[net.audio] German "Audio" CD-player comparison

greg@olivej.UUCP (Greg Paley) (12/20/84)

Enough people displayed an interest in having a synopsis of this
review to make it worth posting, even though several of the models
are not immediately available on the U.S. market.

The German "Audio" reviews consist of several pages of text
with commentary on the price, construction, and sound of the
equipment, followed by a table of features with some evaluation
of the level of performance for each, and a final tabularized
subjective "bottom line" they call the "Audiogram".  I have
translated a brief synopsis of the text, and the two tables.

The models compared are:

	Blaupunkt	CP-2820
	Meridian	MCD	(based on Philips CD-101)
	Philips		CD-304
	Technics	SL-P1

The 'reference' model against which comparisons were done was:

	Denon		DCD-1800 Paroli

The Philips is a new "flagship" model which represents the
current state of the art of their product line.  The Meridian
is essentially a Philips CD-101 which has been heavily 
modified internally, with resistors and capacitors replaced
and other mods done to improve error correction and mechanical
isolation of the drive mechanism.  The Technics was a new model
on the European market and the Blaupunkt was this company's
first endeavour into the field of CD players.

For mechanical stability, ruggedness and quality of construction,
and special features, the Philips CD-304 was rated a clear first.
This was also the largest and heaviest of the machines, the
draw contianing the disk-drive mechanism being called a "millstone".
The Technics player was found excellent in the basic laser tracking
and error correction, but was easily subject to problems caused
by external vibration, due to a comparatively light housing and
mechanism.  The Blaupunkt was found the worst in this regard,
being wobbly and unstable.  "Under the hood" examination showed
a wealth of high-quality, expensive components in both the Philips
and Meridian players, whereas the Technics and Blaupunkt relied
heavily on space-saving IC's.  The Meridian was the most "bare-
boned" machine in terms of features: five rectangular buttons (play, 
pause, start, fast-forward, fast-rewind) and four tiny buttons
for program/repeat functions.  There is no elapsed time display,
making the search for a particular passage tedious.  The Technics
had, in contrast, a nifty direct indexing feature, the index being
typed in via a small numeric keypad.  The Philips added full remote
control.

All players were found to be at least acceptably quiet in terms
of operation noises.  The Blaupunkt was the only one whose error-
correction mechanism could be reduced to producing audible clicks.
The Meridian was by far the slowest in operation.

The associated equipment used for listening tests was:

	Accuphase C-280 Pre-amp
	Backes & Mueller BM 20 Active (self-amplified) Speakers
	   (These run approx. $8000/pair)

Among the CD's used for comparative purposes were:

	Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (Denon)
	Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastque (Telarc)
	Handel: Water Music (L'Oiseau-Lyre)
	Audio-Test-CD (heavy on jazz, lots of transient-containing
		passages)

The Blaupunkt player was the least distinguished in terms of sound.
There was an overall hardness and "metallic" quality to the sound,
with little depth or perspective.  Instrumental groupings were all
in a flat plain.  Somewhat better was the Technics, which was
found superior in overall clarity, which was also found to be
edgy and "frosty" sounding in the upper octaves.  The difference
was primarily noticeable on classical recordings which contained
significant localization and spatial differentiation - on most
pop and rock music there was little or any difference noticed between
this and the 'reference' Denon player.  The differences in sound
between the Philips, Meridian, and the reference Denon were found
to be real but of an extremely subtle nature and noticeable only
on the most critical musical material.  In characterizing these
differences, the listening panel found the Denon sounded "cooler",
but reproduced more of the soaring quality of bright female voices,
as well as giving high strings more of a glow.  The Philips was
"warmer" and more flattering, piano passages sounding more "airy"
and delicate.  The British Meridian machine gave a slightly
"fuller" sound, reproducing the opulence and "bloom" on individual
voices and solo passages better, giving massed, complex orchestral
sections a more homogenous sound.  Of the three players, Denon,
Philips, and Meridian, the listening panel decided an out-and-out
ranking was impossible, the differences being subtle and dependent
on personal taste.  The Philips achieved a somewhat higher overall
rating than the Meridian primarily because, being so close in
sound, it had far more features for a somewhat lower asking
price.

		Feature Table

Manufacturer    Blaupunkt    Meridian    Philips    Technics

Model           CP-2820      MCD         CD-304     SL-P1

Price (Marks)   DM 1500      DM 1850     DM 1600    DM 1300

Guarantee       12 month     24 month    6 month    6 month

Size (mm)       435x83x280   320x80x264  420x90x300 430x82x334

Operating modes:
================

Fast-forward/rew acceptable  acceptable  acceptable acceptable

Speeds           3           1           3          2

Monitoring       acceptable  n.a.        n.a.       acceptable

Title Search:

forwards         n.a.        acceptable  acceptable acceptable

backwards        n.a.        n.a.        acceptable n.a.

Programming
===========

titles           16          15          20         15

title repeat     n.a.        n.a.        n.a.       n.a.

disk repeat      acceptable  acceptable  acceptable acceptable

program repeat   acceptable  acceptable  acceptable acceptable

direct search:

by title         acceptable  n.a.        n.a.       acceptable

stepwise         n.a.        acceptable  acceptable n.a.


Display:
========

title number     acceptable  acceptable  acceptable acceptable

index            acceptable  n.a.        acceptable acceptable

playing time:

current title    acceptable  n.a.        acceptable acceptable

disk             n.a.        n.a.        acceptable n.a.

countdown        acceptable  n.a.        acceptable acceptable

number of titles acceptable  acceptable  acceptable acceptable

program overview n.a.        acceptable  acceptable acceptable

Access times (seconds): ("Symphonie Fantastique" disk)
============

0.-1. Title      4           5           3          3

1.-2. Title      5           7           4          5

1.-5. Title      5           13          5          6


Miscellaneous
=============

Operation noise  low         adequate    low        low

remote control   n.a.        n.a.        acceptable n.a.

output level
control          acceptable  n.a.        acceptable n.a.

headphone level
control          acceptable  n.a.        acceptable n.a.

----------------------------------------------------------------

		Audiogram (Final Evaluation)

Model           Blaupunkt   Meridian     Philips       Technics
                CP-2820     MCD          CD-304        SL-P1

Overall
(max 5"*")         *          ***         ****            **

Sound           average     exceptional  exceptional   above average

Tracking        outstanding very good    very good     very good

Features        above       adequate     outstanding   above
                average                                average

Handling        above       adequate     above         above
(user-friendly) average                  average       average

Construction    adequate    above        outstanding   above
                            average                    average

Price/Value     average     above        outstanding   above
relationship                average                    average