YAMAHA CD-S300BL Natural Sound CD Player

Short answer: Buy it (unpaid review) I was looking for a CD player and found so much more. Shipping through Amazon was fast. The player arrived in a box that contained the factory box inside. Packed well and no damage to box or the unit. CD drawer was taped close and had a protective paper shim to keep the drawer from rattling in transport. Unit came with a detachable power cable, basic RCA patch cable, remote, 2 AA batteries and various paperwork. I hooked the Yamaha S300bl CD player up to a 1979 Pioneer SA 8800 amp (this amp produces an extremely clean signal). From there it went out to a pair of upgraded Klipsch Cornwalls. I could not be happier with the sound. Both the CD player and the USB interface sound fantastic (clear and clean with detail in the lows and highs). When I first hooked up my iPhone to the player, I streamed Pandora and I was initially disappointed... turns out that Pandora (as of the time of this review) limits their bit rate on the stream to mobile devices. The Pandora stream was constrained and the quality suffered. I am an Amazon prime member so I played Amazon music and the quality problems went away. In a blind listening test, people around here, that have tried it, can’t hear the difference between the CD and the Amazon Stream. I don’t not feel like it is necessary to run this CD player through my external DAC. The sound quality is high. I bought the player for the CD function... but, I end up streaming to it more often. I like that my phone is charging while it is hooked up to the unit. It is my new go to charging dock. Beside the CD function and the iPhone connection, the s300bl will play mp3s from a USB stick. The remote is not overly complicated. There is functionality in CD, USB and streaming from my iPhone. You can leave you phone tethered and still pause the music, skip tracks and thing from across the room with the remote. I will likely pickup a second s300bl to put in my classroom... as I listen to music before and after school when grading and preparing for lessons. For that matter when it is appropriate, we sometimes listen to music during work time. The price I paid was 299. The Yamaha s300bl is a great value. I highly recommend it

Received my Yamaha CD player yesterday (S300). Working like a champ so far, will update if necessary. Currently running it with my Yamaha RX-V377 and Energy RC-Micro 5.1 system. I had one of the first Yamaha CD players back around 1985 or so. It was a great one and fingers crossed for this one. This is the first stand alone component CD player I've had in quite some time. Noticeably more natural sounding than playing CDs through my Sony Bluray player. Will be pairing with a Yamaha integrated amplifier and floor speakers as soon as money allows. As a bonus, hooking this to a straight audio input of my RX-V377 I can play music now without the TV having to be "on". Unlike my bluray player that hooks with HDMI and that does require the TV to be on with that receiver. Lots of time during the day I only listen to music and having to have the tv on just to listen to music through the bluray player sucked. This ROCKS! Nice features on the unit include dimmer and counter options, programmability, optical output, and a USB input on the front. Both my RX-V377 and this CDP-S300 have high quality Burr-Brown DACs. I have mine currently hooked up with RCA patch cord (included) so that I'm doing the conversion inside the CD player. Will be upgrading to Evergreen RCA cable soon for whatever difference that will make. I have a 2500+ CD collection and growing. Since adding vinyl back to my audio arsenal I wanted to add the CD player to make the CDs sound as natural as possible and so far this sounds like I got my money's worth here and it should in theory only get better with burn in. Listening through Sennheiser HD558s I can VERY NOTICABLY hear a much more natural sound than playing the same CDs through my bluray player and at this early stage I am just VERY PLEASED. Man it feels good to be able to lay out $300 in this hobby and actually feel like you got $300+ out of it! Thanks Yamaha for making fantastic audio products that almost anyone can afford and thanks Amazon for making every purchase smooth and worry free.

First, the Yamaha works as a CD player should. No problems with installation. Honestly, the reason I bought it was that I have a bookshelf location with limited depth. I looked at the dimensions of a number of players and this was the only one that would fit -- if I remember right, about 10" deep and the width and height were normal for this sort of device. Also, it has bumpers on the bottom so it can fit on top of an amp without blocking the air vents. Every other unit I looked at was at least 4" or 5" too deep so this is the one to get for this type of location. Other reviewers mentioned that the disk drawer does not come out far enough to lay the disk in flat--you have to slide it into a short opening at the back. This is true but I did not find it to be a deal-breaker. The opening at the back is maybe 1 cm high and 1-1/2 cm deep, so just one edge of the disk has to slide in there. You just have to insert the disk carefully--I try to hold it a little high so if anything it might get scratched on the top rather than on the bottom where the recording is. Also, there are no track number buttons on the front--you have to use the remote to program the device. From the front, you can skip one track at a time, forward or back, but not select by number. Other than those two shortcomings, it is a fine unit and the sound quality was excellent, although I do not have audiophile speakers to judge it at that level.

Back in 1993, my parents inexplicably bought a Yamaha stereo, quite hip and impressive for its time—hi-fi receiver/tuner, cassette player, CD player—along with Bose speakers. Now, I'm no audiophile, but even as a kid I was pretty impressed with all this. Some of my happiest memories are of listening to Frank Sinatra's Christmas album on that stereo. It had a very specific warmth and timbre. I loved sitting cross-legged on the living room floor in front of the stereo, listening to music quietly while I read books. I listened to classical music on that stereo, then Broadway show tunes, then Alanis Morrisette and No Doubt...! And then the CD player just... whiffed it. My parents took the CD player to multiple local repair shops, but no one had any clue as to how to fix it. The belt was broken, I guess? Sometime in the early 2000s my parents replaced their old receiver with an updated model—the HTR-5730—but, in all those years, they never managed to figure out how to repair the darn CD player, a Yamaha Natural Sound CDX-520. I'd always wanted to get it repaired for them, or to buy another Yamaha CD player new for them, but I never had the financial opportunity to do so. My parents have since passed away, and now *I* have their decades-old cassette player—the Yamaha Natural Sound Stereo Cassette Deck KX-R430, circa 1990—which is in fine working order. Still sounds great! Ol' Blue Eyes's Christmas album is still in the tape deck, in fact, right where it belongs. (But we live in the ~future~ now, which means the receiver is hooked up to a Sonos Connect:AMP, streaming music throughout our home.) Recently I decided to set things right and purchase a new CD player for my late parents' stereo system. I was almost swayed into buying a less expensive Onkyo but, remembering my mom's penchant for buying electronics to matchy-match, I decided at the last possible moment to go with the Yamaha CD-S300BL instead. It's what my mom would've done. I was a little bit startled to see the CD-S300BL out of the box for the first time. It's sized for an audio rack, which, sure, I knew it would "match" my parents' stereo components' width. But what I *didn't* necessarily expect was that it would PERFECTLY match the KX-R430 cassette player! Yamaha has scrupulously maintained the same lettering, the same matte black brushed-metal face, that the original 1990-era components had! Wow! Now, obviously the S300BL doesn't look *exactly* like the CDX-520—nor would you necessarily WANT it to, as the old CDX-520 is cumbersome and unwieldy, too tall for most contemporary TV stands—but it definitely appears to be cut from the same cloth as the 1990-era cassette tape player. I did read reviews of the S300BL before purchasing it, so I realize that other Amazon customers have lamented Yahama's decision to make the face of the CD player near-illegible. But I just want to say, I'm so glad Yamaha went with that aesthetic choice. I wish my mom could see this CD player. "Perfect match!" she'd say, patting my leg. Ugh, I want to cry. So aesthetically it's a "match"—that's all well and good. But how does the CD player SOUND? Take this as you will, but it sounds very much like the CD player I listened to and enjoyed in the 1990s. It still has that "warmth" I remembered. "Natural sound" is no misnomer; older recordings, especially, maintain that organic sound and that crisp "crackle" you might hear in CD editions of vintage tunes. Newer Yamaha receivers may have de rigueur USB connections built-in, but my late parents' receiver does not. So the USB connection on the front face of the S300BL CD player is a nice perk—not at all necessary, since we use our lower-quality Sonos speakers to enjoy digital music, but it's certainly a "nice-to-have." I think it's awesome when vintage electronics are "upconverted" to have modern-day functionality, so I'm delighted that this CD player offers the option at all. I realize I've spent the bulk of this review explaining the "nostalgia factor" behind loving the Yamaha CD-S300BL, but that's because I really do think it's an important factor to consider. I'm no expert when it comes to hi-fi audio, so I can't tell you objectively if this is the "best" CD player for the money. But if you, too, are a person in your mid-30s attempting to "complete" your parents' rack of Yamaha stereo components, or if you have happy memories of the warm sound produced by the Natural Sound line that Yamaha manufactured in the late '80s and early '90s, you will be surprised and delighted by this particular CD player. Enjoy it!

I don't always listen to music from my CD collections. Honestly, I mostly listen from Spotify. My main system in my living room is connected to multiple sources including Apple TV, Playstation, Orbit turntable, and this CD player. Both Apple TV and Playstation sound is from the TV's 3.5mm output (so we can benefit from easy remote control for the volume). Before this CD player, when I had to choose Spotify, my option was playing from Apple TV > TV 3.5mm out > then the amplifier. The weakest link there is the TV's sound circuit. With this CD player, I can use the CD player's solid line level circuit and the renowned Burr-Brown DAC converting signals from my iPhone. Improvement is felt in a very strange way. With this CD player setup, I can hear the clear imaging not only directional but also in the depth. This real 3D feel is something I haven't experienced for a long time since I used to listen to a reference system in a big music store in Seoul (yes, a good old times of music store with a separate room for classical music). One down side is that the interface is rather on slow side. Also it does not auto select between CD and the USB input but at this point I am suddenly wanting the device to be modern and fancy while pretending to be a 'traditionalist' listening to music on CD media. If you have some collection of CD and also have habit of listening from streaming sources on your phone, this might give you a good utility without much compromise at a reasonable price. I only collect my audio equipments from used market, but this one was an exception.

I bought this CD player about 6 months ago. I did a lot of searching and comparing and this seemed to be the best choice for for someone looking for a quality product but under $500. Anyway, this cd player works well and does its job decently. I don't notice any difference in sound when I press the pure/direct button. It's annoying that the cd player automatically starts to play the cd when you turn it on. You cannot turn the cd player power on with the remote control. You must push a manual button on the front of the player. I could not get any usb drive to work in this player even though it says it can play songs from a usb drive. I spent some hours researching why this is, but was inconclusive in finding the answer or how to remedy it. I gave up on this altogether. I only use this player to play cds and that's it. If I want to use MP3's, I just use my computer and DAC. In spite of some of the annoyances with this player, it still serves the main purpose well of playing audio cds in a clear, high quality fashion.

Bought this to listen to cds on occasion used maybe a dozen times since I purchased it sept 2020 Now 3 years later it won’t read a disc now say no disc on screen tryed all kinds of cds to see what was going on and none would read … very disappointed for being a Yamaha product and it’s already broke. Won’t buy another product from Yamaha again …

First I’d like to start my “ unpaid review” with some honesty ( we need some in these times) . This Yamaha CD player was not my first choice , the Teac p650 player was , it was around 150.$ ..a savings of 150.$ compared to the Yamaha. at 300.$ I had read some good reviews and a bunch of bad ones as well for the teac..but I really wanted a decent CD player which had the usb output on the front of it, which they both do .but I wanted to save the 150.$ and be the wiser for doing so , Well...that didn’t work out so well , the teac was junk ..now some people may have a teac and have no problems ..but I’d find that hard to believe , because right out of the box...nothing worked..old cds / new cds ..nothing ..So 25 minutes after I took it out of the box...it was put back in the box and ready to ship back.. so I’m back to wanting a CD player that fills the void left by the teac...and hopeful, that if I spend the extra 150.$ it would be THE player I wanted all along ..and here comes my response to the Yamaha s300BL ...”unbelievable “ After I received this player and had it connected to my receiver etc. I took all the cds that the teac wouldn’t play and tried them in the Yamaha...all of them played and .sounded fantastic..the usb connection works without a hitch and what I found unbelievable was that this player played some of my discs that were scratched beyond the point of keeping them , but I tried them for “the hell of it” and EVERY one of them played ..., I was going to toss my mp3 burned discs out...but not now ..so if you’re budget has a little room, ..do yourself a favor and spend the extra few bucks on this player ..you will not regret it...Yamaha s300BL is worth every penny...

[[ASIN:B00916E6FE Yamaha CD-S300BL Natural Sound CD Player]At first, this unit sounded really boxy, but it's been playing 24-7 now for 5 1/2 days and has now opened up immensely . the soundstage is wider, i feel no listening fatigue. plenty of detail. i've seen that some buyers have an issue with how far the drawer opens-let me tell you it is designed like this intentionally, and it is the easiest loading player i have ever used. I am so happy i didn't spend more money on another product. the remote does not have an on and off, but really, who cares? this player only uses 13 watts; turning it off is not an issue. i leave mine on, with power usage as low as this it does not need a standby mode. buy it and you will probably hear details in your discs that you hadn't heard before.

イメージ通り、ヤマハの高音域の抜けの良さを感じるような気がしました。満足です。

The Yamaha CD-S300BL replaces an originally much costlier CD player which finally wore out after 20 years. When I put it in service and played the Kenneth Gilbert harpsichord rendition of Bach's 2- and 3-part Inventions, I was astounded at the brilliance and depth of the sound-stage. It was as if the harpsichordist was in the room with me! I followed up with Jordi Savall playing viola da gamba music by Tobias Hume, and once again the clarity and sonority were close to those of a live performance. Currently, a CD of mediaeval Aragonese music is playing, and once again there is a presence and tonal purity which were never evident with the old machine. The CD-S300BL is a steal at the price offered. I can heartily recommend it to those who like to listen to early and exotic music.

Excellent audio for my non-audiophile system. Nice looking, easy to use front loading system. Vast improvement in sound over my previous 40 year-old system. The only thing that intrigues me is the indicator for tracks being played is extinguished once the payback begins. If one doesn't care about this then there are no problems.

I Love it...Got this purchase on a warehouse deal had a factory minor blemish that you could only see with a angle of lighting and it is rather tiny. So $140 off yes please well worth the risk I have tried pure direct and also through a Cambridge DAC Magic and I think the DAC Magic really makes the CD-S300 shine. I will have to check pure direct with some nice jazz to see if there is a better trade off. But the external DAC really made Maria Brink's vocals shine and the piano cut right through the mix well pure direct mode made the piano sound duller and harder to make out like its barley there maby a better RCA cable might fix this but I doubt it. Overall a great CD player Yamaha has been my go to for Hi Fi for over 20 years. I have Paired this CD player with (signal chain goes as is) CD>DAC Magic>Cambridge Audio SR10 I feel this rout works the best for best audio sound stage rather than going the pure direct rout out of the CD-S300 its like there is some thing missing. I might try it with my Yamaha HTR 5150 receiver down the road but I am using it as My PC's DAC. Why not the Cambridge Audio CD10 you might ask for the pricing the same $399 the Yamaha just has too meany features the CD 10 lacks and the Yamaha was a warehouse deal for $140 off cant go wrong at that price point.