declining sales for CD-only players

[meestercleef]

www.msnbc.com/news/842302.asp?0cv=CB20

[shack]

“EVERY DVD PLAYER is a CD player, which is why the CD player is becoming less important,”

But not every DVD player is a "GOOD" CD player (or even a good DVD player for that matter). I think many of the "plays everything" DVD players are a compromise at best when you are comparing them to a dedicated CD player. But that seems to be what the public at large wants. I think multi channel music formats and DVD music discs have had an impact also. I guess these players are ok for the average consumer who wants an inexpensive machine that does DVD, DVD-R, DVD-ROM, DVD-RW, CD, CD-R, CD-RW, HDCD, SACD, DVD-A, MP3 and WMA (it of course will be a progressive scan player capable of excellent anamorphic pictures but this doesn't matter since they only watch full-screen DVDs so they won't see those irritating black bars on their TV).


But there is a good side of the story. I think that the CD players that will continue to be built will be good quality with the stereophile in mind. Sort of like the turntable. In spite of what the article says, TT sales have shown a marked increase over the last few years as people look beyond convience in search of a particular sound. I know my moderately priced CD player outperforms my fairly expensive DVD player when it come to redbook performance. I suppose that a machine that plays all formats very well is possible but it may be very expensive. The Pioneer Elite multi-function players are very good but they are still bettered in standard CD by modestly priced CD only players. (this is only my perception through casual listening - not exhaustive side-by-side comparison)


I for one probably (NOT POSSIBLY) will always have a dedicated CD player in my rack.

[jdavy]

Most DVD players are poor cd players. I am sure that most people her on this forum however, do not have poor DVD players. After all, what would it be to have great speakers with out any decent music to play on them. A sound system is a good as its weekest link. Do not forget the cables and wires.

[goingganzo]

i bought a 400 disk cd changer i cant wait for a aforadable 200-400 disk dvd changer

[meestercleef]

I have a Marantz 1-disc SACD player, an HK dual-tray CD recorder, & a Sony 1-disc DVD player. As a CD player, the Sony sounds a lot better than my old 1-bit converter Onkyo changer. However, I don't like the idea of not being able to listen to any music if my DVD player dies, so I hope to always have at least 2 CD players. The Marantz is great, but I wouldn't have bought it w/out a nice allowance for my trade-in. Even now, I wonder if any disc player is worth a grand or more list price. I'm sure that many experts can tell me why they're worth that much, but I am still suspicious.

[shack]

I wonder if any disc player is worth a grand or more list price. I'm sure that many experts can tell me why they're worth that much, but I am still suspicious.

Then I assume you are not in the market for this one?

http://www.stereophile.com/archivesart/Lin12.1.jpg


Linn Sondek CD12 CD Player - MSRP = $20,000.00

[meestercleef]

only if it comes w/a free magic marker for the edges of my discs

[organ]

That Linn CD player was made for those who want vinyl sound on CD. I have read articles where it was mentioned that the Linn introduces dither to the audio signal to produce a vinyl-like sound.

Maurice

[Zero]

Looks more like a scanner, then a cd player.

[mantis]

This is a good thead.
Cd players shouldn't die out,they are still needed in todays growing DVD dominated world.I'll get to performance in a minute.

A good reason to own both is if you do multiroom audio.If someone is using the DVD player in the main Theater Zone,the rest of the house can use the CD player or Players(depending on # of zones)
Another is the thinking if the DVD player or CD player breaks,you can play CD's on both.
Now performance is another story.Most cheaper DVD players are what they are.For CD play pack, yes a Deadicated moderate player most of the time will sound better.
Pioneer DVD players have been noted to make great CD players.I have owned 2 DVD players made by Pioneer and Like the sound of it's ability to playback regular cd's.I own the Pioneer Elite DV47a.It plays everything.SACD and DVD AUDIO included.Awesome sound quality as it has a new DAC in Legolink Supers.This dvd player actually out performs my Pioneer Elite PDF-19 cd player.It's a noticable difference.I use the same wire on both player.Transparent musiclink.
It's all in the ears of the listener what they want to use.Using DVD players as CD players is very common for a single zone system.Most people today don't care as much for there sound as the experience alone.Space using the DVD player saves you.
All in all a very good topic, I enjoyed reading all of your comments/opnions.

[audionutt]

I use my cd player's varible output going right to my amp, how much more "performence" would i achieve by having a stand alone preamp? I have allways heard that the least path taken
is the best.

joe

[Zero]

I did an A and B comparison between the AMC 6 (1993 1 bit dac cd player) vs a cheap mintek dvd/mp3/cd player...

I must say the dedicated AMC CD 6 revealed more details and provided a bit of everything the Mintek did not. The only downside was that the differences were rather subtle, but noticable nonetheless.

Just thought I would throw that in there.

[gidrah]

The record companies are probably already trying to skew this into another reason against file sharing.

[bojangles89]

I have never owned a dedicated CD player only a NC600 Sony 5 disc dvd player. Before you picture me as ignorant let me tell you the only reason is that my budget is too limited to purchase both. I didnt think the quality of a an optical scanning device mattered much but now that I read this thread I am reminded of my casual observation that music played during and after movie on dvd sounds much better than cds on my player. I simply attributed this to better encoding technology on dvds. I had decided never to get a dedicated cd player since there didnt seem to be a need but now that I read this I will have to look into it for the future. I guess it follows the basic rule that it is always better to have dedicated components for everything.

[MxStYlEpOlKmAn]

My DVD player is good at playing DVD's...Im not too fond of it playing CDS - Sound bright, uncontrolled, and jammed together -- Sounds like s*** in a sink! Newayz, CD Players will alwayz be apart of my HT system...DVD players play dvds, cd players play cds..thats the bottum line to me