CD Player Recommendations?

[Mr_Keroppi]

Hello everyone! I am starting to get into CD's and I REALLY want to start listening to them! I am buying all the Fifth Harmony CD's and was looking for some good CD players as I do not own one! I have a budget of around a max of $300 as I think that is a reasonable amount, if anyone knows any good CD players on Amazon or something please tell me! I want a reliable one that will last as there are a TON of super cute ones I really want but the reviews are mixed I would prefer the "boombox" style of ones (pictures!) that can use batteries or plug into the wall! Thank you everyone for any recommendations! I REALLY WANT THIS LIME ONE BUT SADLY ITS LIKE MIXED REVIEWS SO IM NOT WASTING $35

 

[Belle T]

The unfortunate thing about physical music in this day and age is that we have the technological sophistication needed to create significantly higher quality and longer lasting devices than ever before, but the market for them (particularly for tapes and vinyl records, I'm not sure if CD's have suffered the same fate just yet since they are still in use despite their massive decline in recent years) has shifted so that the majority of them are all made from the same Chinese stock internals, even when manufactured by a completely different company. So short of bankrupting yourself in search of a working condition, enthusiast-oriented unit from twenty years ago, the majority of CD players on the consumer market today are only ever going to reach the standards of "okay" at best.

I can't recommend any specific model, because almost all of them (particularly on Amazon) are basically just different flavors of the same device. I can only advise you to 1) temper your expectations, and 2) make sure you have a warranty in case you should for any reason need to return it. I can say that at a glance, the models you've provided look very cheap and probably aren't the best quality. For all I know, they may very well operate at the bare minimum necessary to get the job done, so they might actually work for you if you're not picky about quality. But as a general rule of thumb, when it comes to CD players, "aesthetics" and "functionality" really don't go hand-in-hand from my experience, and that was true even when CD's were a contemporary format.

 

[Mr_Keroppi]

The unfortunate thing about physical music in this day and age is that we have the technological sophistication needed to create significantly higher quality and longer lasting devices than ever before, but the market for them (particularly for tapes and vinyl records, I'm not sure if CD's have suffered the same fate just yet since they are still in use despite their massive decline in recent years) has shifted so that the majority of them are all made from the same Chinese stock internals, even when manufactured by a completely different company. So short of bankrupting yourself in search of a working condition, enthusiast-oriented unit from twenty years ago, the majority of CD players on the consumer market today are only ever going to reach the standards of "okay" at best.

I can't recommend any specific model, because almost all of them (particularly on Amazon) are basically just different flavors of the same device. I can only advise you to 1) temper your expectations, and 2) make sure you have a warranty in case you should for any reason need to return it. I can say that at a glance, the models you've provided look very cheap and probably aren't the best quality. For all I know, they may very well operate at the bare minimum necessary to get the job done, so they might actually work for you if you're not picky about quality. But as a general rule of thumb, when it comes to CD players, "aesthetics" and "functionality" really don't go hand-in-hand from my experience, and that was true even when CD's were a contemporary format.

Aww thats so sad, I really wish I could find a good one but I might just stick to Itunes and YouTube. I just think it would be fun to use my Cd’s for more than just display on my shelf. It is kind of outdated now though!

 

[Belle T]

Aww thats so sad, I really wish I could find a good one but I might just stick to Itunes and YouTube. I just think it would be fun to use my Cd’s for more than just display on my shelf. It is kind of outdated now though!

Well, that's the paradoxical thing. CD's are still somewhat in use, particularly in Asian countries. And even in many western countries, you can still find new CD's fairly easily. It's only the actual process of playing back CD's that has become difficult. Or at least, less desirable than it used to be.

If you have a desktop or a laptop, you might consider investing instead in a decent pair of speakers and (if your computer doesn't already have one built in) an external CD drive that plugs in via USB. It's not the most portable solution, but if you want to get some more mileage out of your CD's, then you could do much worse.