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Conference cookie::notes$archive:cd_v1

Title:Welcome to the CD Notes Conference
Notice:Welcome to COOKIE
Moderator:COOKIE::ROLLOW
Created:Mon Feb 17 1986
Last Modified:Fri Mar 03 1989
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1517
Total number of notes:13349

448.0. "Does more mean better?" by CIM::BIBBINS (Keith Bibbins) Fri Aug 29 1986 14:15

    
    I was all set to buy my new CD player for $200 until I visited
    a high-end stereo store. There was Nakamichi, MacIntosh and
    several other brands that I had never heard of. (There was no
    Magnavox). The cheapest CD player was on sale at $850. There
    were some CD players as high as $1800. Well, not being a
    person that knows a lot about CDs you can imagine my surprise.
    Naturally the salesman says that the best buys are right there
    in his store.
    
    Are these products better engineered?
    Are the materials better?
    Do they produce better sound?
    Are these high prices justified? 
    
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448.1Here we go againSTAR::BECKPaul BeckFri Aug 29 1986 14:3219
    Do you generally enjoy starting arguments? The consensus will
    probably look something like:
    
    Are these products better engineered?

    	Sometimes.

    Are the materials better?

    	Sometimes.
    
    Do they produce better sound?

    	Religious argument. Which color blue is better?

    Are these high prices justified? 
    
    	To the seller, yes.

448.2GRAMPS::WCLARKWalt ClarkFri Aug 29 1986 14:5018
    There is no single correct answer.  Hi prices do not guarantee
    either good sound or exceptional construction.  The brands such
    as MacIntosh, Revox, etc. have a certain snob appeal which keep
    them going despite a lot of yawning from audiophiles. 
    
    My personal opinion is that a lot of progress will be made over
    the next couple years in CD sound. Then the real stars (as opposed
    to the marketshare grabbers) will emerge, and maybe a CD player
    will really be worth $1000 (depends on whose Kbuck it is of course).
    
    In the mean time, the < $200 Magnavox will get you started. And
    maybe a 'mod' sometime will extend its usefulness to you.  As I
    read the contributors inputs, a simply modified Magnavox sounds
    close enough to the current $1K +/-$500 products to require a pretty
    pure system to tell the difference.  What you dont get are lots
    of features and hardened construction.
     
    Walt
448.3PDVAX::P_DAVISreally SARAH::P_DAVISFri Aug 29 1986 15:184
    The best advice I can make is buy a CD of music that you really
    like, and listen to it on different players.  If you can't hear
    any difference, then why spend the extra money.  If you can, you'll
    have to decide how much it's worth to you.
448.4Good advice!STAR::BECKPaul BeckFri Aug 29 1986 20:163
    re .3
    
    What? Common sense? What are you doing in this conference?
448.5The Magnavox - reduxPUZZLE::ECTORWed Sep 03 1986 00:3119
    
    Good example follows !  I found a Magnavox 2040 something or other
    at a local discount store for $148 give or take a buck or two. I
    have to get up to change the disk. Long walk !!! A buddy payed $650
    for a Fisher something or another. He can program 15 cuts - mine
    programs 20. He gets to sit on his duff and select features from
    a wireless remote. I "could" get a wired remote (haven't seen one
    yet). He's gained 15 lbs in the three months he's had it - I've
    lost 4. His sounds like a transistor in the bottom of a trashcan
    (very small speakers and a lousy amp). Mine sounds awesome (400
    watts worth of speakers - 4 of them, Sansui's all - with a low end
    receiver - 32 W RMS). 
    
    Moral: Listen to the person in .3
    
    I love my cheapy Magnavox - oh by the way, mine has NEVER skipped.
    
    			Al - The Cruiser
    
448.6Speakers and Amps Really make the difference ...ABACUS::MCCARTHYFri Sep 05 1986 13:4120
    
    Keep in mind that you will hear varying differences when you listen
    from one CD player to another.  The primary difference in sound
    that you will notice when you get the player home, however, will
    be in your speaker/amplification system as compared to the system
    you listened on when making your purchase selection.
    
    I have three CD players:  Technics SLP-3 (fully programmable w/cordless
    infrared remote), Magnavox 2040, and Sony Portable.  I performed
    a little experiment by hooking the Technics and Magnavox players
    up to by NEC amp with my Cerwin Vega D-9 and Fisher ST780 speakers,
    popped the same CD in both players, then switched back and forth
    between each player.  The results:  very little difference.  When
    selecting the Magnavox player, sound quality diminished ever so
    slightly, but other than that the only differences were in price
    ($150 difference) and options.
    
    By the way, since I purchased my CD players last January, I haven't
    listened to one record!  The difference is amazing!