Sony CD player

[Hotrodder]

Applying a dab of over-voltage is a smidge beyond my pay grade. But thanks for the link. I can learn much there.

[Polarengineer]

I am amazed that there are a few on here that are able to differentiate the pure sounds of vinyl records etc through glow-plug amps, myself, I have damaged my hearing enough due to steam turbine and other industrial noises before H&S poked their oar in, that I need hearing aids. Fortunately I copied all my CDs on to the computer (while they still included a CD player/recorder) which allowed synchronization with my Iphone. I now benefit from having all my music from my phone to my hearing aids via bluetooth. The quality of these transmissions is perfectly fine for my level of critical listening. I get stereo music in my head with my phone in my pocket and complaints from mrs PE that I still never hear what she says from those useless hearing aids.

[Doug]

Well Polarengineer, I for one still have my quad hifi with Garrard turntable + sme arm with sure head along with dozens of vinyl , mostly classical, some going back to the 60s
Must say though that these days it's French radio classique or France music from sat.

[Hotrodder]

For those who haven't noticed, over the last few years there has been a steady resurgence of interest (and sales) of LP records, AKA "vinyls" and also an interest in the CD format. The sales of both media have seen a steady increase in sales, firstly reissues of older popular titles and today much new material is appearing. Sadly there are reports that the quality of pressings is in some cases quite apalling and said to be a result of pressing plants struggling to keep up with demand. They are possibly thinking this is only a temporary reversal in demand and are unwilling to invest in expensive new equipment and specialised training of personnel to run the machines. There also seems to be interest in the cassette tape media but to a much more limited level. Mostly new bands that can't afford the production cost of a vinyl and don't want to wait many months for delivery. What is driving this trend? Some say it is just a passing fad among a generation wanting to be seen as "cool". Possibly true to some extent, but more likely to be people simply wanting to "own" the physical media rather than pay a fee to listen by streaming. Whatever the reason it is certainly happening and is no longer a niche market.

I started assembling my system in the late 70s to late 90s and still have it all in working order. So glad I did because I would find it very hard to start again today. There is far less new equipment on the market today than there was in the glory days and it is horrendously expensive. Mostly trying to put everything in one box and to include wifi and streaming on top of the base functions. Stroll through ebay for a look at prices of secondhand "vintage" hi fi separates. Some of the better stuff that is maybe 40 or more years old is fetching four figures. I can understand the appeal of accessing a huge playlist of digitally converted and stored music from the internet and listening through a phone, earbuds, or a speaker the size of an orange if all you want is background music to do something else to, but some of us would rather sit down in the sweet spot in front of real speakers and be properly engaged with the vibe.

[Polarengineer]

That’s great Hotrodder if your ears are still as good as the 70s. Sadly, bits are starting to fall off these days.

[Hotrodder]

If that's the case you have more to worry about than your hearing.

[Polarengineer]

I meant bits of the frequency range are falling off, although….

[hughnique]

I recently bought a Technics stereo system from an auction site in the Netherlands and have the same problem with the display, very dim, but it all plays ok. This one only has a 5 CD storage.