Do You Remember Your First CD Player?

I bought a Sony 101 in the early 80's and very few CD's - just couldn't stand one or the other. A few years later I discovered Cal Audio's Aria II - it really fleshed out the music - but still didn't compete with Vinyl - I bought some more CD's. The I up-graded to the Cal Alpha/Delta - at last I had something that sounded like music - bought lots of CD's. Still have it.

These are memories best forgotten. Those who do remember may need to seek treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder! I remember the first one I heard in Boulder Colorado through a pair of Acoustat 2+2s. I was friends with the staff there, and we looked at each other in disbelief. None of us could convince ourselves that the horrible sound we were hearing was the promised perfection, and that we just needed to get used to the lack of distortion associated with analog.

I then owned a high-end store during the early years and refused to sell those horrific things. I eventually sold the Sonograph because it was rolled off in the highs, relatively cheap and could be listened to for up to 5 minutes without complete audio fatigue. Those were dark (perhaps bright) days best forgotten. As recently discussed in Stereophile by Art Dudly, there are no classic early CD players. Seek treatment if necessary.

Ron

I remember my first actual cd player and my first "good" cd player. My first was a Sharp that came with a rack system I received for xmass. My first CD was Cream...dont remember the album. My first real cd player was a Nakamichi MB2s music bank cdplayer with dig out and gold rca connectors. That was actually a great sounding player!
Next question? Does anyone remember the ridiculous 1 foot long cd boxes that cds came in at first!!
Wow how we have evolved...
happy listening,
Joe
Custom Audio LLC

I had an early Sony myself. I experienced the same results as Buscis2, and could hardly bare to listen to it. One day, I had a CD playing, and had walked in to another room. Moments later I heard a horrible screeching sound, and ran back into the room to find the CD tray open and the disc 10 feet away on the floor. The machine had the nerve to spit out the CD. I guess it didn't like jazz.

Anyhow, I took it in for repair, and it was DOA. The model was no longer in production, so the store gave me credit towards a new one of my choosing. I took the opportunity to move up the ladder quite a bit, and settled on a Denon DCD-1560 which performed quite nicely. I sold that unit about 4 years ago, but sometimes wish I had kept it as a transport, as it had a really heavy duty mechanism.

Bang & Olufsen CDX. I still have it in my office system. Amazing for a piece of equipment purchased in 1984.