From jukebox changers that house 400 CDs, to CD-R/RW dubbing decks that let you record your own customized discs, today's music lover has a wide variety of options when shopping for a CD player. Whether you're looking for a simple single-disc player or a unit capable of unlocking the multichannel thrills of ultra-high-fidelity Super Audio CDs, it's important to get a deck with the convenience features you want and the format-playing flexibility you need.
How many discs do you want at your fingertips?
One major differentiator to consider when you're choosing a CD player is disc capacity. If you rarely have time to listen to more than a single CD or a few songs at a time, a single-disc player is probably all you need. Even these players feature programming functions that let you cherry-pick only the tracks you want to hear on a disc, and play them back in any order you choose.
If, on the other hand, you love the idea of hours of uninterrupted playback, or the ability to random play songs from several discs at a time, get a multi-disc changer. All of our 5-disc carousel changers let you change up to four discs while the fifth keeps playing, for nonstop music.
Jukebox changer options
For the ultimate in playback flexibility, go for a mega changer. Also referred to as jukebox changers, these units provide a permanent home up to 400 of your favorite discs. Think of how much faster and easier it'll be to get straight to the music — your entire CD collection will already be loaded and ready to go.
If you've decided you want a jukebox changer, one feature you might want to keep an eye out for is disc naming capability. Some mega changers let you enter the title and artist name for each CD stored, which makes searching for a particular disc especially easy. A few even provide an input for a PC keyboard, which allows super-speedy name entry.
And for those of you with truly massive music collections, some of our mega changers let you connect a second changer and operate the two units as one. This not only increases your disc capacity tremendously, but in many cases also provides sophisticated playback options like cross-fading and no-delay shuffle play.
CD recorders
If you've ever wanted to record your own discs, you'll love the world of possibilities that a CD recorder offers. From quickly dubbing copies of your favorite CDs for the road to archiving copies of treasured old LPs and cassettes, a CD recorder lets you create discs from almost any audio source, digital or analog. You can even pick choice tunes from a dozen different sources to compile any "mixed" disc you can dream up.
CD recorders, also called CD-R/RW decks, make it simple and affordable to create great-sounding discs — direct digital recording means that your copies will sound virtually indistinguishable from their original CD sources. And you'll be able to play back your self-made CD-Rs in almost all newer home, car, and portable CD and DVD players and changers. You'll also be able to record CD-RWs, which don't play back in as wide a range of players as CD-Rs, but do allow you to re-record different music on the same disc dozens of times.
Note: Blank computer CDs are not compatible with audio CD recorders, so be sure to use blank audio discs (the logo on the packaging must include the words "Digital Audio").
What types of discs do you want to play?
Of course, all players handle the standard CDs you're used to buying in music stores, but a lot of new disc types have emerged in the past few years. And when it comes to format flexibility, all CD players are not created equal.
If, for example, you've got a computer or a component CD recorder that lets you burn your own CD-Rs or CD-RWs, you'll probably want a player that can handle these formats. Almost all newer players can play recordable CD-Rs, and many also work with rewritable CD-RWs, but if this is an important feature for you, be sure to check before you buy.
If you're an Internet audio fan with loads of MP3 files on your PC, and you have the ability to burn them onto CD-Rs or CD-RWs, you may want a CD player that can play back such MP3 discs through your main A/V system. Crutchfield offers a wide variety of decks with MP3 CD playback, including CD recorders, DVD/CD decks, and portable CD players.
SACD
A newer type of disc is the SACD, or Super Audio Compact Disc. These discs require a specialized player because they're based on an entirely new recording technology called Direct Stream Digital (DSD). SACD players, however, are built to play both SACDs and standard CDs with outstanding precision.
DSD captures four times as much musical information as the Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) technology used for CDs. As a result, SACDs sound warmer, smoother, and more "analog" than standard compact discs. SACD faithfully captures the purity and freshness of the original musical performance, right down to the ambience of the studio or concert venue where it was performed.
This unprecedented level of sonic realism is further enhanced by SACD's multichannel capabilities. Some SACDs are recorded in two-channel stereo, but many take advantage of the format's ability to store music in up to 6 discrete channels. Best of all, this multichannel capability is designed for compatibility with a standard 5.1-channel home theater system.
For more information about high-resolution audio, see our article on SACD and DVD-Audio.
Making a direct digital connection
You'll want to check for digital input/output compatibility if you want to make a direct digital connection between your CD player and A/V receiver. SACDs require digital-to-analog conversion that can currently only be provided by SACD players themselves. Therefore, SACD signals can only be sent to a receiver using analog connections. That means you'll need a home theater receiver with a 5.1-channel analog input to enjoy multichannel SACD sound.
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