The cheapest CD player ever made is surprisingly good - the 1988 Yorx CD Pal

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

"CD PAL" the superior version of the CD NTSC standard :P

[@FifoF]

Haha!

[@CptJistuce]

Funny, it doesn't look flickery to me...

[@SproutyPottedPlant]

CptJistuce PAL-60

[@CptJistuce]

@@SproutyPottedPlant NTSC color gamut (Also, PAL-60 sacrifices the resolution advantage PAL-50 has over NTSC)

[@michaelturner4457]

CD PAL capable, even before VideoCD was invented. Not bad

[@vincentliew9763]

This sounds way better compared to those unknown China made dvd players which provides tonnes of function. Sound is priority in my opinion.

[@EdgarsLS]

Yeah, you can even hear tons of digital noise in the audio on them because they put everything on a matchbox sized PCB

[@AnonymousFreakYT]

The music on the first CD you used to demonstrate it sounds exactly the way the unit looks.

[@jub8891]

it took a while for me to see it .. until the lead sax started

[@jub8891]

the tracks actually remind me of 90's japanese visual novels..

[@JasonBlank]

Link to music: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y3ayippobsybatU

[@waynepatrick1646]

Sounds surprisingly good, I am amazed

[@gotham61]

The bottom model shown at 1:23 was my first CD player. I remember telling people I would buy a CD player when they dropped below $200, thinking they would never get there. It took about a year.

[@Hubjeep]

My brother had a similar model, the Magnavox CDB-460. I used it in the garage to the mid 2000's, then Roku Soundbridge, finally built a computer for the garage streaming music.

[@dougr3142]

I still have the very first CD player I ever bought: A single tray Yorx I bought in 1987 for $80 and the damned thing still works!!

[@scottziegler4238]

I have my Dad's first CD player, a 1986 Realistic. It's my main CD player.

[@spicyluckster9125]

A CD player lasting 30+ years is crazy. A CD player lasting 4 months in 2024 is considered lucky.

[@TheTapeDiscMan]

If this was the cheapest CD player back in 1989, I probably would've bought it.

[@redstickham6394]

The first CD Player I had was in the late 1980s and was made by Sharp.

[@N0zer0]

Me too. It sounds pretty decent. The only thing it really lacks today is digital output.

[@xaenon]

I would buy it right now if it's for sale. The simple basic functionality of it appeals to me.

[@ChaunceyGardener]

Early 'cheap' products of any new tech are better than late cheap revisions.

[@tookitogo]

Chauncey Gardener Not always.

[@oleo007]

I agree.

[@CommodoreFan64]

@@tookitogo Agreed, not always, take LCD monitors for example, in the early 2000's I had a 15in 1024x768 KDS LCD monitor with built in speakers, and t was like $300 at the time, and that was considered a cheap low end model, and just a few years ago I bought 3 Sceptre 24in 1080p 16:9 60hz displays with VGA, DVI, HDMI, 3.5mm in put, and built in speakers(i don't use them they are crap), 2 are on my main gaming machine at home, and one on my work machine at work, all 3 have served me well, and cost me a total of $310 USD shipped to my door from Newegg, and are miles better then the old KDS display.

[@tookitogo]

Commodorefan64 Exactly!!!

[@qwertykeyboard5901]

Modern cheap portable cd players are pretty decent

[@AnOfficialAndrewFloyd]

If you have any CD-Rs with a paper sticker label, you best copy that to another disk if it still reads. Paper labels kill disks.

[@stepheng8779]

Yeah found that out, heart sinks when I come across one that I've missed.

[@EgoShredder]

What's the current thinking on those printable CDs?

[@ardenpips]

I’d like to know that myself

[@ardenpips]

I guess for cheapness

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

I've once seen someone trying to remove one of those CD labels..... it peeled off the freaking reflective layer too >_

[@dashcamandy2242]

The sound quality is surprising, as your title says. I appreciate when a manufacturer designs a device that puts out an unadulterated signal. I was really, really, really interested in getting a standalone CD Player at Caldor when they had a Soundesign for $99.99 (I'm guessing 1991-92?) and that is what I asked for as my 8th grade graduation present - it was destined to sit on top of my Channel Master AM/FM/8-track stereo. Instead, my father bought me a Sony CFD-470 bookshelf system, the speakers for which I still use daily (connected to the receiver that my PC is connected to). My first CD? Phil Collins' "Face Value." Not quite as amazing as "No Jacket Required," but still a great album. Thank goodness CDs don't wear out from repeated plays, I was constantly playing "In The Air Tonight" and "I Missed Again."

[@ApolosaCakau]

Loading a CD is like loading an audio cassette tape on that thing

[@martytoo]

Yes, but the first vertical cassette players were an innovation. I think i was afraid to buy a vertical cassette player when they first arrived. All the original cassette tape players and recorders were of a drop in configuration. My first drop in was a hissy Magnavox made by Matsushita. The second was a Dolby model from Harmon Kardon made by Nakamichi before they marketed models in the US. My third was a 2 head Nakamichi 600. The transport was slanted!

[@redpheonix1000]

And interestingly enough, Techmoan has a cassette player that loads a tape in a tray, like most CD players do!

[@danieldaniels7571]

redpheonix1000 I have a Denon like that, but it doesn’t work.

[@maximilianfischer8899]

@@danieldaniels7571 i have one and it does work

[@maximilianfischer8899]

@@danieldaniels7571 what does not work on yours?

[@battra92]

You are dead on correct about why CDs took over. The cheapest CD player sounded great while the record players were sounding worse and worse (for what people could afford.) Plus CDs were smaller, less prone to damage and all that. It just got a lot better a lot faster. It was the cost of the discs that made converting over expensive in my family.

[@danieldaniels7571]

I never got the “converting over” concept. Always kept playing my records on a good turntable while playing my CDs on a CD player. Back then car and portable CD players were expensive and skipped constantly, so music on the go had to be recorded to a cassette anyway if you bought it on vinyl or a CD.

[@battra92]

@@danieldaniels7571 it was more about that new CDs were far more expensive than records or tapes. Plus the upfront cost of buying a player.

[@techtomek5062]

Good that it has so few features, where nothing is, nothing can break 😁

[@roytofilovski9530]

Could not agree with you more.

[@techtomek5062]

@dragon The more complex a system, the more vulnerable it is

[@RebeccaTurner-ny1xx]

@@techtomek5062 Such as a space shuttle.

[@Jimmyhaflinger]

the only important feature of any cd player is durability, and this one still works after 30 years while many more expensive models failed long ago

[@Knaeckebrotsaege]

My moms Sony CDP-M27 is on it's 3rd KSS-150A/210A laser and it started getting incredibly shock sensitive again... whereas this one is probably still on the original late 80s laser because... well who would want to buy a replacement laser at likely half the original cost of the player (not even including labor). And it still works...

[@jimaglenn]

Sound doesn't matter?

[@Jimmyhaflinger]

@@jimaglenn cd players sound all the same way to me

[@thrivalmode4523]

@@Jimmyhaflingero say that all CD players sound the same to you is like to say that all singers sound the same also. Impossible! Just because you might be tone deaf doesn’t make it true!

[@Jimmyhaflinger]

@@thrivalmode4523 CDs are digital. 0s and 1s are always 0s and 1s, no matter how cheap and nasty it may be

[@peacearchwa5103]

As I own a very large collection of CDs, I've noticed subtle differences in sound quality between players. Your testing demonstrates one cause of those differences, the D/A conversion and design for frequency filtering characteristics. Visually, the Yorx and JCPenney players are appealing on the shelf. If I see one in good working condition at a yard sale or thrift store, I am likely to buy it. Thanks!

[@alkestos]

You mean to claim you hear tones over 20kHz?

[@RebeccaTurner-ny1xx]

@@alkestos Not necessarily. Poor filter design can result in audible distortion at lower frequencies.

[@alkestos]

@@RebeccaTurner-ny1xx alrighty.

[@lobsterwhisperer7932]

According to some tech in the early 90's he said, There is no difference in sound quality, the cheapest CD player sounds the same as an expensive one..digital is digital and the laser produce same outcome..you're only paying more for extra features and brand recognition.

[@RebeccaTurner-ny1xx]

@@lobsterwhisperer7932 Designs of DACs and filters vary widely and result in audible differences - apparently, I'm not an expert. But I read lots of reports in the hi-fi press around the introduction of the CD that showed clear variations between Philips, Sony and other machines, and how CDs were mastered.

[@cjpwolf2436]

It's the CD Toaster!!!

[@vwestlife]

*CORRECTION:* At 12:40 I meant a sampling rate of 96 kHz, not 48 kHz.

[@ThriftyAV]

I read comments, so I found this. Some commenters blast away without looking. It might help minimize addition folks offering "corrections" if this one was pinned to the top.

[@ThriftyAV]

oops... the one you have pinned is the one that SHOULD be pinned... never mind. nothing to see here.

[@LightTheUnicorn]

Simple, solid and still doing its job even today (aside from the sleepy LCD!). Great find!

[@BigEightiesNewWave]

Cheapest back then but made in Japan , NOT China , is a win.

[@Mario_N64]

CD technology still wasn't made in China back then.

[@traxonwax]

I'm 47 and I can still remember people still putting down Japanese tech. Nowadays, we would pay a hefty premium for anything made in Japan.

[@souljastation5463]

@@traxonwax It will happen the same with Chinese stuff in the future.

[@zsin128]

@@souljastation5463 but who will make cheap tech then?

[@qwertykeyboard5901]

@@souljastation5463 China makes amazing and good stuff

[@wendystarita7996]

This is Brian. Thanks for testing this unit with a cd-r. Sony equipment wss notorious for not playing cd-r and cd-rw discs. This is a nice unit for its price. You are my hero for testing affordable units that slipped through our fingers in the past because people think you must spend more to get more. I have to mention that I've opened alot of sony low end boom boxes and equipment from that era and found all Goldstar chips inside. And sony sold them at high prices.

[@tookitogo]

Wendy Starita CD-RW playback requires explicit support in the CD pickup, so only very late CD players had it. CD-R, on the other hand, is designed to play in any CD player. When it doesn’t work, it’s because of a combination of the quality of the burned disc (whose quality itself is the result of the quality of the blank disc and how good the CD burner was) and the quality and condition of the CD pickup (with time and use, the lasers and photodiodes age , the adjustments can get out of calibration, and the optics can get dirty and foggy). When all these factors conspire to reduce the contrast in the signal, eventually it gets to where it can’t play. (Whereas, for example, the aged CD pickup may still produce a usable signal with a good pressed CD.) Anyway, upshot is that the reasons why CD-R and CD-RW won’t work in old players are totally different. :p

[@wendystarita7996]

@@tookitogo I agree, but while every other company was making equipment to play cd-rw, sony didn't step up. I believe it was because Sony was manufacturing store bought pre- recorded cd' s to sell , especially when they acquired many labels,(Columbia, Warner bros. Etc.) in 1992. My friends all bought Sony equipment around that time and were disappointed because of this pitfall. Philips was far ahead in this market. Thanks for your specific analogy.

[@danieldaniels7571]

Goldstar = LG

[@wendystarita7996]

@@danieldaniels7571 This is Brian. Really,? well, Goldstar was the number one Microwave seller in the early 90s. And with their chips in low end sony products, I'll bet you are right. I have an LG tv and phone. Seem pretty good. (Fingers crossed)

[@themaritimegirl]

Wow, a completely lackluster and unassuming device packing some actually decent hardware inside. That's pretty neat.

[@tomlemole4164]

Great review! I really like vertical loading CD players, especially when you can see the whole disk spinning. There's something enjoyable about watching the disk spin, especially on CDs with colorful disc art.

[@Chris-tf7gi]

That looks so 80s'! And surprisingly good quality sound. Nice find.

[@marvingarden4587]

flashbacks from the 80s are hitting hard with that first demo CD you played there :) Great review VWestlife, cheers!

[@cigarobsession]

Oh man flash back! I had a big fake rack yorx system

[@DryPaperHammerBro]

Was it a mug's eyeful?

[@stepheng8779]

Cheapest cd player I ever bought was from Richer Sounds in the UK. £29 for an Eclipse cd player. About twice a year they printed vouchers and you could even get £10 off. What hi-fi magazine raved how unbelievably good these players were, mine lasted years and I sold it for more than I paid 👍

[@CommodoreFan64]

Cheapest CD player I ever bought new here in the US was a portable job being an RCA $28 USD with 10 sec anti-skip back in the mid 90's, unless you want to count DVD-RW drives for computers I've picked up new over the years for builds for $18 USD(I still build all my desktops with 1 DVD-RW drive as you never know when you might need it). however today at a local Goodwill I was able to snag a like new SONY CFD-S50 portable AM/FM radio with CD/CD-R/CD-RW/MP3 CD player, tape deck, as well as 3.5 line in/head phone jacks for $11.91 USD thus making it the cheapest CD player I've bought to date.

[@adejupe8308]

Ahhhhh the Eclipse CD101 from Richer Sounds. I remember them well :)

[@stepheng8779]

@@adejupe8308 them's the boys 😀 bullet proof, used to play everything, never skipped. Took it on mobile DJ duties, used to recommend it to all the bars I worked, unbelievable bit of kit.

[@BessieBopOrBach]

Another fascinating piece of audio archeology, vwestlife. I'm stunned at all the Sony chips in this and the fact that it still works. Many CD players start to stutter after 20 years due to lubrication along the transport rails drying up.

[@CommodoreFan64]

This one might not have been used as much, plus the fact it's CD drive is vertical could have also helped the grease on the rails of the laser last longer with it all not being right on top of the heat generating components which is what can dry out the grease on horizontally setup CD players.

[@HuskyGamersUNITE]

Ecolube is what I use for worm gear lubrication. It's used for scuba diving. It is safe on your skin and does not eat plastic.

[@robbo5life]

when you smacked the top 2:58 reminds me of Onlow from Keeping up appearances with his old TV

[@Alexis_du_60]

Good ol' percussive maintenance :p

[@01chippe]

I was just watching Keeping Up Appearances!

[@FIXTREME]

@Robbo 5 Life "OH NICE" 🧔🏼🍺🚬

[@stragulus]

This was surprisingly more common in those days than people might expect! Those 70s/80s tv's just kept on working but over time a lot of them developed bad solder joints from heat, or from gravitational force as they'd cram some boards in vertically. Nothing a good whack wouldn't 'fix' for a little while..

[@danielponder690]

The Bucket residence, lady of the house speaking

[@riffdigger2133]

The CD player lovers enjoyed this. Price point is and was a big deal. The technology, the systems - the designs- the marketing. Our huge CD libraries appreciate your info and great camerawork.

[@kbhasi]

Somehow, with the design, I imagine some people got a bad impression of audio CDs from that cheap player, or upgraded to higher end players and were wowed by the features they offered.

[@Mario_N64]

The jump in sound quality was so big, that you didn't really miss fancy features. You listened to whole CDs from start to end.

[@matthewszalkowski4719]

I had a Cambridge audio that had a burr brown DAC

[@JohnDobak]

Interesting that CD players could be that cheap that quickly into their life-cycle. First ones were released in 1982~ish so in just 6 years or so they went from $700+ to $100~. For modern day manufacturing turn around time's that's not very shocking but given the generally slower pace of development and iteration back then It's pretty darn quick that CD players became so commodified.

[@NielsVandenPut]

One of my professors at university used to work at Philips (from 1985 to 1994) and he always spent his first class of his course in mechatronics to demonstrate how the mechanisms in CD players were miniaturized year after year, allowing the cost to decrease. Interesting stuff! But it's been over 10 years and I don't remember the details.

[@stephendobbins9251]

Dang! This has the best DAC I have ever heard from a cd player in my whole life. This sounds better than the DAC in my standalone blu-ray player or blu-ray rom in my laptop. This player in your video has a very nice warm analog sound you don't usually hear from cd's. Thanks for sharing!

[@gregoryjohnson2028]

I had one of these! Loved that you could see the CD spinning. However there was always a very slight noise (possibly from the motor) that came through the RCA outputs that was usually audible between tracks. Otherwise, the sound was great. I ended up giving it to my cousin and bought a Technics.

[@ixionn563]

It was motor interference, probably due to cheap circuit design, those cheap record players have the same issue, hum audible from the motor via the outputs.

[@HuskyGamersUNITE]

That is what you call ground loop hum. little bit of tinkering with a couple smidges of wire and capacitors in the right spot would cure it.

[@brentmonson8532]

Inspired by this video, I recently purchased the same Yorx player from a Shop GoodWill auction. I didn't have to do much to get it working. While cleaning it, I discovered that if you press “Stop” (instead of "Play") after a disc is loaded, the player will briefly spin the CD, read the TOC (table of contents), and then the display will show the number of tracks on the disc. You can then skip up or down to select the track you want to begin with when you press "Play." I'm not sure how handy that function actually is, but it's cool to know that it's in there. Handwritten on the back masonite panel, presumably by a store clerk, in descending order: O - $199.95, N - $99.95, $69.99, and $49.99. Since the last price was not crossed out, I assume it was originally sold for $49.99.

[@ozmond]

I honestly wouldn’t mind having this sitting in my entrainment console.

[@CommodoreFan64]

Same here, I live in the southern US, my house was build in the 1950's, is a single story ranch house, and it was common then to build homes with front sittings rooms to entertain guest, and I would love to have something like this in that room right in the corner between my 2 couches with a pair of matching black floor, or larger book shelf speakers for a late 80's/early 90's stack setup.

[@paulrb894]

Good video, where can I get a copy of the "Al parks orchestra figure dancing"album as I can't find it out there. Cheers

[@dean6816]

I bought one by Crown in the UK on my 15th birthday (1993) for my first CD player, cost around £70 from a shop called Richer Sounds which still exists. It connected to my Hitachi Boom Box (the one with 4 speakers along the front).

[@extrahourinthepit]

I believe players like these are why CDs actually took over, and especially why cassettes got the bad rep they still carry: anything that can play a CD is already working with a crystal clear, noiseless, 100% perfect signal. That, audiophiles will argue, is something cassette players could never have reached, and while true, that’s not the real problem to the budget consumer: the real problem is cassette players needed some modicum of effort to get close. Sure, CD was winning at the highest end, but really, CD didn’t have much on DAT, DCC, or even VHS Hi-Fi, if anything at all (if you want proof, listen to Whitney’s I Will Always Love You, anywhere you wish. That track’s master was a DAT.). The common folk couldn’t tell a mid-range tape in a mid-range deck from a CD: the CD’s actual achievement was to be affordable for people who never experienced equipment good enough to know that. The same goes for “reliability”: cassettes were reliable too, given occasional deck cleaning, but the CD could reach folks who were too casual (or stupid) to know.

[@nonsuch]

Liquid Crystal Display Display gave me a good chuckle. lol

[@net_news]

Even the chepeast CD player sounds amazing, I think that's the great thing about CD format... you have to spend lots of money to have a turntable with equivalent sound quality.... way above $1000 and maybe more.

[@AlpineTheHusky]

Thats because CD is digital. and a very "low" quality of 44.1khz. Yes speakers can still suck but the direct output cant be messed up that much

[@facethewoods]

You are exactly right.

[@MadScientist267]

And *still* can't do it 🤣

[@mikafoxx2717]

Ironically, CD's are still higher quality than 95% of what we listen to today. Only now have streaming services started to go to lossless codecs

[@Lively_1185]

@@mikafoxx2717 Maybe at the expense of chewing up more of your mobile data though.

[@foxyloon]

It's pretty neat that this CD player uses essentially the same chipset as the more expensive contemporaries of the time. Probably helps explain why it sounds so good! Not at all what I was expecting to see when I read "cheapest CD player" in the title of the video. Honestly, I'm a huge fan of how simple and efficient the design is, as It makes for easier servicing and solves my pet peeve of sticky loading drawers. (I had a thrift store Sony CD-102 that did it, and my Kyocera DA-310cx still does it when it's cold, despite replacing all the belts and lubing it accordingly.) In this regard, this CD player is a winner in my book.

[@steelers6titles]

Very soon after it was introduced, the CD format became mainstream, and CD players became common, even in equipment made by low-end manufacturers. Because, unlike analog formats, CD players deliver a uniform signal which varies little from the cheapest units to the most expensive, old, inexpensive players like this one still sound pretty good. The problems with early cheap equipment were more likely to lie with programming problems, reading of discs by the laser, etc., rather than poor signal quality to the analog outputs.

[@nichijou56]

im kinda diggin agent biscuit. Can't seem to find it anywhere online so do you think ya can rip the disc?

[@kostis2849]

We were selling these! The brand was Sherton (99% sure) You are right, these were never sold separately, only as part of the system. I believe that was in 1987.

[@StevenSmyth]

I had one that was very similar. It was a tray loading Sharp I purchased at Pacific Stereo in Reseda, CA around 1987. It was on clearance for about $100 and I was happy to get it. At one point I had to open it up to get out a disc that got stuck. The component arrangement on the PCB was very similar.

[@jimdayton8837]

I find it quite impressive that the thing is still working. Most modern CD players break after a few years. Also, awesome choice for the Colors In Motion CD :)

[@irtbmtind89]

I wouldn't be surprised if Funai was the OEM that actually built this thing.

[@CommodoreFan64]

Me either considering how many brand names they have bought up over the years, I've had several Funi rebranded TV's both CRT, and LCD over the years, and they have all worked just fine for the amount of money paid, same for the bottom end DVD player I bought with direct Funi branding i use to have in my RV before switching it out to an LG Blu-Ray I lucked up finding at Goodwill for $22 with the remote, about a year 1/2 ago.

[@michaelturner4457]

When I first saw this player, I thought it might have been made by Crown. But the Funai CPU chip definitely confirms who the OEM was.

[@ThriftyAV]

One more unit that was just below $100 from the late 1980s was the Crown CD-70. It is a top loader similar to the Sears one you mention. The CD-70 lacked the ability to scan through a track, you could just skip forward and backward, and it would mis-track way too often. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find an advertised price for this unit in an old magazine or catalog.

[@FIXTREME]

Crown Japan? They are still an electronics brand here in Bolivia

[@ThriftyAV]

@@FIXTREME A lightning strike took out my Pioneer CD player in 1988. I saved up my after school job money at $3.45 per hour to purchase the cheapest CD player I could find to replace it, and it was a Crown Japan CD-70. Within a year I replaced it with a much better Teac.

[@codebeat4192]

There was also the Philips CD207 (1986/1987), a cheap and basic featured top loader (available in many vivid colors) with outstanding specs. I can remember it had similar price range. A hifi magazine takes this model to the test to find out it was of any quality because of the extremely low price. The magazine did a durability test with 10 or more units of this model, playing for weeks and none of these models failed the test. This model became very populair and Philips sold many, many units of this model. You can find some detailed pictures of this model and packaging on dutchaudioclassics, hower not present the most exciting color: Grey. Google "dutchaudioclassics Philips CD207" or search for "Philips CD207" on google pictures. I have a later Panasonic RX-FD80 boombox that uses the same simple front loader idea of loading a disc. Simple is good and durable.

[@ivok9846]

what's the pc program you used to display freq. response?

[@downtheshedwithjason]

a flashing play symbol is perfectly acceptable as a pause

[@ArturdeSousaRocha]

I love that it's junk on the outside and good on the inside, not the other way around like so many products.

[@uxwbill]

That player reminds me a lot of the similarly cheap Soundesign model you once demonstrated. I am somewhat amazed that the transport belts are still good.

[@vwestlife]

I think I ended up giving that Soundesign "Laser Audio" player to you, right? Hopefully it didn't get lost in the flood.

[@uxwbill]

@@vwestlife Yes, it's still here and still works fine.

[@discocrisco]

In a few years, when all of the other fancy programmable CD players with their fancy detection of loaded disks and new fangled indicator displays have died, these will be treasured.

[@BilisNegra]

18:21 Such a reflection many of us have made, summed up in so few words, it's a shame it's buried at the end of this video, I would gladly welcome a whole video inspired by that idea!

[@s8wc3]

Was there a CD NTSC?

[@tookitogo]

s8wc3 “I’m not your CD PAL, CD BUDDY! - I’m not your CD BUDDY, CD FRIEND! ...” :p

[@CreRay]

Ah yes, this brings back some memories, when I was about age 12 and staring in the shop window of our local Philips store (a chain of stores all around the country that only sold Philips and sub-brands Aristona and Erres). The Erres-branded midi system that came closest to what I could afford had a front-loading CD player just like this one, 2 7-segment displays for track and (I think) 2 LEDs for play and pause. Even by this time (about 1989) front-loading was associated with cheap and therefore it didn't seem like a good buy to me at the time. If you wanted a cd-player, this was your cheapest option, although CD was still a bit "a thing of the future" at that time, I certainly didn't own any CDs in 1989.

[@wilkes85]

I like the front loading style! I've seen a few CD players from the '80s with that mechanism. Another style you never see anymore are the top-loading changers with a plastic dust cover, probably to fill in the newly-vacant space where the turntable would normally go.

[@danieldaniels7571]

I remember those, and yeah, that’s totally what they were used for. Fisher actually made one like that which also doubled as a turntable. Great concept, but it was a terrible turntable as well as a mediocre CD changer. I wish a more reputable company like Sony or Teac would’ve ran with that concept and made a good one.

[@twocvbloke]

It ain't a Sony, but it certainly is one at heart... :P

[@devolutionary]

My parents could only afford Philips and Citizen players. Those also had a side loading mechanism. At least our Citizens CD player had a disc sensor though. Some of those early models had a limitation on the number of tracks read on a CD.

[@johnjylanne7100]

It's got Sony guts. That's why it still works.

[@shkeni]

That Colors in Motion CD sounds like 1987 even though it's from 1997. Funny how even low end Japanese stuff was quite fine back then. They were just well made, I always seek the stuff.

[@jimdayton8837]

Was thinking the same. I looked it up on discogs and was surprised to see it was from '97 and that it included their song "Foreign Nature".

[@tractorface1236]

Reminds me of an AIWA boombox i had around the time this was made, front loading cd player didn't skip much at all for an early boombox player. Still regret getting rid of it years ago though.

[@tookitogo]

Maybe this player hadn’t been used much, such that its laser isn’t worn out, and its RF adjustments happened to stay in-spec, all combining to let it play CD-R. (As a reminder to readers who don’t know this, a CD-R is intended to mimic the optical characteristics of a pressed CD, such that in theory, any CD player should be able to play a CD-R, as it appears to the player as a slightly dirty (less contrasty) disc. But if a player has aged such that its laser pickup is weak, then the reduced optical quality of the CD-R can result in a signal too weak to detect reliably. In contrast, CD-RW has radically different optical characteristics from pressed CDs and CD-Rs, and thus requires explicit support in the player.)

[@therealchayd]

I used to love the old '80s cheap stereo thing where they used to plaster the front of devices with redundant wordage like "Advanced Graphic Equalizer System", and fancy, meaningless graphics and even fake buttons or a "spectrum analyzer system" which was just some fixed LEDs, or maybe a LED VU meter if you were really lucky.

[@LatitudeSky]

I owned the LXi Top-loading CD player. It was extremely basic in operation and very sensitive to vibration from people walking around or whatever. But it did work. Soon replaced it with a JVC tray-loading CD player that was light years beyond the LXi.

[@gotham61]

You forgot to mention the most obvious missing feature. A remote. I'm surprised it doesn't say "Professional" on there somewhere.

[@danieldaniels7571]

“Studio Standard”

[@MadScientist267]

Back then we only used 1 kind of remote... One of the kids

[@garypoole716]

Excellent as always 🇬🇧❤️

[@bareknuckles2u]

CDs are outstanding!

[@tntuof]

Never knew how much I missed that laser tracking sounds

[@ralphhoskins2115]

Another masterpiece buddy... can’t wait for your next turntable review or repair.

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

The thing about the lowpass filter (aka Legato Link filter as you mentioned it here) now makes me wonder... if Software players like VLC allow you to tinker around with it as well or if it actually all depends on how the DAC of your soundcard (Sound Blaster X-Fi Extreme Audio 1040 in my case) and how it's handled at the end of the signal chain. I never saw any option for Audio CDs where you could change that.

[@eDoc2020]

It is a mix of both. The DAC itself has an antialiasing filter at around half its sampling rate. So you don't have any control over ~20kHz filtering in a 44.1kHz DAC. But if you have a newer DAC running at 96 or even 192kHz its built in filtering won't be active until around 40 or 80 kHz, so you could control the filtering below that point.

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

@@eDoc2020 it's depressing most player software leaves you no control over it… Not even VLC which allows you to do a lot more than most other audio players…

[@dxer22000]

amazing the optical pickup still works. Maybe it used a sony KSS pickup which were very robust. Its normally the laser pickup that fails in a CD player

[@CommodoreFan64]

Yep it's either that, the LCD dies/burns out, or some leaky caps on the mainboard

[@TheRailroad99]

Probably the frequency cutoff is so soft because a filter with a softer decline needs less stages and is therefore a few cents cheaper... (especially coils cost a little bit and are relatively big, therefore engineers try to avoid them when possible)

[@westelaudio943]

They use RC filters or even DSP, not LC types using inductor coils.

[@absinthedream9668]

Pretty cool the lack of features is to it's advantage I reckon and very decent sound quality.

[@GianmarioScotti]

I am trying to find something - anything - about the artist "Agent Biscuit", but google comes up short. I also googled for "Specimen 53" and "Volume 5", and neither brings anything music-related. Can you point me to this artist? I think I love their music.

[@radio1342]

1:25 my first ever CD player was #12 on the catalog photo. A Magnavox. That thing was a beast. It lasted forever. When I was DJing in clubs I even carried it around to play mix CD's so I could take a break. Dropped it down the stairs of the nightclub and surprisingly it still worked. I had it for over 20 years and then I think heat finally got to it as I was DJing at another club where the AC was out and it finally died. As for the JCP CD Player, it looks like the one my wife had when we were dating. After we got married she left it at her parents house. I should check next time we visit there but chances are it is long gone since we have been married over 20 years now.

[@corneliusantonius3108]

That looks like a Philips CD492/482/480 clone, Philips owned the brand Magnavox for parts of the world or the whole world by that time, but your Magnavox was manufactured in Hasselt Belgium by Philips.

[@radio1342]

@@corneliusantonius3108 I am not really sure where it was made. Wish I still had it. I remember Phillips/Magnavox had a factory at one time in Knoxville, TN before all the jobs moved overseas.

[@BrooksSeanRobinson]

I want to hear more of the Maura Glynn song, I can't find anyting online about that album except for a link on amazon costing $148 :( Where can I find the cd? (I actually kind of like the agent biscuit track too)

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

Always loved those CD players with a window embedded into the disc tray, so you could see the disc spinning. Something i really loved about my parents' compact double cassette-Radio-CD boombox from Philips, back in 1991. The first CD player we ever had in our family. Must have been listening to countless CDs on that thing and always loved seeing the disc spinning inside and hearing the soft noises of the disc drive as it started to skin or when you skipped a track.

[@danieldaniels7571]

There is a definite cool aesthetic to that. There were players in the late ‘90s that were made specifically to capture that: images.app.goo.gl/3ox2pUcS7JgReArs6

[@KDoyle4]

My first CD player was a Sharp DX-610H. It cost $69 at the local supermarket. It was not programmable, and it had no remote control, but it worked well for 10 years.

[@DanielleWhite]

I remember finally being allowed to get a CD player in 1991. My father's decision was I was allowed to get one from Service Merchandise in exchange for him keeping my daily allowance for 3 months and a ton of extra farm chores during that time (allowance for the time would have been $90 but it was put into an account where I couldn't access it until I turned 18.) He also set a limit of $100. With the 3 months of labor done my mother and I go and I'm crestfallen to find the cheapest they have is a front-loader from Magnavox (like the AZ8100) for $125. No getting it that day; had to go home, get dad to agree to an extension which was 2 more months for the extra $25.

[@matt4193]

Where can I get a hold of Agent Biscuit Volume 5?

[@cavannus]

Thank you for the review! I found the exact same model - but branded 'Veston' - at the thrift store a few days ago. I'm happy to learn more about it. I liked the external design (typical of these years) as well as the command minimalism. The sound is very good, but the player can't play the discs or tracks that have minor scratches or tiny spots of dirt. It can only play pristine CDs.

[@rodneykingston6420]

Memories: I was at work on a Sat. night in '86, and during a break I was looking through the paper and saw ads for a stereo store out in Framingham that was having a ONE DAY sale, that day, the big lure being 2 models of CD players, a Pioneer and a Sharp for $175 each. Called a friend and told him if he'd go out there (from Boston) to pick me one up, using his credit card, I'd take him out to a nice dinner. I wanted the Pioneer, as it was the more prestigious brand at the time, but it was some kind of a bait and switch, they basically refused to sell him one, and he called me from the store because they were putting such pressure on him to get the extended warranty for $29. That's where the sales reps made their money in those days. I had to give him a pep talk to resist (spend $29 to protect $175 for 3 years? ha ha!) It was quite a while before regular prices came down below that, and I was the first among my friends to get a CD player, a bare bones Sharp. It was a stereo component, it had no speakers. By the time it gave out 10 years later, I was able to get a Sony 5 CD carousel player (a component) for $99.

[@stank_tater]

I liked the Agent Biscuit, where can I find a copy?

[@kevmitchify]

Yes! We need a Society for the Preservation of Agent Biscuit.

[@charleskosyjana1295]

This reminds me of my first cd player I got for Christmas in 1985. Mine was branded ' Electrosonic ' and I believe came from Caldor. Very similar except it didn't have a see through cd holder. When I was 20 and had a decent job, I treated myself to a top of the line JVC component system. The cd player I got was the 2nd in line model with all the bells and whistles available at that time ( 1989 ). I was VERY disappointed in it's sound quality which was rather tinny and it skipped with moderate bass. The cheap Electrosonic sounded better and hardly ever skipped except at very high volumes.

[@dmcintosh1967]

I recently found the Yorx version of that cd player my local thrift store and I have it hooked to a 1980s Fisher MC-723Bk with the factory speakers

[@Rotoscoptic]

Maybe one day, I'll make myself a cheapo hi-fi stack. I love the cheaper components, they tend to have a unique look to em and if you look right you can get some great sounding stuff !

[@neil6958]

Even compressed, this audio sounds good. Interesting selection near the end!

[@timothystockman7533]

This may have used the transport mechanism from the original Kyocera CD player

[@andygozzo72]

theres plenty enough space in its case to fit an internal power amp so you could have a self contained unit that could drive speakers direct , maybe fit a slider volume control, below the track display ...

[@jamesw.1174]

In simplicity there is beauty and this one sounds good and that's what matters

[@8_Bit]

So without the sensor to detect if there's a CD in there, will the motor spin up when you hit play even if there's no CD loaded?

[@UtkarshAmitabhSrivastava]

It didn't spin when the CD RW was placed, so I think the laser detects it.

[@darkwaterblue]

Not bad. The vents on those larger caps look like Panasonics? Well made!

[@stoobeedoo]

Bad or old solder? Nothing a good WHACK won't fix. 2:58

[@troygravitt8760]

My component CD player is just a single-disc Sony DVD player I bought from a thrift store, no remote. The controls on the player are also Play, Stop, Eject, Skip Track Forward and Back. It does show the elapsed time, however.

[@TheEmeraldMenOfficial]

That sounds better than my Discman from 1995 does, and certainly better than Apple Music’s streaming. I’d buy this in a heartbeat if given the chance to see it in person.

[@seacampal1425]

In the early 90's in Canada, you could buy a front-loading Magnavox player from the 'Club Price' for $ 25!! I was surprised to see that my cousin who did not know electronics as much as I impressed me with a product that cost less than the records we played on it.

[@johnny-becker]

7:14 If more players had that window feature, possibly discs would come up with stop motion animation similar to how Walt Disney made his cartoons in the beginning. Something simple like a man jumping up and down as there is only so much space on the disc. Perhaps two rows which would leave enough room for a title and other short information. 9:47 I hope Agent Biscuit got permission from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to use their song Sikamikanico (used in the Wayne's World soundtrack).

[@jamesdye4603]

Where did you get the Maura Glynn CD. I only found one on Amazon and the price was $150.00. Not a typo on the price.

[@vwestlife]

At a thrift store here in NJ. I often find independently released CDs from local artists who never made it big.

[@jamesdye4603]

@@vwestlife Thanks, I'll have to look around.

[@ecamormex]

I remember when a good Sony Discman portable CD player would cost almost $500.

[@CommodoreFan64]

We all do, but by the mid 90's you could get a lower end RCA portable CD player with 10 second Anti-skip for about $28 - $30 USD that included headphones.

[@noorazmi2329]

Imagine what if the PS5 game console and a complete set of utility to make it playable like 4K screen and etc. comes in the 80's. What is the people impression? And would it sell for 100 million dollars due to its technology?

[@robshorts]

It reminds me of my very first CD player bought in 1992 from a now defunct catalog shop here in England called Index and was the cheapest CD player at the time. It was branded 'Crown Japan', though amusingly had 'Made in China' directly underneath the brand label. It had a red power on LED and a similar very basic LCD display that wasn't even backlit. It did have a motorised tray, can't remember if it had Random or was programmable but I have never use those features much. I did feel that it represented very good value for money though as the sound was so clear and much better than anything I was used to. You would have had to spend a lot more money for similar sound quality from an analogue cassette or Record player.

[@namon2345]

Me in first sight:LOL,What a cheap CD Toaster design. VWestlife show the mainbard part: Holy mother,That's Toaster Sleeper af from SONY CD decoder and 1Bit D/A converter.

[@KokoroKatsura]

A N I M E N I M E

[@namon2345]

@@KokoroKatsura Both of us are A N I M E

[@wd3574]

Is the CXD1140 chip in that CD player really a 1 bit D/A converter?

[@namon2345]

​@@wd3574 I can't find the datasheet. In radio museum said 8 Bit but i guess it might be 1 Bit oversampling to cut a cost.

[@wd3574]

@@namon2345 I don't know for sure either, but I don't believe 1 bit converters were quite available yet in the late 80's.