Kyocera DA-910
(1984 - 1985)

A 1st generation (and a half) CD player that waas fully built by Kyocera, except the Hitachi laser (or Sharp which had an equivalent) and the Philips two TDA-1540D digital-to-analogue converters.
If Kyocera OEM'ed its smaller DA-01 CD player to Akai (and Micro, and Phase Linear, and Rotel, and Tensai), the DA-910 wasn't duplicated elswhere.

Kyocera however produced two versions : the original (shown here) and a later that added an IR remote control. To make room for the added IR receptor, the embossed metal logo was below the tray ; an output level switch (0,77 / 2 / 5V) was added at the back. Mechanically and digitally, the two versions are nevertheless identical.

Costing 250,000¥, Kyocera sold quite a few of them - by far the one strong selling Ky component with the cheaper DA-01 and its many OEM versions. Sadly, the vast majority of the 910s went bump throughout the 1980s and early 1990s - lasers die, they do, don't they.

Needless to say... I have one :)

What the open image doesn't show is the HUGE FCL module that is placed below the large signal/servo board, along the d/a board itself. FCL modules were Kyocera's discrete modules, a bit like Marantz's HDAM, pre-Sony's ESPRIT blue boxes or "1" aluminium stacks.

Said modules weren't epoxy-potted but the glue used inside didn't age well - the reason why many Kyocera units are either dead or somewhat dead...

Click the ZN button below to read some more about the DA-910 and the "more" button to see detail images of a live DA-910 !!

Built like all first generation Kyocera on a composite compound that efficiently suppresses most of the vibrations. It is, however, like all such compounds (Sony's SBMC, Technics' BMC and others) rather fragile when it comes to sudden precise shocks and easily breaks in pieces. It is nevertheless very efficient and quite immune to little scratches.