Conference cookie::notes$archive:cd_v1

Speaking of low prices, I just found a Technics SL-P7 player for
$399 at Cuomo's in Salem, NH.  That is at least 100 less than
Lechmere at The Mall.

Sitting next to it was the Sony player.  Not the old 101, the new
silver one without remote control.  (It was $399 too)  I was
surprised about the difference in tracking quality.  The Technics
is *vastly* superior.

The Sony skipped many times on one of their demo disks, and the
Technics played it flawlessly.  Light tapping on the Sony made it
skip.  Serious thumping didn't faze the Technics.  (The demo disk
I was using was some Scarlatti concertos.)

I needed a horizontal format player due to the shape of the
hole remaining in my stereo cabinet.  So I walked out with the
Technics under my arm.  (sigh)  And I went in there just to buy
a box of tapes.

(By the way, I got the tapes too.  A box of 10 Maxcell XL-II-S
C-90's for $25.)

[Maybe that Sony was poorly aligned?]

Forgot to mention:  Cuomo's disks weren't especially cheap:
around $16.50.  But I did see a carton of Sheffield Labs CD
disks waiting to go on the shelves.  Probably 20 disks in that box.

The Lechmere add in the Sunday Boston Globe offered the Technics
CD player for $299.xx.

Re: .0
The Columbia disks at Strawberries are now $14.99.  Some other labels
(including Wyndam Hill) have also dropped to that price.
						B.J.

One of the larger Discount chains in the west (Target) is now selling

most CD's for $12.99 and some for as low as $9.99.

You can order hundreds of CDs from Harold Moore's Records in London,
by phone or mail, charge your Visa or MasterCharge, get air-mail
delivery within 3-5 days.  Most disks are 9.95 pounds ($12.93),
including shipping.  Don't order Telarc this way (16.95 pounds!),
but Europoean labels are cheap.  Polygram, etc.

My informant tells me there are over 1700 titles available in Europe,
as opposed to 600 or so in the US.

re: 27.5


Could anybody give me Harold Moore's mail address and/or 
phone number?   Thanks...


Stephane Rousset
Application Development Group, EHQ-Geneva.
DECmail: @GEO
VAXmail: GVAADG::ROUSSET

Oops.  Here it is:

	Harold Moore's Records
	2 Gt. Marlborough Street
	London W1V 1DE, England

	Tel: (01) 4371576 or 4399206
	Telex: 261507  Ref: 3436

I don't know what "Ref" is, but it was in the listing I have.

My informant also says that "Grammophone" magazine is a good source
of reviews, etc on CD's.  They publish a catalog of ALL available
CD's (in Europe) twice a year.  To get the latest catalog, send
(US) $2.56 to

	Grammophone
	177-179 Kenton Road
	Harrow, Middlesex HA3 0HA, England

Ask for the Compact Disc Guide and Catalogue for September.  Price
includes postage to North America.  Shipping takes 28 days.

To subscribe, send $33.20 (Expensive, but worth it I am told) to
the same address for 12 issues.  Many vendors other than Moore
advertise in Grammophone.  I think the 33.20 price includes air-mail
delivery via a forwarder in New Jersey.

My "informant", by the way, is John MacDougall, who does the CD
program Saturday mornings on WEVO (Concord, NH 89.1 MHz).

	I' sure most you got an application from:

		Comp-u-store/BANK ONE VISA

	This is a buying group that you can use by phone.
	Membership is $25.00 a year.

		You can call them 7 days aweek
		for a price on anything (Almost)

	This week I recieved a update (Special of the Month)

		Two units added to the list,

			Magnavox #FD1000  $800.00 List, Club 368.00

			Sony Front Load CD #CDP400 $800 list, 496.00 Club

	If you haven't heard of this club,

		Send me mail on either SULTAN::MEIER or CUJO::MEIER
	
				Phone DTN 553-3240

		I really don't want to push Clubs but
		its really nice to price-shop over the phone.

Interdiscount in Geneva sells a CD player called CDP-1 (can't remember
the brand name) for SF 495,- (about $ 210,- at current exchange rate).
It is advertised as the first layer in Switzerland under SF 500.
Programmable, but no remote control.

At the FERA (local hifi/video fair), Philips stated that there were
now 2000 titles available in switzerland, and the goal is 4000 at the
end of the year.

Both Philips and Sony demonstrated the first car CD players. The Sony
one is avaialable at the end of the year. Philips summer 1985 (price
around SF 1500). Main engineering problems:
- High temperature (laser diodes have short life above 70 degr. C)
- Must fit in DIN standard slot for Car radio (the Sony is a combination
  of CD payer AND AM/FM stereo tuner in that space......)
- Shock absorbtion. The Philips player has a memory for the current track.
  If due to a bump the head looses track, it returns to the track it was
  pushed away from.

It is now almost a year later and prices have not dropped significantly
from the breakthrough mentioned in .0.  This is caused by the demand
(even at these prices) is higher than the output the active plant can
produce.  

Well, at least there are 3300 titles available, rather than the 600
mentioned in .5.  But I can't afford as many as I would like to get.
						B.J.

    When I stopped by my local Strawberries (Shrewsbury, MA) this evening
    to do some CD shopping I noticed a sign anouncing the breaking of
    the $10.00 barrier for CDs!  They have a (limited) selection of
    "Manufacturer's Overstock" discs that are on sale for $9.99.  (All
    sales are final.)  Multi-disc sets were priced at number_of_discs * $9.99.
    
    Rich

    Same here (the UK). My local store is selling a selection at 7.95
    pounds - about $12 - and this includes "Brothers in Arms" by Dire
    Straits so they ain't all dire rubbish.

    re:.11
    
    I know that thre are some small-label classical CD's that come
    in the "CD wallet" rather than a jewel box that are being sold
    in many places for $9.99. Are you sure that these aren't what
    Strawberries is selling? I'll have to check this out.
    
    --- jerry

    
    No, no.  These are in jewel boxes.  Among the things I've seen:
    
    Most of Jean Michael Jarre's albums
    Rush's latest, Power Windows
    The Soundtrack to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
    The Nine Symphonies, Karajian and the Berlin Philharmonic.
    
    Note that this condition is not endemic in Strawberries stores.
    The one in downtown Worcester is selling some of the same stuff
    at $15.99.
    
    DFW

    Well, the ones in the Shrewsbury store were for real. I have one. Among
    the titles were "The Crossing" by Big Country and one of the recent
    Moody Blues releases. Less than a week later the stock was completely
    different so it looks like the turnaround is real quick.

    I saw the same thing in the store in Sudbury.  They had a couple
    Kool and the Gang discs too.  Not a large selection, but it's a
    start...

    
    Just got back from Harvard Square.  They've got the "MO" bins as
    well.  Not very large.  Not very advertised.
    
    Note that there is a little hole drilled thru the spine on the jewel
    box through the label.
    
    Also note that Strawberries always sells Manufacturers Overstock
    "as is".  If you take it home and it doesn't work, too bad.
    
			    					-mr. bill

    Also available in Canada, some Jazz labels (with the little hole
    drilled trough the bottom right corner) I bought GRP Live in Session
    on GRP Label. I saw about 6 or 7 other titles, at one little
    difference: They were 9.99 Canadian currency = $7.30 U.S.
    
    Also at 9.99 CDN$ a 12"Remix CD of China Crisis. (Import)
     
    Vince.
    

    .17>  Note that there is a little hole drilled thru the spine on the
    .17>  jewel box through the label.

    It looks like CDs have entered the age of "cut-outs", i.e.,
    manufacturers dumping excess inventory (usually items being removed
    from their catalog) and mutilating the product so that it can't be sold
    as 1st class goods.

    -- Ward (owner of many cut-out LPs)

    Lechmere's has a sale this week on CBS compact discs (LP's & cassettes
    too) at 20% off the listed price.  Most of the CD's had list prices of
    $15.98 each. 

    Lechmere, Pheasant Lane Mall, Nashua, New Hampshire has a number of CBS
    Masterworks and CBS Jazz Masterworks CD's available. 

	Sale Dates:  Mar. 22-28, 1987   (Sunday - Saturday)

    The Strawberries in the Nashua Mall have some "manufacturers overstock"
    classical discs at $9.99 too. And no sales tax!  
    
    A reasonable number are on display, and a so-so selection.

    I didn't check them all, but a couple that I looked at didn't have
    any obvious signs of "cut-outs".
    
    - roger

    MO bin I saw in Strawberries Auburn, MA location had about 20 copies
    of Guys & Dolls at $5.99 each.  
    
    Arista Records has come out with something they call 'The Affordables -
    Low Priced Compact Disk Series'.  I picked up one of them for $10.99 at
    Strawberries last night.  I think other companies are coming out with
    some as well.  Below is a list of Arista's offerings in this series.
    
    Air Supply 'The One That You Love'
    The Fifth Dimension 'Greatest Hits on Earth'
    Dixie Dregs 'Dregs of the Earth'
    Aretha Franklin 'Jump to It', 'Love All the Hurt Away'
    Kenny G 'G Force'
    GTR 'GTR'
    The Kinks 'Low Budget'
    Krokus 'Headhunter'
    Barry Manilow 'Greatest Hits Vol. II'
    Melissa Manchester 'Greatest Hits'
    Ministry 'With Sympathy'
    The Monkees 'The Monkees', 'More of the Monkees'
    The Alan Parsons Project 'Eve', 'Eye in the Sky', 'Pyramid', 'The
      Turn of a Friendly Card'
    Al Stewart 'Past, Present, and Future'
    Jermaine Stewart 'The Word is Out'
    'Taxi Driver' - original soundtrack
    Dionne Warwick 'Heartbreaker'
    Thompson Twins 'Into the Gap'
    
     

    re:.22
    
    This has been going on for months. Most major labels (Motown, MCA,
    CBS, Chrysalis, et alia, in addition to Arista) have what they refer
    to as "mid-priced" or "budget" lines of CD's.
    
    --- jerry

re: the last

I didn't think he was trying to tell us that it was "new info" just
that the price for Guys/Dolls continues to drop and that Arista
has added a mid priced line...which I thought was new(ish) too.

I've just started seeing "cheap" Arista cds.  The list of Arista
offerings neglected to mention "Cats Under The Stars" by Jerry Garcia.
My 1st "cheapie" from them.

bob

    re:.24
    
    Continued to drop? It's been $5.99 for as long as I've ever seen
    it available.
    
    --- jerry

	Jerry,

	Ok,  I looked at Guys and Dolls when I first saw it in Strawberries
	and thought it was for more than 5.99 (like 8.99)...but I was
	wrong...you told me so, I thank you and won't make the mistake 
	again.

	I thought in this persons original note they added some "new"
	info...only to be told that it was not new and had been that way
	for quite awhile.  So Jerry, could you please tell me how long 
	Arista's mid-price line has been available.
	
	I myself thought they were new or close to new as I saw them
	for the first time about two weeks ago.
		

    Actually, my commment about the Guys & Dolls disk was my way of saying
    that I haven't seen much of a selection in the CD cut out bin.
    
    I *thought* the list of Arista low priced material would be of interest
    to some people.  *Excuse me* if I duplicated someone else's efforts. I
    haven't been CD shopping for a couple of months and this was the first
    I'd seen of it.  I haven't seen any other such listings in this
    conference.  I'll try not to be so helpful next time. 

    I didn't mean to be condescending. If you took it that way, I
    apologize.
    
    It seems to me that there's been enough discussion or mention of
    "budget priced" CD's in this file, that it seemed to be an example
    of the all-too-common occurance of someone jumping in with some
    information without checking to see if its been mentioned before.
    
    --- jerry

    Well, I've seen advertisements this week that the Warner Brothers
    empire has finally added a discount line - I've been waiting for this! 
    Tower and The Coop are both advertising the CD's for $9.99.  Looks like
    I'll be spending some money this weekend.

    The local CD store here in Baton Rouge regularly has sales on CDs,
    $3.00 off $14.95 and up, $2.00 off all CDs under that price. So Beatles
    and other such CDs are available for $11.95. Not a bad price, and the
    sales are frequent enough and the selection good enough that I hardly
    ever pay full price for a CD. 
    
    This week they topped even that: all the MCA budget line is available
    for 7.99 and the Capitol budget line is 6.99.