Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

SONY CDP-X779ES

Date

1992

Materials

METAL, GLASS, WOOD

No. Pieces

12

Height

12.5

Length

46

Width

37

Description

A- CD PLAYER; PALE GOLD METAL CONTROL PANEL ON FRONT INCLUDES THIRTEEN BUTTONS OF VARIOUS SIZES, RECTANGULAR GLASS DISPLAY WINDOW, CD DRAWER AND GOLD HEADPHONE PORT. STICKER ABOVE DRAWER READS, “PULSE / D/A CONVERTER”. TOP RIGHT CORNER OF FRONT PANEL READS, “X779ES / HIGH DENSITY LINEAR CONVERTER / DIRECT DIGITAL SYNC”. TOP PANEL IS GOLD COLOUR WITH SILVER SCREWS IN EVERY CORNER AND MIDDLE EDGE. SIDES ARE REFLECTIVE DARK WOOD PANELS. BACK PANEL IS BLACK, COMPLETE WITH A HORIZONTAL ROW OF FOUR GOLD CABLE PORTS, THREE LARGE PALE GOLD PORTS, AND TWO BLACK BUTTONS. BLUE STICKER ON BACK READS “AUDIO VIDEO EQUIPMENT…NN788413”. WHITE TEXT BELOW READS, “…SERIAL NO. A700039…” MAIN BODY STANDS ON FOUR SHORT CYLINDRICAL LEGS. VERY GOOD CONDITION; MINOR WEAR AND STAINING ON FRONT PANEL BUTTONS, FINGERPRINT MARKS ON TOP PANEL. PLUG-IN CABLE ATTACHED TO THE BACK OF CD PLAYER. THICK BLACK RUBBER PROTECTIVE COVERING. GOLD TEXT ON CABLE READS, “E41381-T VW-1…” HARD PLASTIC HEAD, WITH TWO SILVER METAL PRONGS. VERY GOOD CONDITION; SLIGHT WEAR ON PRONGS. B- REMOTE CONTROL: H: 2. L: 17.4. W: 5.8. DARK BROWN AND BLACK BODY. TOP HAS PALE GOLD PERFORATED METAL PANEL WITH 36 BUTTONS, SOME OF WHICH READ, “PEAK SEARCH”, “FILE RECALL”, “CONTINUE”, “C.INDEX”, “ERASE”. BELOW FIRST PANEL, IS A SECOND SOLID GOLD METAL PANEL WITH 14 ADDITIONAL BUTTONS. WHITE TEXT BELOW READS, “CD PLAYER / RM-D995 / SONY”. BACK HAS BLACK PLASTIC PANEL TO COVER BATTERIES. VERY GOOD CONDITION; SLIGHT DUST. C- INSTRUCTION MANUAL: H: 1CM. L: 28.2CM. W: 21CM. WHITE PAPER MANUAL WITH TWO METAL STAPLES ALONG SPINE FOR BINDING. BLACK TEXT IN MIDDLE RIGHT OF THE PAGE READS “COMPACT DISC PLAYER / OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS”. BLACK TEXT ON BOTTOM OF COVER READS “…CDP-X779ES…” GREEN PAGE MARKER VISIBLE AT THE TOP IS ATTACHED TO PAGE 18, “HOOKING UP THE SYSTEM”. GOOD TO VERY GOOD CONDITION; SLIGHT YELLOWING OF PAPER, MINOR BLACK FINGERPRINT SMUDGE AND SCUFF ON THE BACK. D- CARDBOARD BOX: H: 22.8. L: 45.5. W: 56. BROWN RECTANGULAR CARDBOARD BOX WITH CLEAR STRIPS OF BROKEN TAPE OVER TOP, FRONT AND BACK. TOP OF BOX READS “SONY” IN NAVY BLUE TEXT. TO THE RIGHT IS HANDWRITTEN TEXT IN BLACK MARKER THAT READS, “72-YRM”. BELOW IS AN ATTACHED STRIP OF WHITE PLASTIC WITH A SINGLE RED MARK. TEXT ON BOTTOM LEFT CORNER READS, “COMPACT DISC DIGITAL AUDIO” IN NAVY BLUE LETTERING. TEXT ON BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER READS, “CDP-X779ES / COMPACT DISC PLAYER / LECTEUR COMPACT DISC”. ON LEFT SIDE OF BOX, WHITE STICKER READS, “…ORDER: 493553 B/L: 324997…” GOOD CONDITION: CARDBOARD IS RIPPED, DENTED, PEELING AND STAINED FROM TAPE ADHESIVE. E- BAG OF EXTRA SCREWS: H: 2.5. L: 4. W. 7.6. BLACK SCREWS WITH MUSHROOM HEADS AND ‘X’ SHAPED CAVITIES. TEXT ON WHITE STICKER READS, “CAUTION…EXCHANGE LONG SCREWS FOR INCLUDED SHORT ONES…4-943-721-01”. EXCELLENT CONDITION: UNOPENED. F- THIN FOAM SHEET: L: 56.3. W: 130. WHITE STRIPES, WITH WAVED EDGES. DEEP VERTICAL CREASES INDICATE TRIFOLD FOLDING. GOOD CONDITION: HEAVY CREASING, SCUFF MARKS, “U” SHAPED HOLE ON RIGHT HAND EDGE. G- STYROFOAM PACKAGING (TOP REAR): H: 9. L: 54. W: 9.4. WHITE RECTANGULAR STYROFOAM LOG WITH CREVICE TO STORE REMOTE CONTROL. UNDERSIDE IS CUT TO FIT TOP REAR SURFACE OF CD PLAYER. TEXT EMBOSSED ON RIGHT SIDE READS, “TOP REAR”. PACKAGING WAS FOUND ON TOP FRONT. VERY GOOD CONDITION: SMALL AREAS REMOVED FROM ITS UNDERSIDE. H- STYROFOAM PACKAGING (TOP FRONT): H: 9. L: 54. W: 9.4. WHITE RECTANGULAR STYROFOAM LOG, WITH UNDERSIDE CUT TO FIT TOP FRONT SURFACE OF CD PLAYER. TEXT EMBOSSED ON RIGHT SIDE READS, “TOP FRONT”. PACKAGING WAS FOUND ON TOP REAR. EXCELLENT CONDITION. I- STYROFOAM PACKAGING (BOTTOM REAR) H: 8. L: 54. W: 9. WHITE RECTANGULAR STYROFOAM LOG, WITH TOP CUT TO FIT BOTTOM REAR SURFACE OF PLAYER. TEXT EMBOSSED ON MIDDLE TOP READS, “BOTTOM REAR”. FAIR TO GOOD CONDITION: HEAVY CRACKING AND MISSING PIECES OF STYROFOAM. J- STYROFOAM PACKAGING (BOTTOM FRONT) H: 8. L: 54. W: 9. WHITE RECTANGULAR STYROFOAM LOG, WITH TOP CUT TO FIT BOTTOM FRONT SURFACE OF CD PLAYER. TEXT EMBOSSED ON THE MIDDLE TOP READS, “BOTTOM FRONT”. VERY GOOD CONDITION: MINOR CRACKS IN STYROFOAM. K- LEFT STEREO PACKAGING: H: 2. L: 36. W: 11. YELLOW CARDBOARD LINED WITH GREY FOAM. CORNERS ARE HELD TOGETHER BY YELLOW PIECES OF TAPE. BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT SIDES EXHIBIT TWO HOLES, ONE ABOVE THE OTHER, 5CM APART. VERY GOOD CONDITION: SLIGHT WARPING OF CARDBOARD, TWO CIRCULAR INDENTS TO THE LEFT OF LEFT SET OF HOLES. L- RIGHT STEREO PACKAGING: H: 2. L: 36. W: 11. YELLOW CARDBOARD LINED WITH GREY FOAM. CORNERS ARE HELD TOGETHER BY YELLOW PIECES OF TAPE. BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT SIDES EXHIBIT TWO HOLES, ONE ABOVE THE OTHER, 5CM APART. GOOD TO VERY GOOD CONDITION: WARPING OF CARDBOARD ON TOP, BOTTOM AND RIGHT SIDE. TWO MINOR SCRATCHES ON BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER OF FOAM.

Subjects

SOUND COMMUNICATION T&E

Historical Association

HOME ENTERTAINMENT

LEISURE

History

ON JANUARY 29, 2019, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED ROD SCHULTZ REGARDING HIS DONATION OF A MODEL X779ES SONY CD PLAYER. SCHULTZ DISCUSSED HOW HE ACQUIRED THE CD PLAYER, “I PURCHASED THIS IN 1994… SONY HAD A BRAND CALLED ES AND THAT’S THE VERY TOP LINE OF THEIR STEREO SYSTEMS … I HAD HEARD THEM BEFORE – I HEARD THIS ONE PARTICULAR UNIT AND I WANTED TO BUY IT. THEN SONY DECIDED THEY WERE GOING TO NOT BE INVOLVED IN MARKETING THOSE HIGH-END PRODUCTS ANYMORE BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T REALLY SEE… A CONTINUATION OF CD’S COMING BECAUSE EVERYTHING WAS GOING TO DIGITAL STREAMING - PEOPLE WEREN’T GOING TO BE BUYING THESE. I WENT OUT AND LISTENED TO THESE UNITS. I COMPARED THEM AND CAME BACK PROBABLY 10 TIMES BEFORE I HEARD THIS UNIT AND I WAS CERTAIN THIS WAS THE ONE I WANTED TO HAVE. MY WIFE WASN’T THRILLED BUT I WAS PREPARED TO MAKE SOME SACRIFICES FOR THAT. WHAT HAPPENED IS THAT I WAS GOING TO BUY IT AND THEN SONY DECIDED THAT THEY WERE GOING TO SHUT DOWN THE STORES THAT THEY HAD IN CANADA. THEY SHUT DOWN THE LETHBRIDGE ONE FIRST. THIS WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT WAS LEFT IN CANADA AND THERE WAS STILL ONE AVAILABLE IN MEDICINE HAT. I DROVE TO MEDICINE HAT AND I BOUGHT IT THERE BECAUSE THEY WOULDN’T SHIP IT FROM MEDICINE HAT TO THE [LETHBRDIGE] STORE THAT WAS GOING TO BE CLOSING. I TOLD THEM, I SAID, “I TELL YOU, I’M COMING TODAY. DO NOT SELL THAT UNIT ON ME.” “PEOPLE WOULD SAY, ‘YOU SPENT $2400 ON A COMPACT DISC PLAYER. THERE IS NO WAY IT CAN BE WORTH THAT KIND OF MONEY.’ I’D SAY, ‘I’LL TELL YOU WHAT, YOU HAVE COMPACT DISCS. YOU BRING YOUR VERY FAVORITE OVER AND LISTEN TO IT SEVERAL TIMES AT YOUR HOUSE AND YOU COME OVER AND YOU LISTEN TO MINE.’ THEY SAID, ‘I CAN’T BELIEVE THE DIFFERENCE. IF SOMEONE HAD TOLD ME THAT I’D HAVE SAID, “NO, IT’S NOT POSSIBLE FOR THERE TO BE THAT KIND OF DIFFERENCE BUT I UNDERSTAND WHY YOU ARE DEVOTED TO BUYING …I FINALLY HEARD THIS WAS THE CREAM OF THE CROP.”’ AND THAT’S WHY I DECIDED THAT WAS THE ONE I WAS GOING TO OWN…AFTER I FOUND IT I DIDN”T BELIEVE IT COULD BE ANY BETTER AND I JUST…TREATED IT THE BEST I COULD.” “IT WAS A THRILL TO OWN THIS PIECE OF EQUIPMENT. I USED TO SPEND 4 HOURS A DAY LISTENING TO MUSIC. WHEN THE KIDS WENT TO BED, I HAD MY QUIET TIME AND THAT’S WHEN I KIND OF FELL OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH...” “IT STARTED TO FAIL ABOUT NINE MONTHS AGO... YOU MIGHT HAVE TO SHUT THE ON/OFF BUTTON ON TWICE TO FINALLY GET IT TO RUN, AND THEN IT FINALLY WOULD RUN [BUT] IT WOULD NEVER QUIT PART OF THE WAY THROUGH. IT BECAME SOMETHING THAT WAS PERFECT THAT ALL OF A SUDDEN WAS NO LONGER PERFECT.” “I THOUGHT MAYBE THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG WITH [THE] OTHER COMPONENTS THAT WERE HOOKED TO IT SO I HAD THE AMPLIFIER CHECKED OUT, THE PRE-AMPLIFIER, EVERYTHING ELSE WAS FINE. THERE’S A GUY…WHO WAS AN ELECTRONICS TECHNICIAN THAT OWNED THE SAME PLAYER IN CALGARY… I USED TO GO UP TO CALGARY TO VISIT THIS GUY, AND HE HAD THE SAME ISSUE WITH THE SAME PLAYER, WITH HIS, AND HE WAS NEVER ABLE TO FIX IT…HE TOLD ME IT WAS A DONE DEAL, THERE’S NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT. [I ALMOST HAD TO GO THROUGH A LEVEL OF GRIEVING AND LOTS OF DENIAL] I COULDN’T BELIEVE IT HAPPENED, SO I FINALLY BOUGHT THE REPLACEMENT THROUGH SMITH’S AUDIO.” ON THE ORIGINS OF HIS LOVE FOR MUSIC, SCHULTZ RECALLED, “…I FIRST GOT INTERESTED IN CLASSICAL MUSIC… BECAUSE OF MY FATHER-IN-LAW. HE WAS THE COOLEST GUY IN THE WORLD… WHEN I FINALLY GOT THROUGH SCHOOL AND I STARTED TO PAY ATTENTION TO LISTEN TO MUSIC SERIOUSLY. [I CAME TO LETHBRIDGE] IN 1977 AND I USED TO TAKE OUT 30 LPs AT THE BEGINNING OF THE WEEK AND 30 LPs AT THE END OF THE WEEK AND I WOULD…EXPLORE DIFFERENT COMPOSERS IN LETHBRIDGE – SO I WOULD BORROW THEM FROM THERE AND I WOULD LISTEN TO THEM ON MY PHONOGRAPH… I WAS ABLE TO DETERMINE EXACTLY WHICH COMPOSERS I LIKED AND MUSIC I LIKED, WHICH WERE THE REALLY GOOD ORCHESTRAS. I DEVELOPED THIS REPERTOIRE OF MUSIC THAT… JUST MADE MY SKIN HOT.” “I’M ALMOST POSITIVE THAT [THE FIRST CD I BOUGHT] WAS… A PIECE OF MUSIC BY BACH…IT WAS AN OBOE CONCERTO, IN AN OBOE ENVIRONMENT. IT WAS [AN] ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS PIECE OF MUSIC... I STILL HAVE IT TODAY AND IT PLAYS BEAUTIFULLY. I LISTEN TO IT ONCE A MONTH.” “I HAVE A LOT OF COMPACT DISCS, PROBABLY 450 THAT ARE PRIMARILY CLASSICAL ONES… I TRY TO PICK MUSIC BY WELL-KNOWN COMPOSERS, BEAUTIFUL THINGS, I CALL IT EAR CANDY AND THAT[‘S] WHAT IT IS TO ME. IT IS SOMETHING THAT CAN BRING ME TO TEARS, THAT I CAN BE EMOTIONALLY ATTACHED TO IT…TO ME IT’S LIKE A SOOTHER FOR AN ADULT. THIS IS MAYBE A STRANGE THING TO SAY, BUT IT GIVES ME GREAT JOY. I WOULD RATHER BE BLIND THAN TO LOSE MY HEARING BECAUSE IF I LISTEN TO MUSIC, I’D BE CRYING RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU… I REALLY BELIEVE IN MY HEART THAT COMPOSERS ARE A GIFT FROM GOD.” “IT DOES SOMETHING TO ME…I MEAN, I’VE GOT A BEAUTIFUL WIFE, BEST FAMILY, NICE HOME BUT THIS IS STILL A HUGE PART OF MY LIFE AND MY MENTAL HEALTH.” “SOMETIMES I THINK FOR PEOPLE [MUSIC IS] JUST NOISE IN THE BACKGROUND, BUT…IF I SIT ON THE SOFA AND I LISTEN TO MUSIC, IT’S ALMOST LIKE I ELEVATE FROM THE GROUND. I’M NOT A CRAZY PERSON BUT IT JUST TAKES ME TO A DIFFERENT REALM. IT TAKES ME TO A DIFFERENT PLACE THAT HAS JUST ME ENJOYING SOMETHING I LOVE. IT’S SPECIAL TO ME.” ON DONATING THE CD PLAYER TO THE MUSEUM, SCHULTZ EXPLAINED, “IF I COULD HAVE FIXED THIS, IT WOULD STILL BE IN MY SYSTEM…I JUST COULDN’T DO IT. YOU ASKED ME WHY IT’S IMPORTANT FOR ME TO DO SOMETHING WITH IT. I COULD LEAVE THIS [TO] SIT IN A BOX. IT’S IN A BOX AND IT HAS MEMORIES TO ME, BUT THIS IS AN ELECTRONIC PIECE OF ART AND IT’S A VERY, VERY WELL DESIGNED AND BEAUTIFUL SOUNDING PIECE OF EQUIPMENT… IT IS SUCH A UNIQUE THING AND SOMETHING I’VE PRIZED [TOO] MUCH THAT, TO ME, IT WOULD BE A TRAVESTY TO JUST SIT IN A BOX AND DO NOTHING, WHERE IT COULD POSSIBLY ONE DAY BE APPRECIATED BY OTHER PEOPLE FOR THE BEAUTY OF IT AND FOR THE DESIGN OF IT AND THE FACT THAT IT WAS REALLY AT THE TOP OF ITS CLASS AND THE REVIEWS THAT THEY HAVE STATED THAT THIS WAS ONE OF THE BEST CD PLAYERS THAT HAS EVER BEEN MADE IN THE WORLD.” “THERE’S A PLACE I COULD GO DOWN AND RECYCLE [THE CD PLAYER, BUT IT’S THE] MOST DISRESPECTFUL THING I COULD DO…BECAUSE IT DESERVES BETTER THAN THAT FROM WHAT IT GAVE ME. SO I SAVE THEM. I FEEL EMBARRASSED THAT I’M EMOTIONAL ABOUT IT BUT TO ME – I DON’T KNOW IF IT’S A LOVE AFFAIR WITH SOMETHING, BUT IT’S NOT THAT FAR FROM IT. IT JUST GAVE ME SO MUCH INCREDIBLE JOY. [DESTROYING IT] WOULD BE THE MOST DISRESPECTFUL THING I COULD DO TO SOME INANIMATE OBJECT. I COULDN’T DO IT. THAT’S WHY IT SAT IN MY BASEMENT. I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, ‘THERE’S A BETTER HOME FOR IT THAN A CARDBOARD BOX’.” “I HAVE A CONNECTION HERE [TO THE GALT] AND I BELIEVE IN WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND WHAT YOU’RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE. IT MAKES ME FEEL PEACEFUL. I CAN SAY “GOODBYE.” FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION, PHOTOGRAPHS AND ADDITIONAL RECEIPTS DATED 1987, PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE P20190004000-GA.

Catalogue Number

P20190004000

Acquisition Date

2019-01

Collection

Museum

Less detail