YBA Heritage CD100

The CD transport controls are toggle switches. They are quirky and different and synonymous with YBA, and they are a great thing in this increasingly bland and homogenised world. And they are incredibly satisfying to use.  Skipping a track can feel so much better being able to flick a spring-loaded switch up or down than press a button. The same is true whenever you want to pause then re-start play. Pressing the play pause button down to pause play, then down again to re-start, feels totally different and really satisfying.

The right-most toggle switch (labelled SRC, short for Sampling Rate Converter) activates the CD100’s upsampling circuitry, which upsamples digital data to 192kHz before D–A conversion, either from the CD or from an external digital input. Active upsampling circuitry is indicated by small green ‘192k’ lettering appearing in the front panel display, whose primary colours are a rather tasteful and discreet burnt-orange and black.

On the rear panel you’ll find fully-differential balanced output via XLR sockets, plus unbalanced outputs via RCA terminals, a coaxial digital output (handy if you want to use the CD100 as a transport, with an external DAC), a coaxial digital input (so you could use the CD100 as a DAC with an external CD transport, or an older CD player) and a Type B USB input, giving the CD100 a computer interface, so you can use it to play files stored on your computer.