infobong.com

Mediageek has an interesting post that asks Are CD Players Obsolete?" Although I was only looking for a CD player for my home stereo, i ran into similar problems. Its next to impossible to find inexpensive component CD players these days. Target and the electronics retailers are crawling with super-cheap DVD decks that will play CD, but the only CD players they seem to offer are portable units. Since I don't own a TV, I was a little wary of buying a DVD player for CDs, since many of them depend on on-screen menus for navigation. I looked around on the Internet for CD players, and the few new players that are out there are gear for the kind of folks that have tube-based amplifiers, which is certainly not me. I toyed with the idea of buying one from the thrift store, but all of the units were old and beat up. I eventually bought a Technics SL-PD8 on Half.com for $40, shipping included. Except that its hideously huge - no component should be wider than a turntable - I'm really happy with my new toy and even happier about not having to use my computer as a CD player.