Very good for the money and very reliable
Written: Sep 13 '99 (Updated Aug 03 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: quality, reliability, features, price, looks, display, performance
Cons: maybe the remote
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| Chevyman16's Full Review: Technics SL-PD888 5-Disc CD Changer |
My dad got this cd player almost 3 years ago, and he has used it constantly ever since. It has never had any trouble. It changes discs and tracks very fast and quietly, it's one of the best at reading scratched cd's (confirmed by Consumers Reports tests).
It plays all cd-r's but in my experience all cd players I have tried play cd-r's fine. I have never come across an imcompatibility even though i've tried lots of cd players. I've tried several Sony discmans including a friends 4 year old Sony discman thinking a discman this old shouldn't play even regular cd's anymore but it played my cd-r's fine too. My Panasonic portable cd player and my sisters RCA play them fine too. I have a friend that has a $20 Memorex cd player and it plays cd-r's fine too. I don't think cd-r compatibility is an issue anymore even with the newer car cd players. If you have a cd player that won't play cd-r's then its either very crappy and not worth what you paid or its old and almost totally dead so you need a new cd player anyways.
This cd player is designed very well and has very good shock resistance. I jumped as hard as I could on the hardwood floor right next to the cd player and it didn't skip.
Reliability is also a big plus. Consumers Reports rated Technics best for repair rates on 5 disc changers the last time I checked in one of their buying guides. As an added note for all of you Sony bashers out there that call all Sony stuff junk without backing it up, Sony came second right after Technics for reliability. There were other brands rated much lower like Denon and Yamaha and other high end cd players so Technics and Sony beat a lot of other brands. Reading reviews of other cd players on places like www.audioreview.com I've found that a lot of the higher end cd player companies have had quality and reliability problems. Harmon Kardon is the worst, almost everyone that reviews an HK cd player has had problems with it dying on them. I've heard of some quality issues with NAD cd players, some Denon's and some older Yamahas had problems.
At this price range, there won't be too much difference between Technics, Sony and JVC for sound quality but a lot of audiophile type people that have listened to the Technics carousel cd players claim that they have the best sound for the money. If this doesn't matter to you very much then you should choose a cd player for its functionality and looks. I think this player looks decent but I like the look of the Sony's better. I haven't compared the Sonys and Technics but the control layout and features on the Technics seems pretty good to me. It can shuffle off of all the cd's at once or just off of one. It can play one single cd and have it stop at the end of. It will display the remaining time on the cd or track if you want to know how long the rest of a song or cd is. It has delete song programming so you can make it not play the dumb songs that you hate. For setting recording levels it will go directly to the loudest part of a song. Some audiophiles complain about how the display on the Technics cd players flashes the number of the cd you are playing but I don't see how it could bother anyone. Some people are just crazy I guess. All it does is flash in red to show you which cd you are listening to. It's not very bright either.
I don't think the remote is that good but its pretty much the same as on all cd players at this price range.
To me the sound quality seems really good. I compared the sound from this cd player to both of my portable cd players (a Sony and a Panasonic) and it had way higher volume level output, heavier and more clear bass, and the sound overall sounded clearer to me.
It's a really good cd player for the money. It was $279 Canadian when we got it, now there are even cheaper similiar new Technics models, and I think they're all good although the ergonomics didn't seem as good.
Check out audioreview.com and you will see that there are almost exclusively high ratings on Technics 5 disc changers.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Chevyman16
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Member: Mike Kennedy
Reviews written: 33
Trusted by: 7 members
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