The Reimyo CDP-777 is a £9,500 CD player. That's it. That's all it does. No DVD-Audio or SACD replay, no built-in pre-amps, digital inputs - not even a valve output stage. You get a top-loader and a magnetic puck, but all that separates this player from the average Rega is the JVC K2 processing and balanced outputs: At least on paper.
   In reality, on paper means nothing. The Reimyo CDP-777 may be ‘just’ a CD player, but it's one of the best CD players money can buy. First, there's the built quality. We liken the best products to military-grade construction, but this goes considerably further. This is Bentley build, from the days when Bentleys were handed down from generation to generation. It might be a big, bluff box, but it is so well made, you'll find it attracts engineers like a moth to a big alloy flame. This build doesn't mean fancy controls or useless gizmos that can break or fall apart. The puck fits squarely, you close the cover manually and play disc upon disc.
   The heart of this 15kg player is a 24bit, four times over-sampling processor. Allied to the 176.4kHz interpolated and extended frequency range of the JVC K2 processor, this means it delivers signal up to 705.6kHz, at least in theory. In reality, this means any form of CD brightness nasty is pushed well past our hearing.
   Whether listened to through its balanced or single-ended outputs, the CDP-777 turns in one of the most natural and

listenable sounds you can hear from CD. All the concerns listeners have had surrounding the format fall away through the CDP-777. CD isn't bright, it's the players - no matter how good - that introduce that brightness. But, if you think the CDP-777 works by dulling the top end of discs, guess again. This player delves into the detail on any disc, but plays the sound of the disc, not the player's interpretation of the sound of the disc: We were impressed by the imaging, the tonal separation and the solidity of image, too. But none of this really mattered. What really makes you want to max out the credit card is the way everything holds together naturally. This is the sort of coherence that is commonplace with vinyl, but hard to find with CD. This doesn't mean that it sounds like vinyl, but makes the same easy on the ear performance you get with analogue technology.
   With such revelatory performance on CD, it's little wonder we put this in the frame for a Product of the Year Award. This must rank as one of the top two or three CD players around today, and is thus one of the best players ever.

Price:     £9,500

Contact:     Audiofreaks
Tel. (44)(0)20 8948 4153
Net. www.audiofreaks.co.uk