The TAD D-700 reference-level CD/SACD player that was featured in AV Designs’ demo system at the recent Kuala Lumpur International AV Show impressed all the audiophiles who entered the demo room.
I recall hearing a Deep Purple track that Jo Ki played and I heard some textures and colours in the extended guitar solos that I had never heard before. Truly the TAD-D700 is a top-flight player that could dig out the last bit of information from the pits of the good ol’ CD.
But why continue making CD players when everyone is into streaming these days? I posed this question to Shinji Tarutani, the president of Technical Audio Devices (TAD).
“Because there are still CDs,” he said. “Do you have CDs?” he asked me. “Yes, I do,” I replied. “Many people still have a lot of CDs. So there is still need for a good CD player,” he said.
It is just like vinyl, he explained. There are a lot of LPs out there, so companies still make turntables.
However, he said it is getting to be more difficult to make CD players because it is hard to find the components. Not many suppliers make the components anymore and it is difficult to get some companies to make the components unless the order is for a large quantity.
“So we stock up on certain components. We buy a lot and keep them to ensure we can still make the CD players,” he said.
It is understood that CD transports and lasers are now hard to find as optical-based data storage and retrieval systems have been replaced with hard disks and solid-state memory.
Audiophiles should be thankful that companies like TAD has the foresight to stock up on essential components to continue manufacturing top-flight CD/SACD players.
