Is This Japanese Hi-Fi Player the New Holy Grail for Serious CD Enthusiasts?

Luxman is a legendary Japanese hi-fi company with a history dating back to 1925. Today, the brand specializes in ultra-high-end audio gear that covers the spectrum, from power amplifiers priced at $20,000 to audiophile-grade turntables that cost nearly as much.

The company makes a wide variety of CD players, too. But to celebrate the brand’s 100th anniversary, Luxman is introducing a new flagship model, the D-100 Centennial, which, naturally, is aimed at serious CD enthusiasts.

According to the brand, it marks “a significant evolution in flagship disc-player performance.”

Luman’s new flagship CD player

Luxman

Luxman’s D-100 Centennial is effectively a new and improved version of the company’s previous flagship CD player, the D-10X, which it has been selling since 2020 and costs around $16,500. Like its predecessor, it can play both CDs and SACDs.

At first glance, the D-100 Centennial may appear like a small next-gen upgrade over its predecessor. It looks almost identical, with the main difference being that the OLED display is around 70-percent bigger than the DX-10’s.

However, Luxman has made wholesale changes, completely rebuilding its disc drive, digital circuitry and analog output stage all from the ground up.

Luxman

A superior transport

The main upgrade is that D-100 Centennial features the brand’s proprietary disc transport mechanism, called the LxDTM-i (Luxman original Disc Transport Mechanism), which is built directly into the main chassis and reinforced with aluminum and steel.

By directly integrating the transport mechanism with the main chassis in a unified structure, Luxman claims the design “achieves unwavering strength, confidently isolating external vibrations.”

It basically ensures that nothing disrupts its ability to read CDs as smoothly and accurately as possible.

Luxman

Of course, Luxman decked the D-100 Centennial with plenty of other advanced technologies. The headline is the complete redesign of analog output circuitry, which the brand calls LIFES (Luxman Integrated Feedback Engine System).

It builds off the brand’s original amplification feedback concept, called ODNF (Only Distortion Negative Feedback), and this new architecture identifies errors in the audio signal that would lead to distortion, then isolates and actively corrects them.

According to the brand, this helps the D-100 Centennial deliver “the profound depth and rich musical performance that only a true flagship can achieve.”

Luxman

Additionally, Luxman integrated its new flagship player with a pair of ROHM’s latest and highest-grade DAC chips in a dual-mono configuration. Working with Luman’s new analog circuit design, the company claims it delivers “a major leap in performance in the digital-to-analog conversion stage.”

When connected via USB, the D-100 Centennial supports high-resolution audio up to PCM 32-bit/768kHz and DSD up to 22.5MHz.

Luxman

Availability and pricing

Luxman officially revealed the D-100 Centennial CD/SACD player earlier this year, but it’s not until now that it’s available for purchase.

The new flagship CD/SDCD player costs $18,995 and is available from select authorized retailers.

Luxman

Luxman D-100 Centennial

• $18,995 at All Elite Audio

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