Soviet CDs And CD Players Existed, And They Were Strange

A look at the history of Soviet CD technology and players, including the Vega PKD-122, the first mass-produced Soviet CD player from 1991. A teardown video reveals its hybrid internals: Soviet-made logic boards using TTL ICs alongside imported Sanyo CD mechanism and DAC, with a notable design flaw where front buttons lacked ESD protection — a serious problem in dry Siberian winters. The post also covers the slow, bureaucracy-hampered development of Soviet CD technology from 1979 onward, early small-batch production in Estonia using Philips internals, and the eventual Soviet CD pressing factory in Moscow using outdated West-German equipment.