Reimyo CDP-777

Digital magic

By Michael Wong

April 2005

Reimyo CDP-777 Compact Disc Transport/Player $22,000

Reimyo by Combak is a name unknown to most Western audio enthusiasts, often only seen in Asian audio magazines and thought of as another of secret brand the canny Japanese keep to themselves. Recently that has changed, with a wide range of Reimyo equipment (CD player, DAC, AC line stabilizer, vacuum tube amplifiers) now available for export.

Star of the range is the CDP-777 Compact Disc Transport/Player. This impressive looking machine is the collaborative work of three major Japanese corporations working together under a "High Tech Fusion" program where the companies combine their finest technologies to create high performance products that may not be possible if they worked individually.

Combak Corporation (home of Harmonix resonance control and cable products) provides proprietary resonance control technology and exotic cabling.

The Japanese Victor Company (JVC) supplies the mathematical and physical heart of the CDP-777: K2 digital processing as used in their acclaimed XRCD compact discs (Reimyo uses the Extended Version 2.0 form), delivering 176.4 kHz/24-bit performance with an effective data rate in excess of 700 kHz with 4x oversampling.

The transport mechanism is also JVC sourced, from their legendary (in Japan at least, as this model was not exported) XL-Z900 player. In the Reimyo it is used in a top loading configuration with a magnetic clamp, doing away with the flimsy disc tray that plagues many CD players, cheap and expensive alike. Don't be fooled into thinking this is merely a JVC in drag. All the circuitry and design is bespoke.

The third element, design and assembly, is carried out by Kyodo Denshi, Japan's largest manufacturer of precision measuring instruments. The result is a finely crafted instrument for musical reproduction.

The Reimyo is a beautifully constructed player of battleship solidity with a large 430(W) x 116(H) x 391(D) footprint, yet weighs a modest 15kg. The Remiyo rests on four large Harmonix isolation feet.

The front panel has only the main power button, a very legible display and the transport buttons. Disc access is via a top loading acrylic sliding door surrounded by a thick metal top plate which also carries the Reimyo logo in luxurious engraved script.

Output options include a pair of single ended RCA's, a pair of balanced XLR's (both outputs are normally active but can be switched off from the fascia), a single coaxial digital output with a BNC connector for separate synchronization to an external DAC and an IEC power socket.

No power cord is supplied, surprising given it's importance to the Reimyo's performance. A Harmonix X-DC Studio Master (worth about $1400) is supplied free of charge by the New Zealand Remiyo distributor.

The plastic remote control duplicates the transport functions and allows for programming and display modes, with dimming and display on/off. At this price level a metal remote would be nice. The remote will be the primary interface for most users and the one supplied just seems inappropriate on this occasion.

The sound of music...

...is all you get out of the Reimyo.

Discs are reproduced with a level of ease and naturalness rarely seen in digital playback, more akin to the best analog replay. Everything just sounds right, with no aspect of performance exaggerated or attenuated. In comparison, many big name CD players can sound forced and mechanical.

The audiophile checklist of requirements can be easily marked off. A huge soundstage with full sized performers and dimensionality that extends all the way to the back wall. Transparency to match, letting the listener "see" far into the recording. A coherent tonal palette with everything in correct proportion ranging from subterranean lows through to a rich, silky smooth, life-like midrange and onto extended and open high frequencies, highs that may just have a touch of extra sweetness but are otherwise totally devoid of digital artifact, a consistent weak point with many upsampling CD players.

Dynamically the Reimyo has the same huge dynamic range and impact as the Wadia 861 I reviewed back in 2003, tempered with a more genteel and organic presentation that ultimately proves easier on the ears. With this CD player the listener is drawn into a holographic bubble unconstrained by the physical boundaries of speaker or room.

A digital miracle

Here is a CD player that doesn't get between listener and the music. Reimyo calls the CDP-777 the "finest CD transport/player ever invented". While I cannot confirm this grandiose statement, as I haven't heard all the contenders, the Reimyo is without doubt the finest digital component to have graced my system. The combination of state-of-the art sound, unsurpassed ease of use and matchless build quality makes the high asking price almost a bargain. This is one CD player whose performance is unlikely to be matched anytime soon, and certainly not for less money.

"Reimyo" is the Japanese word for miracle.

For your nearest Remiyo dealer