Sunday, January 30, 2005
Don't Tell My CD Player
Lately I get the sense that my CD player is having trouble starting up. Once it gets going, it is fine. But sometimes I have to press play a couple times before it starts. I think this may be getting worse than it has been, but I am not sure. While it isn't news that a CD player might break down, I've had my Pioneer CD player since 1987. The dirty secret is that I am sort of hoping it breaks. I don't have the heart to replace it as long as it is working, but I would kind of like a modern CD player with a remote. I'd also like to get a CDR so I could record onto CD straight from my turntable. It would be much easier than running vinyl through the computer and then burning a CD. But I won't replace it as long it is still working.
My CD player is the only piece of real stereo equipment I bought new. At first I ran it into a cheap integrated turntable, cassette, receiver. That stereo was a Christmas gift, but I had to buy the CD player myself. Integrated stereos did not, at the time, come with a CD player. Instead, they had a cheap turntable that would eat your records. I had to buy the CD player as a separate component and run it into the auxiliary channel. I was convinced that the future was in CDs although they were not yet universally accepted, so I thought I would invest in the CD player instead of buying vinyl records (the funny part is that now that my belief back in 1987 has proved correct, I now prefer vinyl, but that is just further proof of my anachronism). I forget what I paid for the CD player (I think it was approaching $200), but nearly 20 years ago it was certainly more than an equivalent new CD player would cost today. More importantly, it was a small fortune for a 14 year old. About as much of an investment as me buying a new Jaguar today.
My current stereo consists of said CD player, a 90s cassette player (JVC TD-W106 . . . that I hardly ever use) I bought at for 5 dollars at a yard sale, and the rest of the components are cast away 70s components I picked up from an ex's aunt and parents that were high level consumer components when they first came out (JVC VCR-5521 amp/tuner, Pioneer PL-A45D turntable, Infinity POS 1 speakers). I am pretty happy with these. I've thought about replacing the turntable with an audiophile turntable, but I probably won't get around to it for quite some time. A good turntable is really pretty expensive, and the work of researching them is pretty daunting. I've thought about buying an even older amp . . . a 60s tube amp (a Scott or something like that), but I'll probably never get around to that either. I like the sound of my stereo, and I love the retro aesthetic of the tuner (with the backlit part with the stations, all the heavily weighted knobs, and the faux wood case). But I would kind of like a new CD player. And of all of these changes it would be by far the cheapest. The one thing I prefer on CD is compilations because I almost never want to listen to them straight through and it is much easier to skip around tracks with a CD. This would be even easier if I had a remote and didn't have to get up to do it. But i've had my CD player since I was a kid . . . since I seriously got into music. I don't have the heart to replace it until it gives up on me.
So if you meet my CD player, please be nice to it. Don't tell it that I have mixed feelings about its longevity because it has been a good companion. I felt guilty enough already about harboring these feelings. Hopefully coming out with them will insure at least another 20 years for my CD playing friend
My CD player is the only piece of real stereo equipment I bought new. At first I ran it into a cheap integrated turntable, cassette, receiver. That stereo was a Christmas gift, but I had to buy the CD player myself. Integrated stereos did not, at the time, come with a CD player. Instead, they had a cheap turntable that would eat your records. I had to buy the CD player as a separate component and run it into the auxiliary channel. I was convinced that the future was in CDs although they were not yet universally accepted, so I thought I would invest in the CD player instead of buying vinyl records (the funny part is that now that my belief back in 1987 has proved correct, I now prefer vinyl, but that is just further proof of my anachronism). I forget what I paid for the CD player (I think it was approaching $200), but nearly 20 years ago it was certainly more than an equivalent new CD player would cost today. More importantly, it was a small fortune for a 14 year old. About as much of an investment as me buying a new Jaguar today.
My current stereo consists of said CD player, a 90s cassette player (JVC TD-W106 . . . that I hardly ever use) I bought at for 5 dollars at a yard sale, and the rest of the components are cast away 70s components I picked up from an ex's aunt and parents that were high level consumer components when they first came out (JVC VCR-5521 amp/tuner, Pioneer PL-A45D turntable, Infinity POS 1 speakers). I am pretty happy with these. I've thought about replacing the turntable with an audiophile turntable, but I probably won't get around to it for quite some time. A good turntable is really pretty expensive, and the work of researching them is pretty daunting. I've thought about buying an even older amp . . . a 60s tube amp (a Scott or something like that), but I'll probably never get around to that either. I like the sound of my stereo, and I love the retro aesthetic of the tuner (with the backlit part with the stations, all the heavily weighted knobs, and the faux wood case). But I would kind of like a new CD player. And of all of these changes it would be by far the cheapest. The one thing I prefer on CD is compilations because I almost never want to listen to them straight through and it is much easier to skip around tracks with a CD. This would be even easier if I had a remote and didn't have to get up to do it. But i've had my CD player since I was a kid . . . since I seriously got into music. I don't have the heart to replace it until it gives up on me.
So if you meet my CD player, please be nice to it. Don't tell it that I have mixed feelings about its longevity because it has been a good companion. I felt guilty enough already about harboring these feelings. Hopefully coming out with them will insure at least another 20 years for my CD playing friend
