Optical Digital output with DTS pass-through; Excellent A/D Convertor; Delete Programming; Ease of use;

None to speak of

I am writing about a SL-PD9. Hooked up the optical digital output to my Sony STR-DE845 receiver's DVD/LD Optical digital input. At the same time, for comparison's sake, hooked up the analog output to the receiver's CD (analog-only) input. First, put in a DTS encoded CD (a DTS sampler got from the Tower Records store in Rockville, MD) - the receiver straight-away detected a multi-channel DTS signal and the sound was everything I expect from DTS. Next, put in a 'normal' CD and played it over the optical input (so that the receiver did D/A conversion) ... no surprises, excellent quality clean sound living fully up to my expectations. After this, played the same CD over the
analog input (so that the SL-PD9 did D/A conversion putting its MASH logic into play). NOW I was a lot surprised! I did not expect the built-in D/A conversion to be so good - quite a shock to me! In fact, when I listen to CDs now, I usually use the analog output much more of the time than the digital one, because in my perception the STR-DE845 does a much too bright D/A conversion while the SL-PD9 seems to strike the balance just right, though the lower frequencies are slightly blurred as are the very high frequencies - but I am nitpicking. Bottomline is the SL-PD9 does an excellent job of what is supposed to do. The optical digital output and DTS pass-thru make it all the more attractive if you have a DTS decoder or compatible receiver. As a footnote, played over the digital output, the SL-PD9 sounds exactly the same a my Apex DVD Player connected over coaxial digital - but that is also exactly what is expected. GREAT CD PLAYER. Value rating of 5 stars, 4 stars overall due to the blinking display of brackets around currently playing disk number which like other reviewers here I found a bit repulsive.

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Sony 3-disc changer

Cheap, good comfortable remote, cheap, easy to operate, cheap, cheap, cheap and inexpensive!!! Fast carousel. Optical out.

Lightweight, seems flimsy, too many Frickin lights..

For 98 bucks you just can't beat it. Cheap, fast, workable. Bought if for a girlfriend. She loves it. Can't be beat for its price.

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Yamaha 575, Yamaha 675

options, affordability, to some degree - sound

sound, grinding noise when changer engaged, intervals between changing discs are slow, disproportionate representation of one disc's selections when loaded with five CDs and cued for full random play.

I was taken by the wealth of positive feedback attending the SL-PD8 (actually mine is a SL-PD9 which I take to be this years model). I have some reservations - and would welcome feedback - but first let me set the scene with some establishing info.
My previous CD changer was a DENON DCM 815. A single play. It required service x2 in the five years I've owned it. That doesn't seem right does it? My speakers are psb 600i's - an excellent speaker for the money. Several weeks ago I discovered that I had to crank up my reciever, a DENON DRA-345R up to about the 12 o'clock position to faintly hear a quiet opening passage in a newly acquired Mahler disc. Never had this problem before. I put on a particularly punchy track by THE FALL just to see if I needed to do the same thing. I didn't, but I did notice that the selection sounded boxy and a bit rasping. More so than even THE FALL might have intended. Problem was squarely with my CD player it seemed.
The Technics Sl-PD9 has this going for it especially: crisper imaging - and I don't have to turn up the reciever volume up to the 9 or 10 o'clock position to hear it all at a decent volume. Those settings were typical in my listening experience previously, for some time, and well before the DENON's dying gasps became apparent. I haven't heard such detail in some time.
But I don't write off my previous CD player entirely. Even in it's apparent weaker moments it had some very nice things going for it. First, the bass seemed tighter and had a warmer, analog like pull to it. Whoever described the bass reproduction on the Technics in glowing terms must be listening to something inordinately bass heavy. Underdefined sneezes and farts in comparison to the Denon, ladies and gents. The other thing I find disappointing is that upper register passages (voices, woodwinds, for example)can sound muddy, to too bright, to somewhat distorted. A little ear fatigue which I don't quite recall the case with my DENON.
These reviews are welcome, but I think it would be good to include what TYPE of music reviewerss are listening to. Can it be that some CD changers falter in nicely reproducing sounds from various musical genres? I listen to everything from Baroque to The Strokes - with plenty of variously well mastered 50's Rockabilly and RnR in between. I think my Denon was much better in replicating a warmer and crisper sound to my classical music collection.
I'm heartened to know that perhaps an optical cable attachement can make a significant difference to the sound. I don't have that capacity on my present reciever, but am looking to purchase an integrated amp (my eye on a NAD c-370). This kind of info from these reviews is very helpful. All I want is crisply detailed music without a speck of coloration. I cannot afford a high end system, but then again, I put credence into the idea that superior sound may be a good part subjective (along with the dimensions and furnishings of the space that houses it). If you know my system and figure that there's a better integrated amp - or reciever - or speakers -or set up in combination with the Technics SL PD9 & within an affordable price, please do tell.
In sum, I think the TECHNICS is suprisingly good with providing well defined aspects in the mid range, but can be harsh and muddy in the upper ranges. Bass is pretty faceless and pedestrian, though.

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sound wise, my first CD player - a Sony single play I bought in 1990 for about $125. Lasted about 5 yrs.

Makes my JVC Stereo Sound better.

Did not come with a remote.

I bought this CD player because of the good reviews it was recieving from this site, and the price very good.
I did not expect it to sound any different than my old CD player, but when I hooked it up, I was surprized at how much better this made my system sound!
The front display does not bug me at all either (who watches their stereo when they listen to music anyways?).
I cannot use the digital output because my reciever (JVC RX-667VBK) is pre digital, but I don't care. It sounds good anyways.
For those of you who like to know what else people have in their stereo systems, Here is what mine has:
-JVC RX-667VBK 500 watt Dolby Pro logic reciever
-Technics SL-PD8 CD Player
-JVC SK-404 Speakers 60 watts RMS 120 watts max (The previous owners of there speakers ,my Grandparents, never used these speakers since they bought them).
-Pioneer Center Channel Unsure of model #)
-Bose 301 speakers (I use these as my rears)

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JVC 6 disk CD player from 1989.

very light

weak motors

I picked up the demo model of this item at HH Greg here in Nashville. The salesman told me it was the last one they had and that the line was being discontinued (always a bad sign). When I picked it up at the counter it felt extremely light (another bad sign). It had no power cord when I bought it (yet another bad sign). I got it home connected it plugged it in with a borrowed power cord and could not get it to read any commercial audio CD's at all. Also the panel on the front seemed very cheaply constructed - the panel behind the buttons was loose and the whole panel pressed in with any button pressed. It occurred to me that it may have needed to have the lens cleaned. I removed the cover and swabbed the lens with a cotton swab with isopropyl alcohol. Popped in a cd and then with the cover off I could see what the problem was; the motor that turns the CD, so that the laser can read it, was burned out. If you bought one of these, keep the warranty handy. I was very disappointed, as I have a Technics Receiver that is over 15 years old and still going strong.

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Onkyo 6 disc changer, Technics Receiver 15 years old

The player is a superb value for the money (I paid $133 for it), and it has everything a CD player should have. There's no coaxil digital output, but I'm a little reluctant to trust people who claim there's a difference between a coaxil and TOS link -- I've listened to both and can't tell if there is any whatsoever.
Looks of the unit are very nice; the player has a little brownish tint in color of its finish (it is, afterall, a true Panasonic). The placement of control buttons is excellent and all of them have a reassuring firm "click" when pushed. The loading tray is not very solidly built; however, I personally have never seen a decently built tray in 5-CD changers. The display is very helpful and laid out nicely. The only inconveniances I found were: 1) due to the display's high brightness AND the functions symbols for play/pause/ff/rew/stop being relatively small, it was generally hard to tell which of those functions the unit was on if, say, your receiver is on another input mode; 2) the light indicating the disc that's played blinks disctractively which may irritate those who make this player a part of their home theater. It would be very nice of Matsushita to address these little annoyances, that is, make the functions symbols bigger, make display dimmable, and let the played disc symbol turn to a different color (as it, in fact, does), loosing the blinking. Some may, of course, say that it's what you get for such a small price. These issues, however, are not price-raising and merely substitutions of a few functions by a set of more convenient ones.

Sound quality is, well, like that of almost them all. Nice, clean, pleasant, deep. The search function responds with lightening speed. The start of "play" as well as the disc finding are both quite fast too. Some shortcomings, nevertheless, are present here as well. Say you want to listen to the last few seconds of a song to catch, for example, a short passage of an instrument. The way I would do it is to go to the song subsequent to it and "search back" while in "play" mode. SL-PD8 simply won't let you do that. It's a very minor inconvenience, however, and no stars (speakers) should be taken out.

The player is a machine good enough for me to recomend to anybody. The reliability issue has turned to a tricky one for almost every single manufacturer of CE; nevertheless, a few people I know have had Technics equipment for almost twenty years. The story in short -- no complaints.

Good sound and smooth mechanical functioning at a low
($130) price.

Blinking light to show which disc is playing. Japanese
manufacturers love gear that lights like pinball machines.

I can only second all the comments by Mr. Emin. The blinking
light is rather distracting and I will probably cover it
with black electric tape. Too bad they didn't provide for
dimming or turning off the display. Comes with its own
remote (unlike their $99 model) but also responds to the
remote for my Technics receiver. For $130 it works well
and sounds good. What more can one ask?

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Have used Magnavox, NAD, and Rotel CD players and NAD
was the best of my former players.

It's been the most reliable CD player I've had in the last 15 years.I've tried Sony,Mitsubishi,Yamaha,Kenwood,and Denon.All had some kind of annoying flaw,but this machine has been a jewel.

The remote occasionally gets tempermental.

I bought this at Sears,thinking it would be a temporary stopgap until I looked around for a real,quality player.Well,it continues to hold it's own.A very pleasant surprise.

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None,really

Play 1, Exchange 4; easy-to-understand display; direct disc access from both remote & player; advanced programming features for recoding to media (cassette, etc.)

# of Disc that is playing blinks.

My Teac died after only two years, so I found myself in the market for a new CD changer (with a bad taste in my mouth towards Teac). The SL-PD8 is in a nice price bracket -- not featureless with questionable reliability like the sub-$99 players (RCA, Symphonic, Magnovox), but not overly pricey for things you don't need (Who needs CD-Text on a 5-disc changer? -- if you can't keep track of what is in your 5 disc changer, you probably forget to send in your taxes on time too!) :-) I paid $129.99 plus tax at Circuit City.

A few comments have been made about the fact that the CD in play blinks in the display. Yes, this is annoying, but it is not the end of the world. Usually, when you are playing a CD, you are not staring directly at the player for extended periods of time, right? Personally, when I have the changer playing, I am usually entertaining, reading, cleaning the house, etc.

Someone mentioned about how the blinking would detract if used as a component in home theater. Well, if you are watching home theater, like a DVD or tv show, you aren't playing a CD are you? (therefore, there is no blinking!) This is *not* the equivalent of the blinking "12:00" on older VCRs when the power goes out!

Disc changes are quick & quiet. My old Teac was slow & "clunked" with each disc change. Also nice is the "play 1, change 4", allowing you to have the music going all day without interruption (the Teac was play one, exchange 2).

In addition to sequential play (all the songs in order off of all of the discs) and random play, there is also the relatively new feature of "spiral". Spiral plays the 1st track off of each disc in the changer, then the 2nd track, then the 3rd, and so on. Sort of like a "controlled-random".

This unit comes with its own very-compact full-featured remote. The remote from my Technics SU-G75/ST-K55 (Integrated Amp with seperate Tuner) controls the most basic features of the CD changer. I also have a learning remote, a Sony RM-V22, which can control the changer to the same capacity as my Amp/Tuner's remote.

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Teac PD-D1200 (5 disc changer)

Low price, presumed excellent reliability, quiet operation, speed of disc switching

Plastic construction, flashing lights

I needed a second CD changer for my "low end" listening system. I was very price sensitive, so I wasn't expecting much, but reviews for the precursor of this system (SL-PD7) were so good that my mind was easily made up. I paid about $120 all-in via Shop4.com.

So far, so good. Player has worked beautifully. In comparison to my Sony ES player from 1992, disc switching is much faster and somewhat quieter. Changing discs while one is playing is a bonus too.

The flashing lights on the front panel are annoying, as others have commented. These could be really annoying if you use the player in your line of sight in a darkened room (I do neither, so I don't care).

I tried switching out this player with my old Sony ES, and it really seemed to me that there was a difference in the sound quality. I have always been in the "all CD sound is created equal" camp, but I think there may have been changes in filter design between 1992 and 1999 that have changed the sound. I have no idea which sound is "truer", but I would characterize the SL-PD8's sound as "rounder" than my old Sony's. To me this sounded a bit muddy, but it could be that I have just grown used to a "too harsh" sound from the Sony. Your mileage will of course vary depending upon your speakers.

Overall this unit is a great value. Just don't drop it - very lightweight, and entirely plastic.

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Sony ES 5-disc changer, c. 1992