CD/SACD-проигрыватели и транспорты — YBA Signature CD player

The Signature CD player is a compact disc player of YBA, the French electronics company, and part of its Signature range. It uses a Philips CD-PRO M transport with YBA's patented Blue Diode design, balanced and unbalanced outputs and a large linear power supply in a natural aluminium case.

Key specs that matter

The transport is the Philips CD-PRO M, and besides pressed CDs it reads CD-R and CD-RW discs. Outputs are one RCA pair at 2.3 V, one XLR pair at 4.6 V and a coaxial digital output. Signal to noise ratio is 115 dB on RCA and 120 dB on XLR, frequency response is 20 Hz to 20 kHz at -0.5 dB, and THD plus noise is 0.0015%. The linear power supply uses a 190 VA transformer with a UI core and 94,000 µF of capacitance for the analogue section, and standby consumption is below 0.5 W. The player measures 430 mm wide, 370 mm deep and 151 mm high and weighs 30.5 kg.

Engineering and use context

The Philips CD-PRO M is a professional CD mechanism with a metal construction. YBA's Blue Diode design is a patented technique used in the company's circuits. A UI-core transformer uses laminations shaped as U and I pieces, a construction YBA uses in several products instead of the more common toroid. The 94,000 µF reserve serves the analogue section only, separate from the transport and digital circuits. The XLR output delivers twice the voltage of the RCA output, and its signal to noise ratio is 5 dB higher. Through the coaxial output, the Signature CD can also feed an outboard converter. The enclosure uses natural aluminium, and the UI-core transformer and capacitor bank sit inside the same case as the transport. Compared with YBA's Genesis CD4, the Signature is almost three times as heavy as the 11 kg Genesis, and it replaces the Sanyo mechanism of the Genesis with the Philips CD-PRO M. The Signature range also includes a stereo power amplifier and a mono amplifier.

Pairing

The balanced XLR output suits YBA's own amplifiers, such as the Signature Stereo Power Amplifier through a preamplifier, and other amplifiers with balanced inputs. The RCA output connects to any integrated amplifier, and the coaxial output feeds a separate DAC. Its full width matches standard components.

Alternatives

The YBA Genesis CD4 is a lighter CD player from YBA, using a Cirrus CS4398 DAC in a 430 x 388 x 115 mm case.