CD Changers and Jukeboxes

Five-disc CD changers

Owners seem to have a love/hate relationship with many CD changers. Everyone appreciates their convenience, but reliability, durability and ease of use are major sources of complaints. Still, we were able to identify a few CD changers that fare better than their competitors.

Consumer Guide has reviewed the Yamaha CDC-697 (*Est. $225) and says, "We really haven't seen much better than this unit in terms of the perfect bang for the buck, and can highly recommend it for those consumers looking for quality and features that count." One major negative is a confusing remote, a complaint we saw echoed in some user reviews. However, that's one of the few discouraging comments most owners share. The Yamaha CDC-697 is named a customer favorite at Crutchfield.com for its high rating with a reasonable amount of feedback. Ease of use, dependable operation and good sound quality are the comments that seem to be echoed most frequently there. User reports at Amazon.com are nearly as plentiful and nearly as positive.

The Yamaha CDC-697 is a five-disc carousel-type changer. It features PlayXchange, which lets users swap out discs while the current one is playing. It is compatible with CD-Rs and CD-RWs, but there's no support for MP3 or WMA files. It's also not SACD- or HDCD-compatible. CD Text support is provided, and you can program the Yamaha CD-697 to play up to 40 tracks in any order. An RS-232 port allows for control by a computer or other device.

The Denon DCM-390 (*Est. $350) is a five-disc CD changer that's feature-packed, including built-in HDCD decoding. It can also play MP3 and WMA files and has an RS-232 input for control by external devices. It gets a good -- albeit not very critical -- review at Consumer Guide and good user ratings at Crutchfield.com. However, user reviews at Amazon.com paint a different picture. Several users complain of long-term reliability issues, though most add that sound quality is very good. The Denon DCM-290 (*est. $250) is similar, but lacks HDCD compatibility and the RS-232 interface. It, too, gets a thumbs-up from Consumer Guide, and although user feedback isn't overly abundant or gushing, it is somewhat better than we've seen for the DCM-390.

If you don't want to spend so much on a five-disc changer, the TEAC PD-D2610 (*Est. $125) is an appealing option. We found no professional reviews for this CD player, but feedback at Amazon.com is encouraging. There are some complaints from users that received defective units, but others are largely pleased, calling the TEAC PD-D2610 a good value for the money. The feature lineup is not especially impressive, but playback of MP3's is supported. Some criticize the absence of a power button on the included remote control.

CD Jukeboxes

If a changer with a five-disc capacity just isn't big enough, a CD jukebox or mega-changer with a capacity of up to 400 discs might do the trick. Reviewers haven't done a great job reporting on the current generation of these players, but a few get a good amount of user feedback, including the Sony CDP-CX455 (*Est. $235). While not everyone is a happy camper, the majority gives this 400-disc CD jukebox good grades.

There's no SACD or HDCD support, but the Sony CDP-CX455 can play back MP3 files burned onto CD-R or CD-RW discs. It supports CD Text (for those discs that include that feature) and there's a connection for a PC keyboard for adding your own memos/information. Discs can be grouped (up to eight groups or "artist files" are supported) so that lovers of classical, progressive rock, heavy metal and hip-hop music, for example, can co-exist using the same changer. If a 400-disc capacity isn't enough, you can control a second changer through the Sony CDP-CX455.

User reviews of the Sony CDP-CX455 are largely positive. For example, it earns four out of five stars at Amazon.com, following 85 reviews (at the time of our last visit). Five-star ratings greatly outnumber one-star ratings, but some of the negative comments are worth noting. For example, we saw a handful of reports of some disc damage (i.e. scratching), but this might be relatively isolated as we saw far more reports disputing that, with some users saying they have experienced no such issues. The physical size of the Sony CDP-CX455 seems also to have caught some buyers by surprise. Convenience (once loaded and programmed) is a major plus. Reviews at other sites follow similar patterns, though with less feedback. Users at AudioReview.com are largely happy, while reports at Crutchfield.com and Epinions.com are mixed.

The Pioneer PD-F1009 (*Est. $245) is a 300-disc changer that gets less feedback but a similar reaction from users -- though the issues are different. We saw no complaints about rough disc handling, though usability is a significant step behind the Sony CDP-CX455 in some owners' eyes. The major issues are the lack of any way to add information to discs that lack CD Text compatibility, and programming is more difficult. Reliability seems fine.