CD/SACD-проигрыватели и транспорты — Musical Fidelity M3SCD

The Musical Fidelity M3scd is a CD player that the company designed to double as a digital hub. Besides spinning discs, it accepts external sources through three digital inputs - coaxial, optical and asynchronous USB - which Musical Fidelity presents as a way to route a set-top box or a television through a better converter. The maker also lists very good disc readability among its design aims.

Key specs that matter

The M3scd decodes through a 24-bit Delta-Sigma bitstream DAC working in dual differential mode with 8x oversampling. Frequency response runs from 10 Hz to 20 kHz with a maximum deviation of -0.2 dB. Its signal-to-noise ratio is rated at better than 117 dB, with THD and noise combined held under 0.003 percent over the 10 Hz to 20 kHz band. Jitter is quoted at under 135 picoseconds peak to peak, linearity is within 0.1 dB down to -96 dB, and channel separation is 105 dB from 20 Hz to 20 kHz.

Engineering and use context

The coaxial input takes 16 to 24-bit stereo PCM at 32 to 192 kHz, while the Toslink optical input covers 32 to 96 kHz at the same bit depths. The USB type B socket runs an asynchronous data stream at up to 24-bit and 96 kHz, so a computer can feed the internal DAC with the player acting as its clock master. Outputs comprise one pair of line level RCA sockets, plus RCA coaxial and Toslink optical digital outputs that pass an S/PDIF signal to an external converter or recorder. A 3.5 mm mono jack provides a +12 V DC trigger output, and a trigger input is fitted as well, letting the player power up in step with the rest of a system. The pressed steel casing, fronted by a satin-finished aluminium fascia in silver or black, measures 440 mm wide, 100 mm high and 380 mm deep and weighs 6.05 kg unpacked, or 9.9 kg in its shipping carton. A turquoise display sits on the left of the front panel with the plastic disc tray on the right, and a basic infrared remote handles control. Launched in 2020, the player was priced at GBP 1,150.

Pairing

Since the analogue output is single-ended only, the M3scd goes into an unbalanced line input on the amplifier, and power enters through a standard IEC mains socket. The trigger connections suit amplifiers that offer a matching trigger. The digital outputs let owners keep the transport in use with a separate DAC later.

Alternatives

Musical Fidelity also offers the M2scd as another CD player in its catalogue.