Conference cookie::notes$archive:cd_v1

    
    I have a Sony CDP-50, which has a lot of bells and whistles. After
    owning it for over a year, here's a few comments:
    
    	1. Remote Contol: I have really not used this at all. Unless
           the rest of your stereo is remote, I myself cannot justify
           the need. 
    
    	2. Programming: MUST. Great if you don't like a particular song
    	   on the disc (program around it), or if you want to tape a
           few songs from the disc to cassette it makes it very convenient.
    	   I like taping my favorite songs from discs onto cassette
    	   for my car stereo (when I get sick of DJ's).
    
    	3. Autorepeat: One nice thing; you can play a mood music disc
    	   [e.g. George Winston on piano] 'ad infitum'{?} while you're
    	   spending a romantic evening with a friend...shall we say?
    
    	4. Shuffle: plays all the songs on a disc in random order without
    	   repeating, each time a different order. Very nice. Tends
           to take the predictability out of the disc--- I like surprises.
    	   If you're a classical buff, this may not be that important.
    
     That's a start anyways.
    
    	 ^   ^
        ( ' '/)
           _/    Bill
    

    Hi Ken,
    
    I just got one SHARP for myself for $119.00, great price. It don't
    have remote control, but it is programible.
    
    If you want to know more about it, call me up and we can talk.
    
    Siu Pong.

    
    	I have had Sony single disk player, the one with the calender?
    I do not remember the model number.  You couldn't dance in our second
    floor apt. without being cautious.  Got it at Lechmere.  Went back
    to Lechmere after a few months with a friend who worked there during
    high school and upgrated it to the Pioneer player that deals with
    six disks at once.  I like this player MUCH, MUCH better.  I never
    worry about dancing the second floor apartment anymore.  I can
    not tell any difference in sound.  The fact that it handles six
    disks at once is THE best feature about it.  Give me six disks I
    like, a long afternoon, and 'shuffle' play -- it's wonderful.
    Another interesting thing about this player is the price.  I remember
    when Lechmere first started carrying it, it was $400.  I got it
    on sale for $350.  I think it may be $350 regularly now.  If not
    Lechmere has it on sale quite often($350).  And how about this for a
    warranty.	Pioneers manufacturers is 2 years.  For some $ (maybe
    $25 I do not remember), Lechmere will double the length of the warranty.
    Add that to a great customer service policy and this seems to be 
    the current BEST buy in CD players for the time being.
    
    Peter
                             

    Ken,
    
     I bought Carver's DTL-100 when it first came out - the model has
    been discontinued. Carver's current lineup is the DTL-50 and it's
    big brother, the DTL-200. At $559 and $699 respectively, neither
    meets your price constraint. I bought mine primarily for Carver's
    "Digital Time Lens" circuitry, which smooths out the harsh sound
    of some early CD's.
    
     My advice is to audition the low end Denon (DCD900 - list price
    is $450, but you could probably get a better price). To my ears,
    the Denon line sounds great, and it's solidly crafted. When and
    if the Carver dies, my next player will be a Denon.
    
     Another line to look at is Yamaha - good quality players at a price
    to fit any budget. Their CDX-10000 is state of the art, in my opinion;
    unfortunately, at $3,000, so is the price.
    
     I think that perhaps the best way to shop for a player is to determine
    which features you want, and which manufacturers offer a player
    with what you want (a recent copy of Digital Audio will help you
    with this). Then, narrow down the right player by how it sounds
    to you and quality of construction (if you like to pooge, you can
    save a few bucks on the initial purchase and modify later - you
    might also want to have the player professionally modified). 
    
     Good luck with your shopping - I hope you find a player that's
    perfect for your needs!
    
    
                                       Ken
    

    
    	Hello out there????
    
    	I know my price range might have eliminated me from
    	serious consideration as a CD buff, but I was hoping
    	to get a little more input from you experts out there.
    	Everyone in this conference must have a CD player, doesn't
    	anyone else have an opinion on players, features etc.??
    
    	Thanks to those who did reply, it helped.
    
    	Ken
    

    You can get several nice players for close to $300.  Sony and
    Magnavox have good ones in that bracket.  Just figure out how
    much you are willing to spend and get the best player you
    can afford.  Within a line, more money buys a better player.
    
    The Sony CDP-510 I bought can be found for near $300 if you
    look hard enough.
    
    The multi-disc players seem to work well, but are over $300.
    The Sony CDP-5F is cute at about $349, and I would think would be
    more reliable over the long run as it has fewer moving parts (just
    the turntable for disc selection) than those that use a cartridge.
    
			Steve

    Just as an aside...
    
    Not all multi-CD players are over $300. Silo in Colorado Springs
    has a Pioneer PDM-x (forgot the number) on sale for $277. It's
    definitely a changer-type player.

You choice can also depend on what you are looking for in a player.  I
ended up spending more than I wanted (NAK OMS 5E) because it was well made,
simple to operate, and had the features I wanted in a player.  One feature
that's nice is a headphone jack with volume.  Some units don't have that.

I know two people who have Yamahas which had problems bad enough to send
back for repairs.  Probably not statistically valid, but FYI.

The portable Sony's are nice since you can use them at work, beach as well
as home.  I have heard of some reliability problems with Sony portables
though.  I believe they are somewhere else in this file.

I am not sure if the NAK OMS2 falls in the under $350 range.  Digital Audio
has an article on it this month.  Denon makes some nice units too.


						Tim

    
    re .7
    
    That's fair,I forgot to say what I already had.
    
    My system today is made up of Luxman amp and tuner, a Dual
    turntable, and Genesis 10 speakers.  The whole system ran
    me about $1400, but at the time I bought all the components
    I saved about 300-400, bucks.
    
    Music tastes:  I think I will be using CD's primarily to listen
    to Jazz.  I like people like David Sanborn, Spyra Gyra, Grover
    Washington, Miles davis, etc.  I also have a bunch of popular
    stuff, Elton John, Billy Joel, the Beatles and Seager and more.
    
    I have seen several changer units for 300 or less.
    
    I would not consider myself a hardcore music freak (obviously since
    I am just getting a player), but I enjoy listening to good music,
    and I probably spend at least an hour a day, more on weekends, 
    listening to albums, of which I have a fairly large collection.
    
    Does any of that help?
    
    Ken
    
    BTW - the price of the CD's have intimidated me more than the price
          of the players, I think that's why I have waited so long to
    	  buy a player.
    

    Last month I bought a Magie 465 as a second player - My Pioneer
    CLD900 while an excellent LDP is hardly state of the art CD.
    I find that I don't use the remote's on my system so didn't one
    this time.  It does have excellent programing - FTS - and I love
    it.  The Magie tracks every disc that I put in it.  I've about 200
    discs and some my CLD900 wouldn't track completly.  
    
    I don't know about reliability but I've bundled it up twice now
    to camp in Maine and no problem yet - at 7 lbs it is easy 'drag'
    around.
    
    BTW: It sounds great!  I've been looking with something to compete
    with my Sonographe/MMT/Talsman and the Magie ain't bad.  Of course
    MC is on the adgenda but for the moment.../bob
    

    BTW: I got the Magie 465 at Jordan Marsh in Bedford NH for $199
    (on Sale for the month of Aug). 
    bob

    
    Update:
    
    If anyone was interested, I purchased the Magnovox 650
    this weekend at Q audio.  I was deciding between the 
    465 and 650, but I went with the 650 for the additional
    features.  Q Audio was pretty good, I got a good price,
    not great, but good.  The player sounds great, I'm very
    pleased with it so far.
    
    Thanks to those who provided information, it helped alot.
    
    Ken
    

Extending the questions in .0 a bit:

My Sony D14, which I was using for a home unit has started the
well-known Sony skipping problem.  It will probably cost $75 to fix and
I don't know whether to throw good money after bad.

So I am interested in what table units might exist in the under-$350
range (preferably less if possible) that are sturdy and *reliable*.  I
am not interested in remote control or many fancy features (the
D-14--similar to a D5--gave me all I needed).  I need the ability to
push a button to skip to the next selection, a fast cue/review, a pause,
and the time remaining.  That's about all. 

I am interested in relatively high-quality (more or less "audiophile")
sound, so oversampling/digital filtering is likely to be important. But 
decks like Meridian, Nakamichi, and so forth are out the my price 
range.  Can a Denon be had for under $350?

I have heard that Magnavox has great ideas, but many of their decks are
very cheaply constructed.  Are any of their players solid enough to
consider?   Unfortunately, the recent Consumer Reports test had no
information on expected reliability.   My current battle with Sony
probably eliminates them.  Any comments?  Experiences with failures and
repair? 

Thanks,

Alex

    There used to be less expensive Denon models available (the 1100 and
    1300), at least one of which was in your price range, but I'm not sure
    what the current product line looks like.  Check a Denon dealer, like
    Tweeter or Waltham Camera and Stereo in the Boston area. 

    
    	re .16
    
    	As far as quality sound for a good price - features, the
    	Magnovox 465 is worth looking at.  Exact same sound quality
    	as the 650, without many of the features.  I did alot of 
    	reading on Magnovox's before I bought mine, and there wasn't
    	a single writeup of the 650 that questioned the reliability.
    
    	Good luck
    
    	Ken