Technics SL-PD9 Rotary CD Changer/Player

Rating:
Summary: Don't buy the SLPD-9!
Review: Do not buy this product! I bought the SLPD-9 in Fall 2002 and it started skipping on all discs played in under 6 months. The repair experience I've had has been the worst imaginable. Technics/Panasonic has been giving me the run around. The repair shop they use in New York City (Advisory TV and Radio) has twice told me they fixed the unit when they have not. And Panasonic/Technics refuses to do anything about. I've never had such a bad experience with a product in my life. Trust me, unless you want to buy a CD changer that lasts only 6 months, don't buy the SLPD-9.

Rating:
Summary: Its just too good for the price...
Review: I have been on the lookout for a nice CD changer for the past 3 months. I looked at the Yamaha series, Sony & the Harmon Kardon. All of them were okay, but I was still not satisfied.

Then I came across the Technics CD Changers (Basically a Panasonic company). I immediately read some reviews on the net and what caught my attention was that most reviewers liked its previous version, the PD8 a lot. I too went for the PD8, used it for a few days and was very impressed. Then I thought, maybe it is best to settle for the higher version, the PD9.

I got the changer home and the first CD I played was one that I had burned (For the uninitiated, a CD-R). Played flawlessly and I immediately noticed a difference in the sound as compared to my sony. Then I threw scratched CD's at it and it played them very well.(The Sony would not even touch these scratched CD's. But both the PD8 and Pd9 were totally comfortable playing the scrached CD's). The front panel LCD was elegant too. The one feature I miss thougth is the inability to show CD-Tect in CD's with encoded text information.

Anyways, its been great going. I really could not hear much of a difference between the Optical and Analog out, but the fact is that you have optical out in case you want to record digitally.

And its fast when it evaluates the empty slots and looks for CD's. If you ever used a Harmon Kardon, you would know what Im talking about !

All in all, You get great sound that is plesant to the ears and to the wallet !

Rating:
Summary: Its just too good for the price...
Review: I have been on the lookout for a nice CD changer for the past 3 months. I looked at the Yamaha series, Sony & the Harmon Kardon. All of them were okay, but I was still not satisfied.

Then I came across the Technics CD Changers (Basically a Panasonic company). I immediately read some reviews on the net and what caught my attention was that most reviewers liked its previous version, the PD8 a lot. I too went for the PD8, used it for a few days and was very impressed. Then I thought, maybe it is best to settle for the higher version, the PD9.

I got the changer home and the first CD I played was one that I had burned (For the uninitiated, a CD-R). Played flawlessly and I immediately noticed a difference in the sound as compared to my sony. Then I threw scratched CD's at it and it played them very well.(The Sony would not even touch these scratched CD's. But both the PD8 and Pd9 were totally comfortable playing the scrached CD's). The front panel LCD was elegant too. The one feature I miss thougth is the inability to show CD-Tect in CD's with encoded text information.

Anyways, its been great going. I really could not hear much of a difference between the Optical and Analog out, but the fact is that you have optical out in case you want to record digitally.

And its fast when it evaluates the empty slots and looks for CD's. If you ever used a Harmon Kardon, you would know what Im talking about !

All in all, You get great sound that is plesant to the ears and to the wallet !

Rating:
Summary: Everything you need and nothing you don't
Review: I purchased this unit spontaneously. I wanted a multiple disc changer that was more reliable than that my Hitachi. It was in my price range, which is rare. I also feel Technics is slightly beter that the compitition. So I bought it on the spot!

It delivers everything you need and nothing you don't from a component CD player. Options are primative though I never feel like it lacks any core elements. My favorite feature is being able to change discs while one is playing. You can change 4 of the 5 discs while the 5th plays! When I'm inspired to listen to something else, I can pop it in and finish what I'm listening to. It's great to keep the music going for company or yourself. I have seen other 5 disc systems that won't let you change discs while one is playing or only 2 discs at a time. Another plus is the optical output. I can't use the optical output with my receiver, but I can connect my MiniDisc recorder opticaly. When the two are hooked up I have absolute control of my MiniDisc mix while maintaining digital quality. One of its more subtle qualities is its user interface. The display is logical and button interface is simple without any ambiguity (except on the remote). Its reliability is superb. I havn't had a skiping disc yet. As for looks, its another black box, but its layout is clean and well labeled.

I have owned other multiple disc systems that could never equal this one. I have a 12 disc Hatachi that uses two 6 Disc magazines. Its old and twice as noisy as the Technics. It reliability is poor and is now used more for its clock(it has an alarm clock like timer?) than as a CD player. I also had a Sharp 5 Disc rotary system that I loved to hate. Frequently it wouldn't play CD's, sometimes even brand new discs. The Sharp wouldn't let you change discs while one was playing. It also had a display that was confusing at best.

Bottom line, I would definently purchase another one of their CD players if I ever have the need to. 5 Stars for Technics!