charlie@saber.UUCP (Charlie Richardson) (07/29/85)
From: Charlie Richardson, Saber Technology, San Jose, CA While perusing the San Jose Mercury News for Sunday, July 27, I looked in the Consumers Distributing flyer and saw: Magnavox 2040/1 CD player, price $178.84, new item, regular (not sale) price. Sports fans, this is a damned fine deal. One tweak audiophile friend of mine has been recommending Magnavox players for about a year in the "best for under $600" category. The design is by Phillips of Europe, codeveloper of the CD format with Sony, and this player forms the basis of the Meridian $700 (?) list audiophile player. My audiophile friend has the second-gen- eration Magnavox player with "Wonder Caps" for the output capacitors ( they're big and bulky so he has the caps in an external box) and claims that this setup is audibly equal to the first generation Mission player which came out at $850. By the way, this new Magnavox gazortnik is third generation, digital readout, has track select, etc. Also, my friend can afford any CD player he wants, has spent a lot of money on his stereo, and is quite happy with his $249.95 Magnavox player with the $20.00 Wonder Caps. The point is that not only is this CD player cheap, but it also is one of the better choices for sound quality below $600. My tweak friend places it a cut above ALL the mid-priced players (yes, including the new Sonys) for sound . I haven't previously done a lot of A/B listening for subtle psychic nuances in stereo systems, so high-end audio fans, please don't flame me for tweak trivia. Debates about "what really sounds better" aside, my impression is that you can get a very good CD player for $178.84. (Now if they'd get the $#*&! DISK prices down to $6-$10!!) Happy Listening, Charlie Richardson, Saber Technology, Inc.