Conference cookie::notes$archive:cd_v1

    I got so wrapped up in bells and whistles that I forgot to mention
    the sound.  I'm really happy with this - it's definitely better
    than the D-7.  It somehow gives a more "alive" feeling than I've
    ever heard from a portable before.  I have no trouble imagining
    myself in a concert hall when I plug the Koss Porta-PRO headphones
    into it here in the office.  I haven't had the occasion to try it
    on the stereo system at home yet, but I expect I'll like it there,
    too.  It particularly seems to reproduce the timbre of the sound
    of woodwinds, horns, and timpany better than any portable I've ever
    listened to.
    
    B

    Remind me not to lend you my car.

    Aw c'mon!  It was the day before 4 new tires and an alignment. 
    And I couldn't resist testing the limits of a new toy...
    
    ;-}
    B
    

    The Sony D-4 is on sale at Lechmere for $199. It too is a new offering
    from Sony. Has features similar to the D-15 'cept its nearly twice
    the thickness of the D-15 (but thinner than most other models).
    It has an advantage over the D-15 in that it uses a 4 hour internal
    battery pack, instead of the D-15's 2 hour pack. All the standard
    bells and whistles, including the cheap strap! They claim it comes
    with headphones, but I haven't found them yet! The sound is great
    through my headphones (wish it had base and treble controls - but
    guess none of the portable CD players do). Needs a good bump to make
    it skip, so don't plan on jogging with it!

    Paul

    Re: .4
    
    Hmmmm....   I'm glad your D-4 is reasonably skip resistant.  I borrowed
    both the D-3 and the D-4 before deciding on the D-15 for the extra
    $$$.  My experience with both D-3 and D-4 was that the slightest
    bump near the rear of the player caused either one to stop playing for
    about 1 to 1.5 seconds.  I'm not sure I'd call that a skip, but
    I sure don't call it skip-resistant.  I'm not sure I would have
    gone the extra $$$ for the D-15 if I had found a cheaper portable
    that was as skip-resistant.  Like I said - great if you got a good
    one.  Anyone else having good luck with the D-4?  (It's still not
    too late for me to return the D-15 :-)  )
    
    B
    

    Lechemere has D-15s on sale for $269 until June 18th.  This is a pretty
    decent price; I called WDS and they wanted $275 for them.
    
    - M

    
    Where are you all?  I live in Worcester, MA, and the Lechemere here 
    is selling D-15s for $300 and D-4s for $250.  I don't mind a drive 
    to save $50 or so, but if you're in LA ...   
    
    			-- Mike

    The price I saw was announced in a flyer sent to my home in Merrimack,
    NH.  I have since been to the Pheasant Lane Mall and seen the same
    price there.  Please note, that although the sale is called "Father's
    Day sale" it ends the 18th, the day before Father's Day.

    I just got a D-15, and I'm impressed with it's resistance to jarring,
    but I still can't quite seem to be able to walk briskly without
    it muting.
    
    It works fine in the car, and around the house, but not while walking.
    I think it might work if I can strap it down someway, I wanted to
    know if anyone else has rigged up anything?
    
    Thanks
    
    Jim

    I have no trouble with my D-15 if I put the strap over my head and
    across my chest/back.  If I try to wear it just over the shoulder
    on the same side that it's hanging on then it swings on the strap
    so much that it does skip once in a while.  How are you wearing
    it?
    
    B
    

                The trick is get the shocks and other movements to be
        perpendicular to the cd. Any motion that is in the plane of the
        cd has the opportunity to change the speed of the rotation and
        thus upset the reading of the data. Also in that plane is the
        motion of the laser head. Moving it will definitely cause
        dropouts! The worst motions are along the line of movement of
        the laser assy, and rotation in the plane of the cd.
                
                /s/     Bob

    Thanks for the suggestions so far.  I was wearing the strap over
    my head and across my shoulders, and walking briskly causes it
    to skip, so I'll still have to experiment.
    
    BTW, I returned rather cheap Sony headphones for the top-of-the-line
    MDR-CD6 phones - big improvement.  Very Comfortable.  Lechmere has
    them for $114.  Expensive, but great sound with the D-15.
    
    Jim

	It seems to me that if the laser and disc assemblies were one,
    with at least 3 common points of connect, any CD player could be
    made shock absorbent to the point of being able to withstand anything
    except shock that caused deformation of the assemblies.
    
    	Why is it so hard to do this?  Or, if this is the approach,
    why isn't it working?
    
    -mike z

    I was in Lechmere (Pheasant Lane Mall) today and stopped to look
    at the D-4 and D-15.  They had advertised the D-4 on sale but were
    out of stock and are substituting the D-15 @ $269. The sales clerk
    couldn't seem to get the D-4 to work so I only could listen to the
    D-15.  I was suprised that the D-15 didn't seem to be able to play
    very loud.  I would say on it's MAX setting that the volume was
    only moderate, definately not loud.  I tried several of the cheap
    headphones they had out without much difference.  Was this unit
    defective or is this typical?  I didn't try any other portables
    because the sales clerk had left and the AC adaptor couldn't reach
    any other units.
    

    I don't have that problem with mine.  I have to turn it almost all
    the way up to drive my AKG K240 Monitors, but they are 600 ohm
    headphones.  I usually set it below 4 for most normal headphones.
    
    B
    

    Re: .14
    
    $269 is a great price!  I bought my D-15 at Lechmeme "on sale" for
    $299.
    
    I find that I usually crank the volume to 7-8.  The volume question
    seems to be disc dependent.  Some disks (most notably: Rickie Lee
    Jones: Pirates), I have to crank up to 10. (Unlike "This is Spinal
    Tap"'s amplifier, the D-15 doesn't have an "11").
    
    L. 

    
    Jeez.  I turn my old D-7 up past 5 and it's practically painful.
    What happened to the amps in the portables?
    
    DFW

    Again, I own both the D-7 and the D-15.  The amps are *the same*
    in mine; no volume difference at all.  I got my D-15 the first month
    they were available - has Sony started putting in a cheaper amp?
    
    B
    

    
    RE: volume
    
    It sould easily be the headphones.  I have noticed over the years
    vast differences in efficiency in headphones.  Walkperson types
    seem to be the least efficient in general.

    I have a D-15 purchased shortly after they were introduced.  I rarely
    turn it up past 4.  Much higher than that hurts.  Maybe some of you
    have been listening to too much of that loud music, no?  :-)
    
    My guess is that as headphones are not supplied with the D-15, perhaps
    that is the variable.
    
    - M

    I've noticed when using Sony Turbo headphones you only need half
    the volume agianst using there regular headphones and when I put
    the Turbos on a standard Walkman, I can blow my ears off.  
    
    Stig

    I suppose another reason for having to turn it up louder might be,
    that you are getting deafer? :-)
    
    If someone could figure out how to make a "hearing test" CD, it
    would be a revalation. Too bad it is so difficult to set absolute
    volume on the players. 
    

    I finally got back to Lechmere and tried the D-15 again.  I tried
    a different pair of headphones and could easily blow my ears out.
    
    Todd