CD Players

Archive for February 13th, 2010

Yamaha CDC-697BL 5-Disc CD Player (Black)

Posted by admin On February - 13 - 2010
User Reviews Send this to a friend
Yamaha CDC-697BL 5-Disc CD Player (Black)
 
Manufacturer: Yamaha
Customer Rating:
 
List Price: $299.95
Sale Price: $211.89
Availibility: Usually ships in 24 hours
Free Shipping Available
Buy Now
 

Product Description
Yamaha 5-Disc Carousel-Type CD Charger offers uninterrupted enjoyment of high sound quality with superior digital performance and easy operation with CD-RW disc compatibility, RS-232C interface and CD Text Display. It gives you the benefit of extended playing time and direct selection from any of the five discs directly. An RS-232C interface is provided so the player can be controlled via computer in a custom installation.

Yamaha CDC-697BL 5-Disc CD Player (Black) Details
  • Yamaha patented PlayXchange for enjoying uninterrupted music
  • CD-R/RW disc compatibility
  • 40-track random access programmable play and clear
  • RS-232C interface, IR In/Out and detachable power cord for custom installation
  • CD-tape synchro rec start

Video Reviews
No video reviews found for this product.

Customer Reviews For Yamaha CDC-697BL 5-Disc CD Player (Black)
Great 5 Disk Carosel Player
 
Review Date: September 30, 2008
Reviewer: GeoBrick, Ventura, CA USA
I was surprised how little user information was available on the web about 5 disk carousel changers.

I tried several higher end players (including Rotel, Denon, Sony, Onkyo/Integra and Marantz*) but I couldn't get past the extremely long time it took to switch tracks between disks while in random/shuffle mode (15 to 20 seconds). The 17 year changer I was replacing could change tracks on different disks in 8 to 10 seconds (measured from the end of one song to the start of another on a different disk).

Yamaha got it right with the CDC-697. It matched the track change speed of my 17 year old changer. If you regularly listen to music in random/shuffle mode, this CD changer is the only one out there (in 2008) that can change tracks on different disks within a reasonable time (8-10 seconds vs 15-20 seconds). Nothing else I tried out there that could do that.

Yamaha also seems to have the best version of the disk exchange feature. All the players I tried allow you to change some of the disks while one disk is still playing but the Yamaha is the only one that lets you change 4 of the 5 disks (the fifth is still playing). The others only let you access 2 of the 5 disks to change.

I think Yamaha put more thought into the "changer" aspect of this model.

One other benefit is that the CDC-697 is one of the few CD changers that supports CD text.

I hope this helps others.

* I did not personally test the Marantz CC4001 but I was able to get someone on the DTVforum to check the timing for me.
Objective review of the Yamaha CD player
 
Review Date: April 25, 2009
Reviewer: Richard Johnson, Camino, CA USA
Before buying the Yamaha 5-disc CD player, I did a comprehensive analysis of all currently available products. It included the players made by Denon, Onkyo, Teac and Sony among others, as well as DVD players that can also play CD's. I wanted a high quality player to work well with a stereo system including large JBL studio monitor speakers, a high-power integrated amplifier, and a direct drive Technics turntable. I had no interest in playing DVD's, only in good quality audio CD's, so I eliminated from consideration many products which are basically DVD players. I found out that most multi-disc CD players compromise their technical specifications compared with the audiophile-quality single-disc CD players, with Yamaha CDC-697 looking better than the others, possibly because it is optimized for playing CD's only, while the Denons and Onkyos also play compressed audio files like MP3 and WMA.
Any product that attempts to do too many things at once, usually does not do anything well!

Investigations of Yamaha's repair record compared with competitive products also appear favorable. Finally, I found out that CDC-697 can be operated both by the pushbuttons on the front panel or by the remote control. All competing carousel CD changers are not fully operational without using the remote. We are sick of having everything requiring a remote to operate. It is just a fake "convenience feature for the user", whose real purpose is to cut the equipment manufacturing costs by eliminating the old-style manual controls from the front panel!

We had the Yamaha CDC-697 for two months now and everything is fine so far. It was easy to set up without the remote control. We have not even inserted the batteries into the remote, the unit operates just fine without it, although there are some functions that are available only through the remote. We had to read only the first 10 pages of the 24-page owner's instruction manual to use the unit, for which my wife is very pleased. The competing carousel CD changers have 60 to 90 page manuals which take many hours to study before you can use the unit!

Let's hope that Yamaha does not make any silly engineering changes in the CDC-697 to make it more alike the Denon, Onkyo or Sony. We do not own an i-pod and will never buy it in the future, we will also never need to play any compressed audio files, we just want high fidelity music.

The fidelity of music from the Yamaha player through our system is just as good as from the Technics direct drive turntable with an elliptical Shure cartridge and new 33 RPM vinyl records, and we do not miss the occasional clicks usually present in vinyl records.
Amazon did a very good job in packing our Yamaha player. It arrived on time through a UPS two-day delivery.
This is a real cd player
 
Review Date: July 24, 2007
Reviewer: arnaldo munguia, fla
I finally got this real performance sound machine from yamaha last week. I wanted a cd changer not too expensive, but a very acceptable cd changer, so I found a marantz cd changer whose cost was higher and this one. At the end I decided for this yamaha and I don't regret, It reproduces sound with a high fidelity, the balance between bass and treble is optimum. You can hear very clearly even the touch of the fingers on a guitar playing.
For the money? The best CD player. Period.
 
Review Date: January 8, 2009
Reviewer: T. Rivas, Florida
As an owner of some Hi-End/Mid-Fi CD players with rave reviews among the Audio community (DENON Universal Deck DVD-2910, ROTEL Reference RCD-1072) I can say that this Yammy doesn't come too shabby. I looked into other 5-disc decks (DENON & Marantz), but in the end this one made the grade.

I was looking for a simple and inexpensive 5-Disc deck for the moments I just load up a bunch of discs and listen casually while doing other things (attending guests at home, parties, reading, etc). Anything but critical listening. I was dumbstruck by the audio performance and sheer quality that this "cheap" deck pulls out of my CDs. The built-in D/A converters are pretty darn good if I had to rely on them, but it gets better if you use it's optical digital output to feed an outboard D/A converter (like the one in my flagship receiver), and makes this deck a helluva transport. And speaking of transport mechanisms, this is where it shines the most, it's silent, fast and solid. Lists for 300$ on Yamaha's site, but for the steal-deal special price of 195$ with free shipping from 6th AVE NY, I have to say I feel guilty of theft... but happy.

Want a great CD player for the price of a run-of-the-mill DVD player? Get this deck. Forget about lame-O MP3/WMA discs, it only plays CDs but it does it RIGHT!
Practically perfect player
 
Review Date: April 16, 2008
Reviewer: John W, MS
Same dimension as most 5-CD players, with the usual advanced features.
It stands out from those I've had because of its smooth and quiet changing mechanism.
I especially enjoy the random cut player, not just random CD but random
cuts from among the 5 CD's loaded in the carousel.

The only thing I don't like is that I can't seem to find a way to make
the carousel rotate when it is open all the way for loading.
This requires you to load a CD into the rear-most slot while part of it
is still inside the body of the unit, making it easy to scratch or drop the CD.

Otherwise, I like it a real lot!

Best buy for " Yamaha CDC-697BL 5-Disc CD Player (Black) ", Lowest Price Yamaha CDC-697BL 5-Disc CD Player (Black) + Free shipping. Get Yamaha CDC-697BL 5-Disc CD Player (Black) Now!
Product Reviews
ADD COMMENTS

Chevy Equinox and Land Rover Freelander

Posted by admin On February - 13 - 2010

The market for sport utility to expand despite higher than normal gas prices. The reason? Because these non-almost-all-vehicles to provide only the desires of consumers. Sure, sales are down now but they will recover the cheapest car in the mix. SUVs that people throw things, a sign that things can go off-road [okay, maybe not the equinox], is the best treatment for many cars, etc. Fortunately, not all the gas Guzzler both. Chevrolet Equinox and LandRover Freelander are two that come to mind. Let's take a look at these compact SUVs.

Chevrolet Equinox – I would like the Equinox, Chevy car-based SUVs, only slightly below the average Trailblazer. With car-based, I believe that a vehicle that handles and drives more like a car is actually built on a platform of self [as the Ford Escape and Toyota RAV4, for example]. This means that the equinox is built primarily on the street, so if you want an off-roadexperience that you will choose Trailblazer or Freelander will. Okay, I digress.

Equinox is available as both front-wheel or all-wheel-drive vehicles. Five passenger seats, Equinox is equipped with a 3.4L V6 with 185hp. The engine is mated to a five-speed automatic, no manual transmission is available. A system of traction control is standard with front-wheel drive Equinox, while all models are equipped with ABS and powerrats. Standard equipment for the Equinox include four electric windows, power mirrors, power locks with remote keyless entry, AM / FM stereo CD player with six speakers, and air conditioning. Equinox is rated 5 stars by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration frontal crash and side-impact crash tests. Starter prices for the Equinox is very competitive with similar models in its class. Base MSRP for the FWD is just over 22K, 24K forAWD.

Land Rover Freelander – the smallest of all Land Rover, the Freelander, a compact, full-time all-wheel-drive vehicles are available in 3 or 5-door SUV. Unlike the Equinox, is full Freelander off-road ability to do every Land Rover. The Freelander has a four-wheel Electronic Traction Control System, ABS, a 2.5L Quad Cam V6 engine is mated to a 5 speed automatic transmission, a stereo AM / FM / CD system with RDS radio, airconditioning, fog lights, a perimeter security system and much more. The Freelander, a five-passenger vehicle, sells for prices starting at just over 27K.

The Freelander is manufactured in England, while the Equinox is built in Canada, in all, both the Equinox and Freelander are good building compact SUV with two different purposes: the Equinox is built primarily on highway and in town and is more strong engine, while the Freelander is built for both road and track.

CD Players Articles
Comments Off
Copyright © CD Players.