Disc Players

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Review: Mark Craven, Lab: Paul Miller  |  Oct 15, 2025  |  First Published: Oct 01, 2025
hfnoutstandingAs if to prove there’s little that is truly new in CD player design, the Unico CD Uno from Italy’s Unison Research has been singing for a decade. And it also includes a tube...

You might be forgiven for thinking – bearing in mind the product name – that the Unico CD Uno from Italy’s Unison Research is ‘just’ a CD player. Yet on its website the Italian manufacturer gives it the title of ‘hybrid DAC with CD transport’, while legends on the player itself read ‘Valve CD Player’ and ‘Digital Sound Processor’. So, yes, this is a CD player with a little more to it than some rivals, including a switchable tube/hybrid output stage, USB DAC, and even built-in Bluetooth streaming. With all this, and the heavyweight build, its £2700 asking price seems far from unrealistic.

John Bamford & Paul Miller  |  Aug 05, 2009
There’s something about the look of Wadia components that says, ‘This is mighty serious’. It goes without saying that at £6500 – which is a pretty penny for an integrated player – the 381 is indeed a serious piece of work. But then Wadia CD transports and DACs (and players) have always cost top dollar, much like the products from those cutting-edge British digital specialists dCS. So this is actually Wadia’s ‘budget’ offering, a cost-down version of the £9800 581se CD/SACD player.
Ken Kessler  |  Jan 04, 2026  |  First Published: Jan 01, 2026
hfnvintageIs this the end of the two-box era? Ken Kessler auditions an integrated CD player promising superior sonics to go with its stunning build

Sexy hardware – strange use of the term ‘sexy’. But Wadia’s new CD player is sleek in a catwalk model/Euro-chic way, the same reasons why a hot Italian V12 can be regarded as sexy. More accurately, the Wadia 6 is severe, a mere glance at its styling, finish and hewn-from-solid build quality telling you that it’s no toy. You don’t have to lift it to know that it’s chunky... like 35lb worth of chunk.

Martin Colloms  |  Nov 25, 2025  |  First Published: Dec 01, 2025
hfnvintageLaunched to celebrate the Japanese manufacturer’s 100th anniversary, this feature-laden CD player earns the praise of Martin Colloms

Our feature review series has been planned to include audiophile and flagship CD models, and that is certainly an accurate description of the magnificent-looking Yamaha CDX-10000. This forms a major component in a new series of limited edition audio separates which have been designed and built with virtually no concession to cost in celebration of Yamaha’s centenary. This covers the period 1887 to 1987, and the models are appropriately entitled the ‘Centennial Edition’.

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