With many of us stuck at home, it's arguably not a bad time to be upgrading hi-fi systems. If you have the desire, and cash, for a high-end CD player, Luxman would tempt you towards its latest disc spinner.
Launching this month, the Luxman D-03X is based on the company's celebrated D-05u CD/SACD player. It supports MQA: MQA-CDs can be played, as can MQA files up to 24-bit over the player's USB, coaxial and optical inputs. Decoding status is clearly shown by three different coloured LED indicators on the display – studio: blue, authentic: green, and renderer: red/purple.
The USB input also supports PCM files up to 32-bit/384kHz and DSD files up to 5.64MHz, and features four Bulk Pet modes designed to optimise the transfer of hi-res audio files by reducing the workload between reading and reproduction. The coaxial and optical sockets, meanwhile, support 24-bit/192kHz signals.
The DAC architecture comprises independent left and right monaural mode DACs (Texas Instruments PCM1795 chips), feeding fully balanced (and unbalanced) output circuitry.
The CD-spinning side of things utilises Luxman's latest specifications, including a dedicated CD transport mechanism with a loopless structure to improve accuracy and reduce noise when reading discs. That's all enclosed in a shielded box chassis with a thick aluminium mechanical base and new steel top-plate.
The Luxman D-03X is available in the UK from this month, priced £3500. The player is also arriving in the US for a suggested retail price of $3495 plus tax.
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