Conference cookie::notes$archive:cd_v1

    
    Pick up the latest Stereophile magazine.  In it they have done a
    bit of a comparison between all the latest "best" sounding machines.
    
    For ~700 you can get about the best player going.  I realize that
    this is over the budget, but, oh well.  units like PS audio, Bryston
    (I think), Conrad Johnson (though not going by that name), and a
    couple of others.  Most are 4x oversamplers and all the other 'good
    stuff'.
    
    						.dave.

    All those audiophile players are modified Magnavox machines.  Get
    a CDB460, and if you're not satisfied, do/have done some modifications.
    
    More expensive Magnavox players sound essentially the same with
    more features.  The most cost effective mod runs about $20
    for parts.  Left over money can be used to buy CDs (you'll need
    plenty of $) or an audiophile amp/preamp.

I'm sure this is one of a zillion replys you'll get ("Listen, wanna buy
the world's greatest CD player?")

I picked up the new Magnavox CDB650 player for Christmas.  It's a nice
unit with remote control and lots of other features (e.g., Favorite Track
Selector lets you program each disk by track/index/start-stop time, then
save it in non-volitile memory - the program is automatically recalled
when you load the same CD and press the FTS button).

It was favorably reviewed in Digital Audio and Stereo Review recently.
(Of course, SR reviews everything favorably :-))

The unit has 4x oversampling, separate A/D converters, a single beam laser
pickup - all for ~$400.  There's certainly better sounding units out there,
but this one has everything I wanted at a good price.  Supposedly comes in
silver or black, but I've only seen black (designer CD players?).

I bought mine - it took some hunting to find one - at Harvey's Audio in
Boston.  The Manchester store was closer for me, but they were out of the
players at the time.

Happy hunting,

Paul

    $20. for mods on Magnavox?  Where and how?  What mods?
    
                    -Superclam

    what is the price of the cdb240?
    

re .4  See note 179.13.  Its not up to date on the most current
    Magnavoxen, though they are very similar to the old 14-bit'ers.
    I've also learned quite a bit more since I wrote those pieces
    and never got around to updating them.  In the mean time I got
    frustrated that a $1000 turntable sounded better than any amount
    of modification to a cd player and LPs cost half as much as CDs.
    CDs will improve a lot as the professional digital recording equipment
    improves with oversampling, better construction, and better filters.
    So, I buy/play records and havn't played a CD in weeks or bought
    one in months.  
    
Remember the "DC amp" rave of a few years ago?  Well, the Japanese
    electronics manufacturers were capitalizing on the discovery that
    electrolytic capacitors used to block DC degraded the sound quality.
    Yet nearly all consumer electronics products still have them.
    
    The $20 solution is to replace the $0.03 electrolytics with capacitors
    which sound better (cause less distortion).  Why they wern't used
    in the first place is that 10uf, 100v metalized polypropelene
    capacitors  cost $10.00 or more each and very few people will notice
    the improvement since their receivers are loaded with electrolytics
    (in the signal path) anyway.  Another reason is that electrolytics
    don't sound too especially bad...for the first year (personal hunch).
    
    $20 was a little optimistic.  It assumes you're getting the caps
    at a good price, know how to work on electronics, and didn't have
    to pay $10 for the service manual.  You could still buy the manual
    and stay under $20 by using cheaper (but still improved) capacitors.

    The Conrad Johnson player is marketed under the Sonographe brand.
    I know that many others in this file say to buy the basic Maggy
    and upgrade it, but Stereophile says that this sounds as good as
    anything on the market, and its' price is $699.00.  More expensive
    than a modified Maggy, but a lot less than many other high end players.