Hello everyone,
This is a review and measurements of the Yamaha CD-S303 CD player and transport:
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This is the latest iteration of Yamaha entry level CD Player. As you see can from the front face, no phones out but a USB input which will accept MP3, WMA, LPCM and FLAC files.
I think the look is nice and the shape of the buttons reminds me off good old vintage Yamaha devices.
The back show the essentials:
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We get RCA analog output and tow digital SPDIF digital outputs.
This Yamaha uses a basic BurrBrown DAC, the PCM1780 which integrates a selectable digital filter. Measurements will show that Yamaha went for the sharp filter (nice) but the performances are on the low side, with a stop band attenuation of -50dB from 0.546fs, as per BB's datasheet, which is exactly what I measured (see later in this post).
THD+N at 48kHz is said to be 0.002% (-94dB) at best, @0dBFS with 24bits data (no 16bits data provided). I suspect this is THD dominated, and so we'll verify that from CD Audio.
Yamaha published the below main specs:
- Output Level (1 kHz, 0 dB, Fs 44.1 kHz): 2.0 ± 0.3 V
- S/N Ratio (IHF-A Network) (1 kHz, 0 dB, Fs 44.1 kHz): 105 dB or higher
- Dynamic Range (1 kHz, 0 dB, Fs 44.1 kHz): 96 dB or higher
- Harmonic Distortion (1 kHz, 0 dB, Fs 44.1 kHz): 0.003% or lower
- Frequency Response Audio CD: 2 Hz – 20 kHz
We'll check the above
Some additional comments:
- This Yamaha features a "pure direct" mode that deactivates digital output and turns off the display. It did not have any impact on my measurements.
- The USB input is meant to play audio files as you play a CD with possibility to switch from folders. Please check the user manual before you think about using it this way.
- Before testing, I ensured that the latest available firmware (V1.63) was installed.
When it comes to end user experience, I can't say I was really pleased. The mech is relatively slow, but similar to other recent products (such as the Denon DCD-900NE), so it's decent but really far from a good old CD Player. The buttons don't have a luxury touch and are sometimes unreactive. Reading the TOC of a 40+ tracks CD takes around 8 secondes. But, as a friend told me, none of these are real issues when you use a CD Player to play a full album at once. Fair enough.
It will go to sleep alone after some time (cool), but it’s impossible to wake it up from any of the buttons on the front face. We have to use the remote or the power button (power off and on again).
Yamaha CD-S303 - Measurements (RCA outputs)
All measurements performed with an E1DA Cosmos ADCiso (grade O), and the Cosmos Scaler (100kohms from unbalanced input) for analog outputs, and a Motu UltraLite Mk5 for digital.
I am now consistent with my specific measurements for CD Players, as I described them in the post “
More than we hear”, and as I reported them for the
Onkyo C-733 review. Over time, this will help comparing the devices I reviewed.
The Yamaha outputs a low 1.74Vrms, that is 1.2dB less than the standard 2Vrms. It means when directly compared to another player, it might not shine unless you increase the gain by the same 1.2dB with your preamplifier. Note this is in line with the published specs of Yamaha (2V ±0.3 V).
The tow channels matched at 0.06dB, which is very good. The unbalanced outputs respect absolute polarity. Phase is dead flat.
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As usual, let's start with my standard 999.91Hz sine @0dBFS (without dither) from the
Test CD (RCA out):
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The two channels are shown but only one gets represented in the dashboard (the best one). The THD+N is limited by the noise, but better than the published specs from Yamaha (0.0022% vs 0.003%).
There is indeed a higher than best in class noise floor (which is limited to CD Audio on this test, since no dither is used), but let's see if it improves at lower level.
And so, let's have a look at -6dBFS as I'm used to show:
View attachment 469547
It repeats again. You can visually see this higher noise floor, for instance if you compare with the ancient
Sony CDP-597. Nearly 3dB are lost in low level random noise, of an unknown origin to me.
Distorsion is low, though.
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Besides this higher than usual random noise, we don’t suffer power supply leakage:
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We can't see below -130dBr because of the random noise, but that is anyways very good on that perspective.
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Next is the bandwidth:
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You can see the limited channel imbalance. This is flat (-0.1dB only) but you can see the beginning of the digital filter ringing at the end of the bandwidth, due to its poor performances.
Let's have a look at it with a wider bandwidth:
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As per specs, -50dB attenuation at around 24kHz, with typical ringing past that, as we had in the early 80s'. If that has a sound, then you get it.
We can also see the noise shaping effect of the delta-sigma conversion with an increase of the noise floor beyond 25kHz.
If you compare with the Sony CDP-597, you'll see a significant difference in favor of the Sony...
My guess is that the low performance of this digital filter is what partially explains the higher noise floor in the audio band of the Yamaha, but I don't think it's the only reason.
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Let's have a look at the multitone test that a lot of you like very much:
View attachment 469551
Again, besides elevated noise floor, this is a good trace.
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Let's move on to the jitter test:
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Red trace is the analysis from the digital outpuT of the Yamaha, and the blue one is from RCA outs.
And again, we get a higher than usual noise floor, but the trace is good with minimum artifacts.
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Started with the
Teac VRDS-20 review, and on your request + support to get it done (more
here), I'm adding now an "intersample-overs" test which intends to identify the behavior of the digital filtering and DAC when it come to process near clipping signals. Because of the oversampling, there might be interpolated data that go above 0dBFS and would saturate (clip) the DAC and therefore the output. And this effect shows through distorsion (THD+N measurement up to 96kHz):
Intersample-overs tests
Bandwidth of the THD+N measurements is 20Hz - 96kHz | 5512.5 Hz sine,
Peak = +0.69dBFS | 7350 Hz sine,
Peak = +1.25dBFS | 11025 Hz sine,
Peak = +3.0dBFS |
| Teac VRDS-20 | -30.7dB | -26.6dB | -17.6dB |
| Yamaha CD-1 | -84.6dB | -84.9dB | -78.1dB |
| Denon DCD-900NE | -34.2dB | -27.1dB | -19.1dB |
| Denon DCD-SA1 | -33.6dB | -27.6dB | -18.3dB |
| Onkyo C-733 | -88.3dB | -40.4dB | -21.2dB |
| Denon DCD-3560 | -30.2dB | -24.7dB | -17.4dB |
| Myryad Z210 | -70.6dB (noise dominated) | -71.1dB (noise dominated) | -29.4dB (H3 dominated) |
| Sony CDP-X333ES | -30.5dB | -24.8dB | -16.3dB |
| BARCO-EMT 982 | -32.7dB | -24.5dB | -16.3dB |
| TASCAM CD-200 | -73.5dB | -36.3dB | -19.7dB |
| Sony CDP-597 | -30.4dB | -24.7dB | -16.5dB |
| Yamaha CD-S303 | -65.8dB (noise dominated) | -37.1dB | -20.6dB |
The results of the Yamaha mean that the oversampling filter has a headroom of more than 1dB, which is to appreciate. It's not much but it's better than many others.
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Let's continue with the good old 3DC measurement that Stereophile was often using as a proof of low noise DAC. It is from an
undithered 997Hz sine at -90.31dBFS. With 16bits, the signal should appear (on a scope) as the 3DC levels of the smallest symmetrical sign magnitude digital signal:
View attachment 469554
And one more time we suffer from the low level noise which partially masks our 3DC view.
In addition, without dither, and as we can see by the lack of perfect symmetry on this view, there is a deviation of linearity by 0.8dB, which is a surprise (to me) for a modern DAC.
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Other measurements (not shown):
- IMD AES-17 DFD "Analog" (18kHz & 20kHz 1:1) : -90.1dB
- IMD AES-17 DFD "Digital" (17'987Hz & 19'997Hz 1:1) : -75.5dB
- IMD AES-17 MD (41Hz & 7993Hz 4:1): -89.9dB
- IMD DIN (250Hz & 8kHz 4:1) : -85.1dB
- IMD CCIF (19kHz & 20kHz 1:1) : -74.9dB
- IMD SMPTE (60Hz & 7kHz 1:4) : -86.6B
- IMD TDFD Bass (41Hz & 89Hz 1:1) : -112.5dB
- IMD TDFD (13'58Hz & 19841Hz 1:1) : -97.1dB
- Dynamic Range : 95.7dB (without dither @-60dBFS)
- Crosstalk: -131dBr (100Hz), -129dBr (1khz), -104dBr (10kHz)
- Pitch Error : 19'996.74Hz (19'997Hz requested) ie 63ppm
- Gapless playback : Yes
The IMD scores are good, the DR does not reach the published 96dB, again because of that low random noise.
The clock deviates more than what I'm used to see for a modern CD player. And even if that 63ppm is not much of a concern for audio, it is hundred times higher than the Denon DCD-900NE...
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Last and not least, I like to run a THD vs Frequency sweep at -12dBFS as it shows how the conversion has evolved over time. I am currently using the beta version of REW and I discovered that this sweep gives better and more reliable results than before. I overlaid the result with the much older
Sony CDP-597 that I previously reviewed:
View attachment 469556
It is not bad for the Yamaha, when looking at THD only, but does not reach the good results of the early 1bit (economic) DACs of Sony.
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As I did with the
Sony CDP-597, I add a "
max DAC resolution" measurement test. It is performed from a 999.91Hz sine @-12dBFS with shape dither (from Audacity). I restrict the THD+N span to 20Hz - 6kHz in REW not to account for the noise of the shape dither beyond 6kHz. I take the calculated ENOB and simply add 2bits to it (due to the -12dB attenuation, as 1bits=6dB). The potential maximum, when calculated from the digital WAV file, is 18.7bits under this test. A "transparent" DAC should achieve 18.7bits, ie 100% in this test.
Here are the results compared to others:
One more time, it is the low random noise of the Yamaha that limits the performance. It prevents it from reaching my defined threshold of 17bits for this test, which is sad for a modern device.
Yamaha CD-S303 - Testing the drive
What would be good measurements if the drive would not properly read a slightly scratched CD, or one that was created at the limits of the norm? The below tests reply to these questions.
The Yamaha took 8 seconds to read the TOC of my 40 tracks test CD (this is a bit slow).
| Test type | Technical test | Results |
| Variation of linear cutting velocity | From 1.20m/s to 1.40m/s | Pass |
| Variation of track pitch | From 1.5µm to 1.7µm | Pass |
| Combined variations of track pitch and velocity | From 1.20m/s & 1.5µm to 1.40m/s & 1.7µm | Pass |
| HF detection (asymmetry pitch/flat ratio) | Variation from 2% to 18% | Pass |
| Dropouts resistance | From 0.05mm (0.038ms) to 4mm (3.080ms) | up to 1.25mm |
| Combined dropouts and smallest pitch | From 1.5µm & 1mm to 1.5µm & 2.4mm | up to 1mm |
| Successive dropouts | From 2x0.1mm to 2x3mm | up to 1mm |
The Yamaha was able to read without generating typical digital noise with dropouts up to 1.25mm. I could measure interpolation starting at 1mm but I could not hear it. Beyond 1.25mm dropouts, the Yamaha failed to play the tracks. This is below what I measure with modern drives (usually having no issue to go beyond 2mm). It is the typical performance of ancient Sony KSS laser heads, but these were mega-fast.
Yamaha CD-S303 - Measurements (Digital Optical Out)
I've seen several of you reviewing CD players using their digital outputs, in case the results could be improved from an external DAC.
So let's go with the 999.91Hz @0dBFS:
View attachment 469559
No issue here, as well as with the 3DC view (997Hz @-90.31dBFBS):
View attachment 469560
But I think that from now on, I will just use the intersample overs test at 5512.50Hz, with a phase shift of 67.5°, like I did for the
TASCAM CD-200 review. This signal generates an overshoot of +0.69dB and so if the signal would be modified before being sent, it would show either a reduction of amplitude or we'd see some sort of saturation/increase noise/distorsion. So here we go, the below is a comparison between the WAV File directly processed by the PC, and when played by the Yamaha via the optical out:
View attachment 469561
The traces are identical. The Yamaha is a "perfect" transport.
Conclusion
As much as I like Yamaha for the great products I own from them, I'm disappointed by this CD player, even if I must admit I could not hear a difference with other ones when listening to my preferred music.
That said, seeing this modern CD player suffering the comparison with much older ones... kind of made me sad. There were indeed too many places where the Yamaha did not deliver per my expectations: low level random noise, clock deviation, less than usual resistance to scratched CDs, early departure from linearity, low performance filtering,...
What I measured comes from the early 80s' in many respects. The CD players of the time were not sounding bad, but if you think they had a sound, then you might want to consider this Yamaha.
It is a good transport though, but note that the clock deviation will transition to your DAC, even if that is negligible. See below (the 0.06Hz difference):
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I hope you enjoyed the review!
