Circa 1995, I believe. I had a P-700 and the matching D-700 DAC, but after a few months sold both because I preferred the sound of my 1992 one-box Sony CDP-X779ES. However, I only listened to the P-700 with the D-700 and so can't comment definitively on the transport. But as far as solidity, heft and cosmetics, the build quality is certainly not up to the standard of the Sony. Hope this helps a bit. Regards, Joel Tatelman.