Conference cookie::notes$archive:cd_v1

    Well, Comp-U-Card (CitiShopper, et al) is offering the 465 for
    $169 plus $12 shipping, but you have to be a member and delivery
    is of uncertain duration.
    
    I think Lechmere DOES carry Magnavox.
    
    				Steve

    I just bought a Magnavox 465 from Stereo Discounters for $177 plus
    5% shipping etc.
    
    Maurice

So much for deals at Jordan Marsh:  yes, it is on sale for $199.  No, they don't
have any in stock, and won't for at least four weeks, maybe more.  No guarantee
it will be before xmas.

Re .1: I looked at Lechmere and saw no Magnavox machines.

	Paul

    Believe it or not, try your local Sears store for Magnavox CD players.
    I don't think that they carry the 650, but they do carry the other
    models.  I think the 465 is $199 on sale now.

    ---Phil

I looked at sears at Pheasant Lane.  I didn't see the 465.  They had the 650 I
think, and another model which didn't seem to have a visible number.  The
cheapest was around $250.  Perhaps they have the 465 via the catalog?

	Paul

Sears sells a number of them.  In catalog NV you can get the 460 for 
$150 if you order before Feb 1 '88.  And the 560 is $199.  I believe 
the 560 is on sale at the stores this week for $199 also.  There is 
another model in the Xmas wish book.

You can get a service contract for 3 years for about $45 even if it is 
ordered through the catalog.  Given my experience with my Sony D14, I 
think it may be worth it (if reliable CD player is an oxymoron).

Alex

No, Lechmere does not sell Magnavox.

>< Note 938.4 by RUTLND::MCKINLEY >
>                       -< Whatever happened to Roebuck? >-
Since you asked, he sold his share to Sears way long ago, before the 
store made it big, for a reported pittance.  Sears was probably too cheap to
change the stationery, so Roebuck's name lives on.

I have been calling Stereo Discounters for a couple of weeks about the 465, but
they are out of stock.  If you can believe them, they were supposed to receive
a new shipment some time ago.

I checked out Q Audio this weekend.  They have ONE 465 left, and expect no new
ones.  They claim the 465 is no longer available.  (Maybe this is why Stereo
Discounters order is late.)  Apparently the replacements for the 465 are the
471, 472, and 473.  I saw the 471 and 473.  Features are similar though the
config of the machine is quite different.  The major functional change seems to
be a new drawer mechanism which appears to be better.  Does anyone have more
info on these machines?  (The 473 is also available at Sears.  It is $299, and
the only extra goodie on it seems to be the remote control.)

I was not happy with Q Audio.  They seemed not at all interested in negotiating
the price of their one remaining 465 down below $229.  Then, while looking at
the 471 and 473 I noted that there was a variation in quality of the (obviously
identical) drawer units - the 471 was noisier than the 473.  The salesman
immediately lectured me that this was because while they look the same the 473
had a higher quality mechanism.  I am about 99.44% certain that this is utter
hogwash.  I would rather give my business to Sears.

	Paul

    Hi Paul,
    
    	Here's a recent reply I placed in AUDIO on the 473.  I've had
    a while to play with the unit so since that time.  It seems to me
    that the 473 does not sound as good as I remember the 465 sounding.
    Unfortunately I no longer have the 465 to do any direct comparison.
    A guess would be the analog multiplexer is coloring the singal some.
    My only complait so far is that the volume control doesn't go
    completely silent on the lowest level.
    
    I don't have any information on whether or not the 471 and 473 have 
    the same draw or not.
    
    KC
    
    Correction on following reply.  The 473 has a florecent display
    not LCD.  The speaker wire is Livewire BC6 run 2 cables/speaker
    (Audioquest is where I purchased them.)
     
                       <<< PUBLIC$:[NOTES$LIBRARY]AUDIO.NOTE;1 >>>
                          -< The Emperor's New Audio >-
================================================================================
Note 1309.15                 Looking for a CD Player                    15 of 15
DSSDEV::CHAN                                         45 lines  17-NOV-1987 11:38
                              -< More on Maggies >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Re: .10
    
>    Magnavox CD players are reported to sound great, but be mechanically
>    flimsy.  You get what you pay for.
    
    Well you have approximately $200 to spend and as the saying goes, you
    get what you pay for.  Let's say you look at purchasing the CDB465
    because it is around your price range.  You may not me happy with
    the "flimsy" transport.  So you go looking at a little more expensive
    players.  While shopping for tools at Sears you may browse by the
    electonics dept and notice the Magnavox 473.  It's about $100 (when
    on sale) than what you want to spend but let see what you get. 
    The player has a different transport from the 460, 465, 560, and
    650.  It is the transport used on the Phillips pro decs and what
    is available on the Phillips 960 high end player (approx a $900
    machine.)  You compare it to 560 unit sitting next to it and find
    that in comparison, the 560 draw belongs in the toy dept.  Well,
    what else do you get.  The display on the 473 has an LCD display
    vs the LED on the 560 and contains the tracks programmed in the
    blinks the track is is currently playing.  The bottons with similar
    functions are clustered together and are much easier to find.
    The unit comes with a remote that contains a keypad and volume control.
    Unfortunatly there is no keypad or volume control on the unit itself,
    so if you misplace your remote, your out of luck.
    
    But that's only external features, what about how it sounds, after
    all, the Maggies were suggested because they sound good.  It has
    the same chipset as the older 16bit machines, but the board is a
    different animal.  There are no longer any vertical mount componets
    and some part changes were made.  There players have a little better
    spec than the older ones but we all know where to shov specs :^).
    You decide to hear for yourself and take the unit home to compare
    to a, say, 465 (this just so happen to be the player I have at home.)
    You find out that the units sound the same and the improvement is 
    beyond the limits of your current system and it time to get a hole
    new system (only kidding.)
    
    Kenney
    
    PS (The componets that the comparision was made on was a Musical
    Concepts DH200GX amp, a Musical Concepts 20k pot with a DB system
    switch box, Polk Audio monitor speakers, Straightwire LSI
    interconnects and Audioquest BC6 speaker cable)
    

>   that the 473 does not sound as good as I remember the 465 sounding.
>   Unfortunately I no longer have the 465 to do any direct comparison.
>   A guess would be the analog multiplexer is coloring the singal some.

Are you saying that the D/A converter in the 473 may be worse than in the 465?
If so, would there be reason to suspect defect of the model rather than of your
particular unit?

>   There are no longer any vertical mount componets and some part changes were
>   made.

I gather this is good?

In general, I gather you think the 473 is better than the 465, but perhaps not
$100 better?  That is what I have concluded without much data.  If the 472 is
the same thing without the remote for significantly less money it would be more
attractive to me - the remote doesn't seem particularly necessary.

Thanks for the input.

	Paul

    .8> I was not happy with Q Audio.  They seemed not at all interested in
    .8> negotiating the price of their one remaining 465 down below $229.

    A couple of years ago, I went to Q Audio (Cambridge, MA) to buy a
    Hafler pre-amp and power amp.  On impulse, I also bought a Maggie CD
    player for $229 (or something like that).

    A few days later, I found the same player on sale at Treisman's
    (Nashua, NH) for $189.  I called Q and talked to the salesman who'd
    sold be my equipment (who I believe was also the store owner or
    manager).  I told him that I was happy with the player but not
    especially happy with the price.  He volunteered that he'd match any
    advertised price from a local store that actually had the product in
    stock.  (It's easy to quote a low price on something that's not
    available.)

    The next weekend, I showed him the Treisman's ad and he gave me a
    credit for the difference, which I immediately applied to several CD's.
    I wound up spending an additional $25 at Q and left feeling very good
    about the store.

    -- Ward 

    RE: .10

    Hi Paul,
    
>>   that the 473 does not sound as good as I remember the 465 sounding.
>>   Unfortunately I no longer have the 465 to do any direct comparison.
>>   A guess would be the analog multiplexer is coloring the singal some.
>
>Are you saying that the D/A converter in the 473 may be worse than in the 465?
>If so, would there be reason to suspect defect of the model rather than of your
>particular unit?

    No.  The D/A converters are exactly the same.  The 473 has a volume
    control.  This "feature" is a analog multiplexer that sits in the
    signal path after the output filter before the signal leaves the
    player.  Guess you might call it a volume control on a CD player
    a "defect" :^).  You may be blowing this out of proportion, the
    players for all practical purposes sounded identical when sitting
    side by side.  Humans have fuzzy logic and it seems to me that the
    465 sounded better.
    
>>   There are no longer any vertical mount componets and some part changes were
>>   made.
>
>I gather this is good?

    Yes that's good.  I believe that military specs state that the
    components should be horizontally mounted for reliability. The only
    vertical mounted components are radial caps.
    
>>In general, I gather you think the 473 is better than the 465, but perhaps not
>>$100 better?  That is what I have concluded without much data.  If the 472 is
>>the same thing without the remote for significantly less money it would be more
>>attractive to me - the remote doesn't seem particularly necessary.
    
    I think you mean the 471.  The 472 is the same as the 471 with the
    addition of the remote.  The 473 is the 472 with the addition of
    the volume control, FTS, and variable headphone jack.  Then again
    I never saw the other players and the spec I read could be wrong.
    
    Yes in general I think the 473 is better than the 465.  I owned
    the 465 for about 2 months prior to the 473.  The draw was worth
    the extra money but your milage may vary depending on your budget.
    
    Happy listening.
    
    Kenney