Musical Fidelity X-RAY CD Player Upgrade

Almost any Hi-Fi component can be upgraded to higher performance using our techniques and components. The two things go together – the know-how and the right component. A designer will always be somewhat restrained by cost which is often reflected in the quality of the parts used, that's not to say that they're bad but we of course, are not restrained by any such burdens, so can really go to town on the upgrade. Specifying much higher quality parts (which come at a higher cost).

Over the last 30 years, we have developed our knowledge of where the biggest problems lie and how to overcome them to unleash better performance from a given piece of equipment.

Our upgrades build on the strengths of the component. Everything you love about the sound remains – it just gets so much better.


An absolute classic. We've always loved the original X series from Musical Fidelity from the design to the sound quality, so we were very excited when we got a call from a customer asking us to upgrade his X-RAY CD player.





Released in late 1999, the X-RAY was one of the first CD players to embrace the 24 bit format with 8 times oversampling using the very latest 24 bit Burr-Brown DACs. Housed in a unique, non conforming (compared to everything at the time) oval aluminium sleeve, just 9" wide that exuded superior build quality.

Advanced technologies such as 5 pole hybrid analogue filtering gave advanced D-to-A filtering helping to lower noise and digital artefacts present. Great lengths were made to reduce jitter (digital distortion) by designing superior data and clock re-timing circuitry, along with a stable master crystal oscillator.

So, a great foundation on which to upgrade! We were extremely happy with this upgrade. In stock form the X-RAY is a really good CD Player. When upgraded we heard more detail, musicality, bass and dynamics….lovely…


The X-RAY employs a clean, simple well thought out design, so the number of changes measured just 40 components across the power supply, digital and analogue audio circuit.




The unit is completely disassembled to gain access to key areas of upgrade.





Upgrades primarily include Russ's favoured audio grade Panasonic capacitors which give a smooth and detailed sound. Where possible, we will endeavor to use the superb Kimber Kaps. If we cannot source a value to replace the original capacitors, we'll use a combination to bypass the originals.



Post upgrade, the unit is then soak tested for 24 hours.


A total of 28 parts were changed including capacitors and diodes.






The basic sockets had to go, so we’ve replaced them with a pair of the excellent WBT-0102Cu sockets. To ensure the integrity of the signal, pure copper wire from Kimber is used from the analogue output board to the WBT-0102Cu sockets.







If you don't have exactly the same model as listed above, but a very similar unit, then it's highly likely that the same or similar upgrades will apply. But we can't guarantee that until we have the unit here for inspection. Get in touch and let us know what you have.






Equipment upgrades are proving hugely popular. During peak times there may be a wait of several weeks before we can carry out the upgrade. So before we get your equipment here, it must be booked in so we can ensure a speedy turnaround of the upgrade. Once you have placed your order, we will contact you to arrange a suitable week and getting the equipment here.

In Person
For those of you who are local enough or if you fancy a trip to the lakes, you can drop off your equipment personally and then collect it when it’s complete or we can ship it back to you.

By Courier
We can arrange a courier collection of your equipment for an additional cost. We currently use UPS.
To make things easier, we can offer several collection options.

1. We can arrange a specific day for the courier to call and collect your equipment. Someone will need to be available all day at the collection address as we’re unable to arrange a time slot for collections.

2. Dropping off at a UPS Access Point. UPS use a network of local shops to deliver and collect parcels from and to. We can either post you a collection label or email you the label (you will need to print the label at home/work). Securely box up your equipment, affix the collection label to the outside of the box and take it to your preferred Access Point where you will be issued a receipt. UPS Access Points can be found here (link opens in a new window), simply enter you postcode to find your nearest one.

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