. This realizes a gentle, calm and even spacious sound, due to enhanced reproduction of detailed signals.
The internal design of the CD-S3000 does not separate the power supply circuit boards, which include the power transformer; the block capacitors are mounted directly on the respective digital/analog circuit boards. Thus, an original board configuration which integrates the power supply circuits was adopted. Eliminating cabling from the power supply circuits to each circuit board and mounting directly have the benefit of reducing connection loss, as well as achieving low impedance. Moreover, cabling from the power transformer utilizes the same screw-type connections as the companion A-S3000 Integrated Amplifier has. Connecting directly without soldering achieves thorough contact point loss and low impedances.
To thoroughly eliminate audio signal loss, the CD-S3000 adopts an innovative circuit configuration for the analog circuit. The signal from the D/A converter is conventionally output as an analog signal through an I/V conversion circuit configured in multiple stages. However, in the CD-S3000, the signal is output by a single-stage configuration based on a discrete design of the I/V conversion circuit. This single-stage configuration with high slew-rate sharply lowers audio signal loss compared to a multi-stage configuration circuit and lowers NFB (Negative Feedback), eliminating any sonic suppression, resulting in a natural, spacious sound. The circuits beyond these D/A converters perform balanced transmission with a circuit configuration marked by symmetrical plus and minus sides. Using a balanced connection with the A-S3000 Floating and Balanced Power Amplifier lets you enjoy profoundly pure sound reproduction without any impact of transmission loss.
The D/A converter for the CD-S3000 is the ESS Technology ES9018 SABRE Reference Stereo DAC. Yamaha selected this after examination of all points, not only its high-precision processing of 32-bit audio, but also the ability to handle large amounts of audio data, strength in the low register and high-quality definition in the high register. Since it is constructed with the master clock inside the D/A converter, it is also features an original jitter eliminator function, permitting D/A conversion with extremely low impact of clock jitter. Moreover, an 8-channel D/A converter is housed inside the chip, and applies double differential operation using 4-channel D/A converters on the right and left sides respectively. It delivers exceptional high performance and high-quality signal output with superior signal to-noise ratio, since it employs an analog signal processing circuit with balanced configuration.
The CD-S3000 is designed for optimum enjoyment of high-resolution sources with superior D/A conversion and the unit's balanced signal output, and is equipped with a built-in USB DAC function which allows direct input of digital audio (from a computer, etc.) through a USB terminal. The USB DAC employs an original IC, developed specifically for Yamaha. It has an internal master clock, and can perform low-jitter transmission based on asynchronous transmission, or receiving signals without being synchronized with the master clock in the PC. The unit is compatible with digital audio of up to 192 kHz/24-bit resolution.
The CD-S3000 supports the ASIO 2.3 protocol to take full advantage of the sound quality of the USB DAC function. The ASIO 2.3 protocol is a standard protocol for professional use digital audio or DTM, with a significant sound quality benefit: the ability to achieve lower delay and higher throughput than with a standard OS sound driver. The driver software is the ASIO 2.3 Yamaha Steinberg USB Driver, and allows high quality playback of digital audio data stored to computer.
The CD-S3000 incorporates a special Pure Direct mode. When playing back analog audio, the display is turned off and the digital output circuitry is stopped, improving the quality of analog output. This enables a warmer, more natural sound with greater musicality, further enhancing the value of a fully balanced connection with the A-S3000.
The CD-S3000 has no visible screws or fasteners from the outside. The amplifier has been finished by the skillful use of advanced processing technologies, integrating the top panel and side wood connection, leaving no gaps while using different materials for the connection.
The supplied remote control features a design complementary to the aluminum panel of the CD player itself, with a simple, easy-to-understand button layout and metallic texture. In addition to the basic volume adjustment and input switching controls of the CD-S3000, it can also be used for operation of the companion A-S3000.
