what to look for in a cd player?
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 402
generally, sony is looked down upon. they might have the occasional good product, but my experiences with sony car audio have not been good. i'm sure that for 400 you could find something similar and of a quality name... i'll look.
I have a Sony Mobile ES deck on another car and it works fine. I like it a lot. You could get an Alpine deck w/CD for under 400. I recommend checking out http://www.crutchfield.com and request one of their catalogs. Their catalogs explain a lot of what to look for in a deck. They have really great service and can help you out a lot.
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Mike,
I take it you've lurked a little, and read some of the many old posts, such as the snowballing effect that you'll encounter if you want to replace the Bose system, and such, right? (Good, I thought so... :-) So, I'll continue, assuming that you have a basic, or Premium but Non-Bose system, or that you've already made all your other decisions on the rest of your system.
For the Electronics, it just comes down to finding the right combination of features for your needs. If you just want a new CD Player, but don't expect to really get deep into the Audiophile world (new speakers, amps, subwoofers, etc.), you could probably spend much less than 400, and still be happy. However, at the very least, make sure you get one with preamp outputs (and a healthy internal amplifier), just to keep the window of opportunity for later upgrades open.
If you think you're the type who will upgrade your system later, try to find a unit with 3 sets of Preamp outputs (Front, Rear, and Subwoofer), and one that'll control a CD Changer and other accessories. The $400 price range will probably be about right, for one with good future flexibility.
Almost all the major brands are "pretty good", so even if there are strong opinions for or against a particular brand, it won't be the end of the world if you do get, say, a Sony. (No Kraco or Sparkomatic, ok?) Personally, I like Alpine... Regardless of performance, It's my opinion that they are a very reliable brand, as far as defects and breakdowns
[Edited by jsmiam on 01-04-2001 at 10:13 AM]
I take it you've lurked a little, and read some of the many old posts, such as the snowballing effect that you'll encounter if you want to replace the Bose system, and such, right? (Good, I thought so... :-) So, I'll continue, assuming that you have a basic, or Premium but Non-Bose system, or that you've already made all your other decisions on the rest of your system.
For the Electronics, it just comes down to finding the right combination of features for your needs. If you just want a new CD Player, but don't expect to really get deep into the Audiophile world (new speakers, amps, subwoofers, etc.), you could probably spend much less than 400, and still be happy. However, at the very least, make sure you get one with preamp outputs (and a healthy internal amplifier), just to keep the window of opportunity for later upgrades open.
If you think you're the type who will upgrade your system later, try to find a unit with 3 sets of Preamp outputs (Front, Rear, and Subwoofer), and one that'll control a CD Changer and other accessories. The $400 price range will probably be about right, for one with good future flexibility.
Almost all the major brands are "pretty good", so even if there are strong opinions for or against a particular brand, it won't be the end of the world if you do get, say, a Sony. (No Kraco or Sparkomatic, ok?) Personally, I like Alpine... Regardless of performance, It's my opinion that they are a very reliable brand, as far as defects and breakdowns
[Edited by jsmiam on 01-04-2001 at 10:13 AM]
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