greg@olivee.UUCP (Greg Paley) (04/12/85)
For the record, the Magnavox 3040 is NOT identical to the Philips 304. Having purchased the Magnavox, there were several clear cosmetic and functional differences. The Philips has an "output level" knob on the front panel (as opposed to the screw-type adjustments on the Magnavox's rear panel) which controls the headphone output level as well as the main line outputs. Another difference (for which I am glad) is that the Philips model comes with "hard wired" output cable, with RCA jacks on the end. This makes it impossible for those who are into expensive cabling to change it or to allow the user to choose the length of cable. The Magnavox does not do this, but does supply cabling that can be used. Since I don't have the Philips model on hand, I can't say if there are any sonic differences. The instruction book, which is generally scanty on technical information, indicates that the D/A conversion is "16-bit" with no mention of whether or not oversampling is used. As this would be a radical departure for Philips/Magnavox, I'm inclined to believe that the documentation is wrong and that their 14-bit with 4x oversampling technique is still being used. As Sam mentioned before, this player comes marked "made in Japan" whereas the Philips 304 was labelled "manufactured in Belgium". I understand that the "original" Philips 304 is available in this country under the Sylvania, rather than Magnavox, brand name. For $368 from Stereo Discounters (mine took two weeks) with superb sound, programmability of up to 24 tracks, random track selection, index selection, and remote control it's a great buy. This player, incidentally, had no problem whatsoever with an EMI CD of Debussy orchestral music (Previn/LSO) that produced audible glitches and inability to locate the beginning of the first track on an NEC player. - Greg Paley
ark@alice.UUCP (Andrew Koenig) (04/17/85)
> Another difference (for which I am glad) is that the > Philips model comes with "hard wired" output cable, with > RCA jacks on the end. This makes it impossible for those > who are into expensive cabling to change it or to allow > the user to choose the length of cable. The Magnavox > does not do this, but does supply cabling that can be > used. A good reason to avoid equipment that has output cables permanently attached is that that makes it hard to replace the cables if they fail. And they do.