Are we, and have we for some time, been in the era of throwaway CD players?

[Filterlab]

Well Technics were super good quality in their day, some of the studio transports are literally bomb proof and still play very well these days. Two came up recently on eBay and I almost popped in a bid however I didn't fancy a 400 mile round trip for collection. Still he might offer postage next time.

[Beechwoods]

I love the way it's got a jog wheel for ffwd / rwd, which is great for someone like me who loves to audition a new disc in 30 seconds I'm not at all knowledgeable about CD players and have tin-ears but I like it and it's done me far better than most other items of kit I bought during the 90's, most of which I've handed down to my lil bro, or off to charity...

[Marco]

Out of curiosity, which model number is it?

One of the best Technics CDPs I've heard was the equivalent of their SL-1200 T/T, only of course in digital form. It was a 'flat' designed top-loader and the sound it produced was remarkably similar to the SL-1200 in terms of its organic bass and they way it underpinned music. It was built like a brick shithouse and looked the absolute business in a 'professional studio' kind of way.

I forget the model number though. Perhaps someone could help?

Marco.

[Beechwoods]

Out of curiosity, which model number is it?

Nothing special I don't think; an SL-PG520A - a front-loader. eBay has one here. It seems to have very little residual value

The one you're thinking of is probably the SL-DZ1200 which while not my own cuppa tea does look quite amazing...

[Filterlab]

Nothing special I don't think; an SL-PG520A - a front-loader. eBay has one here. It seems to have very little residual value

Nice player, similar to the one I was looking at, can't remember the model number now.

Anyway, here's a lovely Technics - the SL-P1300-KM broadcast deck; 18-bit 8 times oversampling, balanced output and switchable S/PDIF. Very retro and superb quality, would love to get hold of one now:

[Filterlab]

...and its forerunner the SL-P1200 Broadcast:

[Filterlab]

Hello!

Oooooooooooh!



...but no digital output.

[greenhomeelectronics]

Interesting thread. As you know we tend to do mainly mid range Jap stuff but it's surprising how many supposedly high end players have Sony or Philips mechanicals when you open them up. I guess the cost of developing a mechanism as well as the electronics behind it is prohibitive for most manufacturers. It's the same story with the servo electronics - why bother developing a chip at a cost of tens of thousands of pounds when somebody else has already done it? We have ocassionally made new parts for high end decks, we have 2 lathes, pillar drills, milling machines and the such likes as I build steam engines for a hobby but in reality we don't see much in the way of mechanical failure, it's usually motors, lasers or electronics that break, the mechanisms don't tend to die (few notable exceptions). We find the Technics decks to be amongst the most reliable. We have a nice Meridian 24 bit coming in next week, will be hoping that the market does not die totally before then
Dave.

[Marco]

Nice player, similar to the one I was looking at, can't remember the model number now.

Anyway, here's a lovely Technics - the SL-P1300-KM broadcast deck; 18-bit 8 times oversampling, balanced output and switchable S/PDIF. Very retro and superb quality, would love to get hold of one now:

That's the one I was talking about, Rob. They are *MEGA*!!

It goes back to what I was saying about solid top-notch engineering and high quality mechanisms. That's what proper CDPs are all about. None of yer flimsy plastic shite. Does it say how much it weighs?

Marco.

[Filterlab]

Unfortunately not, it's simply pictures. Lovely machine, super solid and feature laden for those that use them / care. For me it's about the build quality and the fact that an offboard DAC can be used, XLR outputs though, well ahead of its time.