Although most CD players of the past were focused primarily on just playing CD audio, this player is able to do much more. One of those big features that makes a CD player such as the HOTT CD611 Portable CD Player superior to models of the past is in the ability to play many different digital audio formats. Do you like having CDs around? I do, so chances are I'll be playing a good number of those discs for the rest of my life.Although some people may be surprised that portable CD players are still around, it probably shouldn't be so surprising that the ones that are, have some features that many portable players of the past simply didn't have. How many CDs do you own? I have close to 4,000, and I doubt I would ever dump them onto a music server. So, is it too late to buy a high-end CD player? Perhaps, but that depends on a number of factors. They said the LP was on its last legs in the late 1980s, and LP sales have been going up every year for the past several years. Then again, all of this talk about the end has a déjá-vu-all-over-again-feel to it. Thing is, we don't have any idea when the last CD will be made.
Yes, I know some of you must be thinking the CDs' days are numbered. At Audio Research, the ears have the final say. Audio Research wants every piece it makes to fit within a small sonic window and listening is the only way to guarantee that. The CD8, like every Audio Research product, is made in the U.S, is fully bench-tested, and is listened to with a reference system before it's shipped out. If you got 20 years of use out of this $10,000 CD player, the cost per year would come down to $500 a year. The CD player under consideration here was designed to have a working life of 20 years, so if you'd like to be able to access your CD collection with a top-notch machine in the 2030s, check out the CD8. The company offers service for almost every product it has built over its nearly 40-year history. I like the "hands-on" approach, maybe because it's more like playing an LP.īuild quality not only feels robust, Audio Research actually designed the CD8 to last a long time. Disc loading involves placing a small magnetic clamp on the disc. The CD8 doesn't have a disc-loading drawer the drive mechanism is located under a sliding door on the top panel. Measuring an imposing 19 inches long by 5.25 inches high by 15.3 inches wide, the CD8 is the size of a pretty serious power amplifier. The CD8's tubes are configured much as they are in Audio Research's very best stereo preamplifier, the Reference Pre ($12,000). But most of those players used just a pair of tubes, typically as a "buffer" output stage. That's hardly a new idea, as designers started sticking tubes in CD players in the 1980s.
You can read my complete review on the Home Entertainment Web Site.Īudio Research's CD8 Reference player uses vacuum tubes to amplify the converted-to-analog signals. That sort of statement is usually followed by something like, "CDs now sound a lot more like LPs." That's not the case here, but the CD8 is considerably more musical than other state-of-the-art CD players.
It's also one of the least "digital"-sounding CD players I've ever used. That won't reduce the receiver's usability, at least in the near term, but it's unlikely you'll want to keep it around for the long run.Īudio Research's CD8 Reference player was designed to last a long, long time. A lot of folks get a new computer every few years.īought a new home theater receiver last year? Great, but its HDMI 1.3 connection is about to be superceded by HDMI 1.4. One hundred and twenty five million phones are discarded every year, resulting in more than 65,000 tons of waste. Environmental Protection Agency, the average cell phone life span is 18 months. Most of the tech products you buy are disposable.Īccording to the U.S.