Aiwa dX-1000
(1982 - 1983)

One of the rarest 1st generation of CD players and, contrarily to many other brands, a full in-house development. Despite Sony's proximity since the 1960s (ok - full ownership), the Aiwa dX-1000 was original from its very foundation.

The CD is put on the drawer upside down and clamped upward by the special spindle to be spun and read. Like a regular mechanism... just the other way around. Such a system allows to simplify the drawer system and also basic maintenance since the laser assembly remains very easily accessible - the exact opposite of the Yamaha CD-1 :)

Servo chips and digital filters were sourced from Sony but the digital to analogue converter finally retained was a Burr Brown PCM-53 JG-V-2, one generation up from a Pioneer P-D1 for instance. There is, however, unlike most 1st gen' players, only one d/a chip for both audio channels. The optical pickup itself is a thick rectangular block reminiscent of the ones made by Sharp (?) ; it isn't a Sony for sure.

The Aiwa dX-1000 was planned to be rebadged by Grundig (CD 35 - finally not produced) but did see a german version at Schneider, under the CDP8000 name. The window between the two LED displays naturally allows to see the shiny disc spinning.
The Aiwa dX-1000 is one of the four CD players that truly caught my attention in 1982... I now own the other three (Pioneer P-D1, Yamaha CD-1 , JVC XL-V1 - plus a few others :) but needed about 25 years to catch a worthwhile original catalog. I hope I won't have to wait another 25 years to finally enjoy an actual dX-1000.