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Legendary Sony CDP-X7ESD CD Player For Sale!

Well, friends, the time has come again for me to cull some more of my favourite pieces from my collection.

This time it’s my reference CD player for the last few years, my much-loved and top-of-the-line Sony CDP-X7ESD CD player. Many of you will know how much I love these players. Sony crafted these during the golden era of CD back in 1989, at a time when they still made serious equipment like this.

UPDATE: Sold, within an hour of listing!

I’ve written about these players here for example and worked on many over the years, including my beauty you see here and this stunning pair of Sony CDP-X7ESD and X77ES:

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Yeah, baby!

More details of my Sony X7ESD below and you can also find the listing in my store.

Sony CDP-X7ESD

Now, if you’re wondering why I’m selling equipment like this wonderful CD player, that’s easy to answer. This is why:

Accuphase DP-90
Accuphase DC-91
There is only so much of this stuff that one can/should own. My recently acquired Accuphase DP-90 and DC-91 are much better than the Sony or any other DAC/transport I’ve ever heard/used, but this 50kg pair should be – they cost as much as a good car, new. You’ll note my commitment to Redbook CD and already know my commitment to vinyl, but as much as I love her, I can’t have equipment like the Sony sitting around gathering dust, so she has to go. I’ve also just purchased an expensive (for me) Accuphase power amplifier, so I need to recoup some funds!

Sony CDP-X7ESD Specifications

Courtesy HiFi Engine

  • Disc format: CD
  • Digital converter: PCM58P-S
  • CD Mechanism: KSS-190A
  • Frequency response: 2Hz to 20kHz
  • Dynamic range: 100dB
  • Signal to Noise Ratio: 115dB
  • Channel separation: 110dB
  • Total harmonic distortion: 0.0015%
  • Line output: 2V
  • Digital connections: coaxial, optical
  • Dimensions: 470 x 125 x 375mm
  • Weight: 17kg – yes indeed, more than most amplifiers
  • Accessories: remote control
  • Year: 1989

The X7ESD uses the legendary and incredibly long-lived Sony KSS-190A, an almost all metal mech and glass optic laser, the same mech used in my customer’s beautiful Accuphase DP-80L for example:

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The Accuphase DP-80L. What mechanisms did Accuphase always use? Sony, of course. What a stunning CD player.
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The money shot, inside the DP-80L, including that incredible Sony KSS-190A mech and one of the smoothest loaders on a CD player. These mechs are robust, serviceable, long-lasting and super-smooooooth. All CD players should be built like this, most are not. Astute readers will note that Accuphase is relentless in their attention to detail. Look at the flat flex cables for example. Have you ever seen them colour-coded to match a printed circuit board like this? Note also the coaxial cable, top right. This is a properly terminated coaxial cable digital connection to the rear-mounted coaxial digital out. You very rarely see this, but it’s critically important in preserving the waveforms of the digital bitstream.

Here is my CDP-X7ESD, photographed today, for this listing:

Sony CDP-X7ESD
You’ll note the same Sony KSS-190A mech here in my CDP-X7ESD, and the superb build quality including twin power transformers, copper-plated chassis, glass fibre circuit boards and transformer-coupled output stage, 17kg of difficult-to-lift pure Sony goodness. It’s a Sony, no doubt about it.

My X7ESD has been very well cared for, as you’d expect of something I own. I’ve serviced this player, it has new drive belts, everything is clean, and lubricated with synthetic greases and oils and she runs perfectly. Sony even still has the owners manual available for download. Thank you, Sony.

Sony CDP-X7ESD
To use Japanese parlance, this is a very ‘luxurious’ power supply. Note the foam capacitor damping, to improve sonics, a nice Sony touch. Also note the thick metalwork, high-quality machine screws, careful cable routing, copper transistor heatsinks, premium capacitors, etc. All these details combine to make a real difference. They also combine to make it expensive. You get what you pay for.
Sony CDP-X7ESD
These are the balanced output transformers. They electrically decouple the player and allow for noise-free signal transfer, a very nice touch.
Sony CDP-X7ESD

My X7ESD is in almost perfect condition, with no dings or damage to the wooden side panels and only a few light scratches to the top surface, to be expected at this age 35 years old. In most lighting, these cannot be seen.

Sony CDP-X7ESD
Beautiful and unmarked front panel, with smooth-as-silk loader.
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These scratches are not through the black anodising, despite me deliberately catching the light here, and hard to see in most conditions. More importantly, the insides of this machine are perfect, and she reads every disc I have within seconds. She will probably read CDRs, but don’t bother, machines from this vintage are not meant to.
Sony CDP-X7ESD
The side panels are in excellent condition
Sony CDP-X7ESD
Sony CDP-X7ESD
Like all really serious hi-fi equipment, balanced outputs are present on this high-end Sony machine. I’ve just cleaned her, so some moisture is visible here on the back panel.
Sony CDP-X7ESD
The original Sony remote has seen little use I suspect.
Sony CDP-X7ESD
For those wondering, NO, the Sony TAN-77ES power amplifier in the background is not for sale. My customer would not be pleased if this disappeared…

The X7ESD has single-ended and balanced outputs, plus digital outs for use with a DAC. The balanced outs sound wonderful, smooth and warm as you’d expect of a player of this calibre.

Extras

Those wanting the very best performance might consider using her as a superlative transport with a really good external DAC, like my Gustard A-26, Accuphase DC-91, Denafrips Pontus 2, etc.

Gustard A-26

Keep an eye out for my Gustard A-26 DAC, an absolute sonic stunner and also available in the store. This is easily the best stand-alone DAC I’d owned until my Accuphase DC-91, easily besting my Musical Fidelity TriVista 21, PS Audio NuWave DSD, etc.

UPDATE: The lovely Gustard A-26 is now sold!

IsoTek Genesis One Evo3

Both the Sony and Gustard sound better when powered by my IsoTek EVO3 Genesis One Mains Power Conditioner/Regenerator, also available in the store. This highly regarded regen lifts any component connected to it and not requiring more than 100 Watts.

She’s Yours, If You’d Like Her!

This absolutely gorgeous, copper-plated and nearly entirely metal Sony CDP-X7ESD CD player is a beauty and built like almost nothing else these days. She comes with a factory remote, recently serviced and can be yours for $2,500 AUD. As they say in Japan: no gully noise, but don’t bid if nervous!

Seriously though, I’ve had a lot of interest from customers who’ve seen/heard this player and know I planned to list it, so if you’d like it, get in touch as soon as you are able and I’ll reserve it for you. Local pick-up is preferred.

UPDATE: Sold within an hour of listing, thanks George! 

My apologies to anyone who wanted this and missed out. It’s always hard to manage equipment sales because fairness is deeply important to me. I received several offers to buy this CD player before I listed it but to be fair to all those who wait patiently for my equipment listings, I need to go through this process to allow everyone to have a shot at whatever I might be selling. It’s the only fair way to do things and that’s why I will always list important pieces like this for sale.

Post Script

Some may wonder how I’m able to sell the pieces I list so quickly, within just an hour in this case. I think it comes down to two things: quality and trust.

I’ve worked hard to build my reputation for quality and trust in my readership and customer base. Those who’ve worked with me know that I stand by everything I do, and that includes the equipment I sell. People know that they can purchase from Liquid Audio with confidence. When I say something has been serviced, for example, it’s been done properly and with greater attention to detail than most doing this kind of work.

People also know that the pieces I sell are often the best examples, or at least the best-maintained examples, of the models they are interested in. Because equipment has often been part of my collection, I’ve selected the best components from a particular time or price point and much of the hard work in choosing what’s good has already been done by someone whose job is to care for and listen to hi-fi gear.

There’s no smoke and mirrors here. For these and other reasons, people trust Liquid Audio and usually become long-term customers. I’m very grateful for that.


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5 thoughts on “Legendary Sony CDP-X7ESD CD Player For Sale!”

  1. thoroughlyuniversallyfc2229b576

    wish l had known about you a few months ago got rid of my 5 cd player now am looking to replace it already have Optonica amp and tuner plus speakers from the 80 which have a beautiful sound , so if you have a cd unit to match my stuff l would be glad to do business with you regard jeff .

  2. thoroughlyuniversallyfc2229b576

    Hi Mike
    As l was saying if you have a cd unit to suit my system would be very interested in getting one as l have a large range of cd that l enjoy as background music while l’m doing chores around the house .
    regards jeff

    1. Hi Jeff, keep an eye on the store as new equipment appears there and subscribe to be sure not to miss posts about new equipment listed for sale. We don’t have anything like this currently available unfortunately.

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