disc changers

[Jason]

I'm looking for disc changer advice. One of my neighbors left behind a
Panasonic 5 dvd changer, along with receiver and speakers. I thought I
had died and gone to heaven. I'm just using it as a stereo, not with my
TV. That's all I want it for. Anyway, my ecstasy came to an abrupt halt
tonight when I found out that the Panasonic doesn't play CD-R's and
CD-RW's. In this day and age, that's a huge drawback. So it looks like
I'm in the market for a new 5 cd changer.
I looked on Amazon and every component I looked at got lousy reviews.
Everything seems to break down after a few months. Does anyone make
reliable CD players anymore? That's my question. I don't care about all
the features, although I would like a remote, too.
Any advice?
Jason

[Mark D. Zacharias]

"Jason" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> I'm looking for disc changer advice. One of my neighbors left behind a
> Panasonic 5 dvd changer, along with receiver and speakers. I thought I
> had died and gone to heaven. I'm just using it as a stereo, not with my
> TV. That's all I want it for. Anyway, my ecstasy came to an abrupt halt
> tonight when I found out that the Panasonic doesn't play CD-R's and
> CD-RW's. In this day and age, that's a huge drawback. So it looks like
> I'm in the market for a new 5 cd changer.
> I looked on Amazon and every component I looked at got lousy reviews.
> Everything seems to break down after a few months. Does anyone make
> reliable CD players anymore? That's my question. I don't care about all
> the features, although I would like a remote, too.
> Any advice?
> Jason
>

Pioneer optical players have been the most reliable for at least the past
several years. Not sure if they make a 5-disc carousel standalone player
though. They had some "dvdceiver" 5-disc models, but I shy away from combo
units, and they did have a few mainly tray-related problems with those.

Sony DVD players, single disc and changers, have improved reliability-wise.

Both Sony and Pioneer current models will play CD-R's and RW's with no
problem. Most all other brands' current models will as well.

Thing is, it's always possible to get a stinker, no matter what brand you
buy. DVD players' laser pickups are more critical and die more frequently
than regular CD players, so if you really don't need to play DVD's maybe
stick with an audio-only player.

Maybe an extended warranty wouldn't hurt, either, if it's from a reputable
company like Best Buy or Circuit City, and doesn't cost too much. For
example, 18.00 for an extended warranty on a 129.00 retail piece for a 3
year warranty, might give you more peace of mind.


Mark Z.

[wkearney99]

> Sony DVD players, single disc and changers, have improved
reliability-wise.

If only because they couldn't have sunk any lower than where they were.

> Maybe an extended warranty wouldn't hurt, either, if it's from a reputable
> company like Best Buy or Circuit City, and doesn't cost too much. For
> example, 18.00 for an extended warranty on a 129.00 retail piece for a 3
> year warranty, might give you more peace of mind.

More like ceaseless headaches dealing with the droids at the retail counter.

[Mark D. Zacharias]

"wkearney99" > wrote in message
...
>> Sony DVD players, single disc and changers, have improved
> reliability-wise.
>
> If only because they couldn't have sunk any lower than where they were.

The optical pickups of their DVD players have improved significantly, to the
point where they are WAY better than the cheapies (Electrohome, Norcent,
Apex, etc).


>
>> Maybe an extended warranty wouldn't hurt, either, if it's from a
>> reputable
>> company like Best Buy or Circuit City, and doesn't cost too much. For
>> example, 18.00 for an extended warranty on a 129.00 retail piece for a 3
>> year warranty, might give you more peace of mind.
>
> More like ceaseless headaches dealing with the droids at the retail
> counter.
>

But the player will get exchanged during the extended warranty period. You
take it to the store. They send you to the service counter. They take write
it up, and call you a week later saying it can't really be fixed, and to
come on down and pick up your new one. Did this with a 2 1/2 year old
digital camera recently. Paid off like a slot machine.

Mark Z.

[wkearney99]

> But the player will get exchanged during the extended warranty period. You
> take it to the store. They send you to the service counter. They take
write
> it up, and call you a week later saying it can't really be fixed, and to
> come on down and pick up your new one.

So you end up wasting two trips and several hours of your time all to
replace what shouldn't have broken in the first place? Maybe you're willing
to put up with shoddy products but I'd rather avoid the entire problem by
not buying them in the first place.

[Mark D. Zacharias]

"wkearney99" > wrote in message
t...
>> But the player will get exchanged during the extended warranty period.
>> You
>> take it to the store. They send you to the service counter. They take
> write
>> it up, and call you a week later saying it can't really be fixed, and to
>> come on down and pick up your new one.
>
> So you end up wasting two trips and several hours of your time all to
> replace what shouldn't have broken in the first place? Maybe you're
> willing
> to put up with shoddy products but I'd rather avoid the entire problem by
> not buying them in the first place.
>

OK. Not to be argumentative or anything, but just exactly what fictional
products are you buying which don't fall into the consumer electronics
category?
I was just trying to help the guy deal with what is, not what "should be".

Mark Z.

[John Mycroft]

Easy secret to buying from CircuitCity (which is my first choice local store
and I have plenty to choose from and no, I don't work there). All you have
to do is to look for a guy who is over 40 and wait patiently until he is
free to talk to you. They appreciate that you want to play jazz CDs
quietly, blow the windows out with the Beatles and that you would sooner
have your head screwed on backwards than listen to the crap that the young
guys put on to help you judge the musical quality of your gear.

Back to the original question - my Pioneer CD changers have given me 12
years of almost faultless service being used, mostly on "Shuffle" for 2 - 8
hours a day. The first one died after 5 years, the second one was still
going strong when I moved from a 240 volt country to a 110 volt country and
number 3 has 2 fault-free years under its belt.

I've no experience with Sony's audio gear but, if their camcorder help desk
is any indication, I wouldn't buy their gear if you paid me to take it away.

--
Cheers - John Mycroft
coryton_at_cobbsmill_dot_com