How to Buy a CD Player

CD players run the gamut from inexpensive to deluxe models. Take some time to decide which features you really want before going to a store. Then be sure to listen to each model carefully before you buy.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• CD Players
• CDs

1. Check product-comparison charts online.

2. Review the available features and decide which ones you want.

3. Check Audio Review's Web site for reviews of models that seem worth trying out.

4. Shorten your list to a handful of candidates.

5. Take a few familiar CDs to your favorite consumer electronics store.

6. Listen to several songs on each of the available CD players from your list.

7. Pick the two models that sound most enjoyable, unless one sounds much better than all the others.

8. Make your buying decision based on (in order) sound quality, price, features, manufacturer's limited warranty and the service provided by your salesperson.

9. Consider upgrading from the stock cables that will be included with your unit.

Tips & Warnings

• A CD changer will generally not sound as good as a single-disc player and will be less reliable.
• A unit with digital outputs may give you an upgrade path, but many experts believe that Toslink outputs degrade sound quality.
• Some manufacturers offer system remote-control units that control various components of the same brand.
• At any given price point, you will pay for some combination of marketing, sound quality and convenience features. Decide which is most important to you.
• Monster cable, sold by most consumer electronics stores, will rarely provide better sound quality than comparably priced cables made by other manufacturers.
• As the laser-head assembly in a CD player will get out of alignment and a changer mechanism is susceptible to many problems, a service contract can be a good value. However, make sure the store offers more than just an extended warranty.
• If you are interested in home theater, consider buying a DVD player instead of a CD player, since DVD players play CDs and may eventually replace them.

on 11/22/2005 Some stores will let you bring in your speakers or amplifier, or vice versa if you want to test your CD player on an amp you want to buy. If you can't get it to the store, ask to hook up one they have in store to your prospective piece of equipment. Many stores will have a showroom you can book with equipment of your choice, so you can test it all in your predefined environment. That's really handy if you want to buy many items.