Conference cookie::notes$archive:cd_v1

        MANUFACTURER OF PLAYER: Magnavox
	MODEL NUMBER:  1041
        DATE OF PURCHASE: 7/86
        DATE OF FIRST INSTANCE OF TROUBLE/REPAIR: 8/86
        COST OF REPAIR: none
        ANY SUBSEQUENT/REOCCURING TROUBLE AFTER REPAIR: none
        COMMENTS or DETAIL OF PROBLEM:

        The player began mis-tracking on nearly every CD.  It was
        still under warranty.  An "authorized" repair place is
        within a couple miles of our facility, so I took it there.
        Apparently it was a known problem; they simply swapped
        the entire laser assembly (or something like that).
        
Jim Stratton
        
        

    Manufacturer : Yamaha
    Model	 : CDX-1
    Purchased	 : 12/84
    First Repair : 3/86
    Cost	 : none
    Further probs: none
    Comments	 :
    
    The display for the player had a fault where it would go very dim,
    and if a lot of LED segments were lit simultaneously (e.g. '8:00'),
    it would go too dim to read.  The sound wasn't affected.  I took
    it back to where I'd bought it (Technosound, Luton, England), and
    they repaired it in a week under guarantee.  I've had no other problems
    at all, despite using it a *lot* and I'm very pleased.
    
    nick

    MANUF.          Toshiba
    MODEL #         P9-portable with remote.
    DATE O. P.      Approx. 1 year ago.
    FIRST PROB.     About two months after purchase.
    COST	    None - under warranty
    REACURRANCE	    The day I got it back.
    COMMENTS	    This unit was lousy. It has a removable power supply
    		    for use in the home off of A.C. power. BUT the two
    		    (unit and power supply) are connected togather
                    electrically by means of four slide connectors which
    	 	    contact each other when the two units connect. The
    		    Problem I thought I first had was that the connector
    		    was not contacting properly (the pins get a little
      		    bent after repeted switching from the portable power
    		    supply to the a.c. one. I took it back to Leiser
    		    and they sent it off to repair for TWO MONTHS! I
    		    got the unit back and after listing for about two
    		    hours ZAP! nothing more to be said; I took it back
    		    and demanded another type of unit. I ended up with
    		    a Denon DCD700 fixed unit and am very pleased.

    Manufacturer:	Technics
    Model #:		SL XP7
    Date of Purchase:	Jan 1987
    First problem:	Difficult with pause/play button about 10 mos.
			after purchase.
    Cost:		None. Made the deadline by 2 days.
    Reoccurance:	Arrived d.o.a. from factory service. Still awaiting
			2nd pass.
    Comments:		Had been a reliable, shock-resistant unit. None
    			of the ``authorized'' service centers would
    			touch it; the unit had to be sent for factory
    			service. Turn-around on Pass1 was fantastic:
    			within days.

    
    Manufacturer Of Player: Denon
    Model Number:           DCD-1800R
    Date of purchase:       1/1/86
    Date of first instance of trouble/repair: 11/1/86
    Cost of repair:  none
    Any subsequent/reoccuring trouble after repair: ? Sold it.
    Comments or detail of problem: 
       No 'Disk Set' (on loading) or bad tracking on certain disks.
  Along with some sick sounding noises.  Denon said they couldn't find 
  the problem. Sent me a different player (1800R) about 2 months later 
  which worked fine.    
    

    Manufacturer:	Pioneer
    Model #:		PD-M6
    Date of Purchase:	12/86
    Date of repair:     12/87
    First problem:	CD went in, did not come out.
    Cost:		None. (2 yr warranty std)
    Reoccurence:	Still waiting for return (5 weeks).
    Comments:		This is a multi-play which uses a 6-disc magazine.
                        Started acting flakey, CDs not being played
    when inserted.  Then, it played a CD, and when I took out the mag,
    the CD was still in the machine.  The platter is about 7 inches
    inside the opening to make room for the magazine, and I couldn't
    reach the Cd to get it out.  Very frustrating.
    
    -Brian
    
    

        MANUFACTURER OF PLAYER: Technics
	MODEL NUMBER: SLP300
        DATE OF PURCHASE: 3/86
        DATE OF FIRST INSTANCE OF TROUBLE/REPAIR: none
        COST OF REPAIR: none
        ANY SUBSEQUENT/REOCCURING TROUBLE AFTER REPAIR: none
        COMMENTS or DETAIL OF PROBLEM:


 This player has been fantastic. I have had no "problems". I have had
an occaisional occurence of skipping that was cured by either a cleaning
of the lens or disc. I have absolutely no complaints. The best part of 
it all is that I only paid $179.95, (and got three free discs!). 

Russ
        
    

    manufacturer of player: Sony
    model number: CDP30
    date of purchase: 6/85
    date of first instance of trouble/repair: N/A
    cost of repair: N/A
    any subsequent/reoccuring trouble after repair: N/A
    comments or detail of problem:

No problems with it.  It's built like a rock.

MFGR:  Magnavox
MODEL: 1051
Date of Purchase:  Jun 1986
Date of 1st problem:  Jun 1986

I bought the durn thing and it worked perfectly for a day, and thereafter
wouldn't play anything.  I brought it back and it was replaced.  The 2d one
also lasted about a day.  I brought it back again, and again.  After the 4th
one, I brought it back to a different store (Service Merchandise) just in
case they had dropped the entire crateful.  Same story!  Finally after the
6th one died (No, they wouldn't give me my money back - blast it), I got one
which has been working for a year and a half with no problems.

The above units were all done for my sister as a gift (made me look good - huh?)
my own personal unit is a Fisher unit I bought off the repair shelf at
Lechmere for $99 - it's been used a lot and never any problems.

Dirk

    
    
    Manufacturer: MAGNAVOX
    Model #:      1041
    D/O/P:        9/86
    D/O/trouble/repair: N/A
    Subsequent problems: Glue on left hand of drawer lid causes
    			 intermittent inability of drawer not to
    			 open each time. A tap on the left of the
    			 lid causes the problem to go away.
    Comments or detail:  This situation isn't bothersome, doesn't
    			 affect play and didn't seem worth the
    			 trouble to get fixed. Simple mechanical
    			 problem.
    
    Other than that little item, I've had no problems with mis-tracking.
    I'm completely happy with the unit and would by a Maggie again,
    especially if the price is the same as the 1041 ($156.00).
    
    				The Cruiser
    
    

    
    Manufacturer:	SONY		SONY
    Model #:		CDP-501ES	CDP-557ESD
    Date of Purchase:	12/83		11/87
    Date of repair:     ***		***
    Comments:		Each of them works fine.
    
    Morita

    
    The unit was just shipped back to me this morning. It works
    beautifully. Took six days from the time I shipped it out until
    I could listen to Dan Hicks. I'm quite impressed with Matsushita's
    service setup.

    MANUF.          Technics
    MODEL #         SL-P100
    DATE O. P.      Approx. 2 years ago.
    FIRST PROB.     Right out of the box
    COST	    None 
    REACURRANCE	    None
    COMMENTS	    While listening to my first CD, the player "skipped"
                    numerous times while tracking the cd.  In ejecting the
                    cd, I noticed little bits of styrofoam which had adhered
                    to the disc and player with static cling.  A good blow off
                    from a can of air did the trick.  I've had no problems
                    since, other then the door gets stuck while playing a
                    couple of the Beatles cd's I have (no others).  I figure
                    it's in the discs.

    Manufacturer:	Sony			Sony
    Model		D-5			CDP-510
    Date of purchase	June 1985		February 1987
    First problem	None			None
    Cost		Zero			Zero
    Reoccurrence	N/A			N/A
    Comments		Has been dropped,	Plays discs that a Denon
    			frozen, knocked,	refuses to look at.  I
    			kicked - all without	love it!
    			complaint or problems

    Manufacturer:	Sony			Sony
    Model		D-7S			CDP-101
    Date of purchase	April 1986		November 1983
    First problem	None			None
    Cost		Zero			Zero
    Reoccurrence	N/A			N/A
    Comments		Heavily used on		Built like brick outhouse.
    			business trips &	Skips when cold but
    			at work. On second	since I leave it on
    			lead/acid battery &	24 hrs a day I have
    			will need a 3rd soon.	had no problems.
    

    
    
    MFG:       Denon
    Model:     DCD500
    DOP:       Oct. 1986
    1st Prob.: June 1987
    Reacc.:    Sporadic
    Cost:      See Below
    
    Comments:  Occasionally a disk will be loaded
    and not be read. The time number remains
    zeroed as does the cut number. A re-load has 
    always fixed it and it does not seem to be 
    disk dependant. I have not bothered to get it
    repaired (assuming it really is a problem).
    Has only skipped while the three year old
    child is riding a spring-driven horse nearby
    or the one year old pounds on the front panel.
    Other than the sporadic mis-load, I like it
    a lot.

    
    Tb

    
    Manufacturer: 	SONY
    Model:  		D-10
    Date of Purchase:	Nov. 1987
    1st Problem:	Jan. 1988
    	I noticed for the first three months or so that the battery
    	wouldn't run for the full 4 hours...It didn't bother me too
    	much till Jan. 1988, when the battery wouldn't last for more
    	than 1 hour....
    Solution:		Returned to Tweeter, and obtained a whole new
    	unit...
    
    
    			

    Manufacturer:	SONY
    Model:		D-100(alias D-10)
    Date of Purchase:	April 1987
    1st Problem:	August 1987
			Battery would only hold a charge for 1 hour (same
			as for  (.18))
	Solution:	Since unit was purchased in Australia, England
			refused to honour the warranty so was forced buy a
			new battery.

    2nd Problem:	January 1988
			Battery will only hold a charge for 1 hour (same
			as for  (.18))
	Solution:	Since I'm now in Germany (you guessed it) they
			refuse to honour the warranty on the English
			battery. Haven't been back to England and you can't
			buy new batteries here, but wait till I go back!

	Real Solution:	Never use the battery pack!

    Barry Smith
    Maybe I'm doing something wrong

    Manufacturer:       Luxman
    Model:              DX-103
    Date of Purchase:   Dec 1984
    No Problems to date. 
    

    Manufacturer:	Sony			Magnavox
    Model		D-5			1041
    Date of purchase	May 1985		May 1986
    First problem	February 1987		None
    Cost		N/A			N/A
    Reoccurrence	See note		N/A
    Comments		On ONE disc,		Has no problems with
			plays to a		the same disc.
			certain point
			and then starts
			over at the beginning
			of track 1. This unit
			has only been used at
			home.

    
    
    MFG:	BANG & OLUFSEN
    PURCHASED:	JULY 1986
    
    	I rarely see any mention of B&O gear. I come home from work
    	at night, turn it on and listen to beautiful music..
    
    	Don't really know much about the the thing other than the fact
    	that I have had NO PROBLEMS..
    
    	Any other B&O owners out there?????
    
    					GENRAL::GRANT

    Manufacturer:	Sony	
    Model		D-10	
    Date of purchase	Nov 1987
    First problem	Feb 1988
    Cost		N/A
    Reoccurrence	
    Comments		One day I put a disc in and put the player in my
    			gym bag, get to the car and the player is open.
    			It was stuck open because the small plastic latch
    			mechanism was jambed.  In my attempts to fix it
    			I mangled the platsic piece.  I'm sending it off
    			to Sony today.

     
    Manufacturer:	Technics
    Model #:		sl-320
    Date of purchase:	Sep. 1987
    First problem:	Feb. 14, 1988
    Cost:		Unknown (It's still in the shop)
    Reoccurance:	Will see.
    Comments:		The unit was reliable even on a scratched disc.
    			Then it began to skip at random intervals and
    			almost never at the same place on the disc.

    Manufacturer:	Technics
    Model:		SL-P8
    Date of purch:	Approx 3 1/2 years ago...
    Orig cost:		Just shy of $500.
    My cost:		$100.  (bought second hand from noter...name
    				shall remain unknown!)
    First problem:	Was warned of infrequent non-initialize upon
    			entry of disk.  Several tries should cure it.
    Cost:		Zero - Tweeter etc. refused to repair it.
    
    Comments:		The unit needs a new laser pickup assembly.
    			Is beyond economical repair, and returned to
    			me unrepaired.  They mentioned that to replace
    			the pickup assembly would cost enough to cover
    			the cost of a completly new CD-player.  I should
    			get money back.
    
    OH WELL!
    
    Jeremy

    Manufacturer:		Technics
    Model:			SLXP7 (portable)
    Date of Purchase:		1/86
    Orig Cost			$150
    Problem:			stuck on tracks, miss played.
    Cost of Repair:		$89. plus shipping
    Results:			Inspected unit, motor drive gear was
    				worn.  Bought new unit (not technics)
    

    Manufacturer:	Magnavox	Magnavox
    Model:		2041		1051
    Purchased:		MAR-86		NOV-86
    Problems:		None		None
    
    Comment:	Both units are excellent.  Have been used extensively.
    No problems.
    

    
    Manufacturer:	Sony
    Model:		D-10
    Purchased:		Nov. 1987
    First Problem:	Jan. 1988
    Second Problem:	Feb. 1988
    
    I replied earlier with battery problems, so the D-10 was replaced
    by Tweeter.  Well just a couple of days ago, the new D-10 started
    having more problems.  The CD spins at ludicrous speed.  Well Tweeter
    is going to replace it again.

                           -< D-10 closing problem >-


    Manufacturer:	Sony	
    Model		D-10	
    Date of purchase	Nov 1987
    First problem	Feb 1988
    Cost		N/A
    Reoccurrence	
    Comments		One day I put a disc in and put the player in my
    			gym bag, get to the car and the player is open.
    			It was stuck open because the small plastic latch
    			mechanism was jambed.  In my attempts to fix it
    			I mangled the platsic piece.  I'm sending it off
    			to Sony today.

    Great Service	Sent out unit on Feb 17, it is being shipped UPS
    			back to me today.  No charge.

    
    Manufacturer:	Sony	
    Model		CDP-605ESD          
    Date of purchase	Jan 1988
    First problem	It will outlive me...
    Cost		$1000
    Reoccurrence	N/A
    Comments		What can I say, SONY just makes quality CD units.
    			Of course, I can't speak for the protables,
    			but the base units, especially the ESD series,
    			are awesome.

                                    
    Manufacturer:	Technics
    Model		SLP2	
    Date of purchase	Jul 1985
    First problem	Nov 1987
    Cost		$250
    Reoccurrence	sold it...
    Comments		It worked fine for several years and then I
    			started to hear grinding sound in it when loading
    			disks and startup.  I had it cleaned and checked
    			and it worked OK, but I sold it to upgrade...
    
    
    Jim
    
                     

    Manufacturer:	Onkyo
    Model		dx-320              
    Date of purchase	Jan 1987
    First problem	Noise when playing CDs - sounded like bacon frying
    Cost		$349 
    Reoccurrence	Took it back and dumped it within 2 weeks!
    Comments		Nice unit, but the noise wasn't reproducable.  I 
    			couldn't get a good answer from Onkyo USA so
    			I opted to take it back and buy a unit I could
    			have more confidence in.

                                    
    Manufacturer:	Denon    
    Model		DCD-1500
    Date of purchase	Feb 1987
    First problem	None
    Cost		$575
    Reoccurrence	N/A         
    Comments		Have had to clean off a couple extremely dirty discs
    			that had big pieces of crud on them.  Otherwise this
    			unit played discs that the Maggie CDP-650 I tried
    			wouldn't.                                      


    Manufacturer:	Magnavox 
    Model		460        
    Date of purchase	Oct 1987
    First problem	None
    Cost		$129
    Reoccurrence	N/A         
    Comments		Bought this unit for a spare and for the office.  Works
    			fine.

    Manufacturer:	AIWA 
    Model		DX-770              
    Date of purchase	Jan 4 1987
    First problem	None
    Cost		�249 - about $425 at current exchange rate 
    Comments		Has played most everything I could throw at
    			it!

    Got the unit back today and it seems to be fixed (knock on wood).
    I was shocked when I found that they shipped the unit back with
    the lock switch in the unlocked position.  It is my understanding
    that this can cause serious damage to the optics, makes me wonder
    about the quality of their service staff.
    
    Martin H.

    MANUFACTURER OF PLAYER: Sony
    MODEL NUMBER: CDP 31
    DATE OF PURCHASE: 10/87
    DATE OF FIRST INSTANCE OF TROUBLE/REPAIR: none
    
    COMMENTS:

    This player has been fantastic. I have had no "problems" and have 
    probably played approx. 300 discs on it.  Plays used ones fine too,
    even with small scratches.

    Mark

    
    I don't know whether the newer folks have gotten the idea yet. 
    But SONY makes very reliable units.  I own one, love it.  I have
    never had a CD mistrack in it for any reason.  And I borrow many
    from the local library and even those play great.  If you want some
    really fine CD gear, check out the high end ES series.  
    
    Jim
    

    RE .35
    
    Hi Jim,
    	I could get myself to read your reply and not say anything.
    
>    But SONY makes very reliable units.  I own one, love it.  I have
>    never had a CD mistrack in it for any reason.  And I borrow many
>    from the local library and even those play great.  If you want some
>    really fine CD gear, check out the high end ES series.  

    You have never had a CD mistrack, how old is your player?  I went
    to audition a pair of speakers the other day and the person had
    a Sony 605ES.  It is less than 2 years old and he has had it in
    the shop for mistracking already.  When I was there it would not load any
    of my discs or his, so its back to the shop again.  He was ready to toss 
    it out the window and I don't blam him given how much he spent on it.  
    One player is not a good sample by any means but I also know someone 
    that owns the same player and his player has also been in shop for
    mistracking.  Yeah, I know 2 isn't a good sample either.  But hey,
    you based what you stated on your single player and we all know
    2 statistically better than 1.  I won't even go into the non ES
    series Sony I have.  If I got into how much of a piece of garbage
    it was the moderator would delete the note and ask me stay out of
    his conference.  I'll control myself and if you really want to know
    you can send me mail.

    Kenney

    Make and model: SONY D-7 (portable with flat lead-acid battery pack).
    
    Age: Approximately 1.5 years:
    	
    Failures:	Consistently cannot play any RYKODISC CD's (annoys the
    	heck out of me, I like Zappa :-( )
    	Skips or decides it can't play a given track of a disk randomly.
    	
    Repairs:  	Quotations to "take a look at it" have consistentley
    	run more than the purchase price of the critter; hence I merely
    	suffer (and use my big ol' NAD 5255, 2.5yrs old, zero failures
    	whatsoever)
    
    -Bill
    	

    Make & Model:	SONY D-3  (portable w/BP-3 battery pack)
    
    Purchased:		December, 1987
    
    Problems:		None!   
    
    Comments:		I use the D-3 mostly as my home CD Player, patched
    			into my system.  I also use it with headphones
    			in my office,  and occasionally run it through
    			my truck's stereo with the Recoton adapter.
    			The truck is a little bouncy, so I get occasional
    			skips on back roads, but it does great on the
    			highway!    

    -Monty-

    MAKE & MODEL	SHARP DX650		SHARP DX660
    PURCHASED		12-15-87		1-2-88
    PERCHASE PRICE	$116			FREE
    PROBLEMS		NONE			NONE
    COMMENTS:  Does anybody else have a Sharp CD player.  Ours work
    fine so far.  I am suprised to get through 38 replies without even
    a mention of Sharp.
    

    MAKE & MODEL	JVC XL450
    PURCHASED		7/87
    PRICE		$280
    PROBLEMS		NONE

    COMMENTS: 
         I am very happy with the performance of the JVC. It
         has never had a problem loading a disk or skipping tracks. It
         has many nice little features (e.g. adjustable output on
         headphone jacks) that make it worth a little extra $$. I was
         a little urked to see it sold through Crutchfield for $40
         less than I paid. 

         By the way, something that has been puzzling me for 39
         replies now, what does MTBF mean?

    MTBF = Mean Time Between Failures

    Manufacturer: Sony
    Model number: CDXR7
    Date of Purchase: 7/86
    Date of first trouble: 12/86
    Cost of repair: $200 (+$90 replacement unit)
    Recurring trouble: All through 1987
    Comments: I went through 4 of these (origional was stolen, 3
    replacement units one of which was repaired once), each of which broke
    in slightly different ways and one was stolen.  The problems usually
    invloved: massive skipping, loads CD but won't play it, plays CD but
    won't eject it, loads/unloads but doesn't play, crashes in the middle
    of playing (beep, beep, beep then display blanks; after crash FM/AM
    presets are gone and CD starts over from the beginning when PLAY is
    hit).  I finally had to live with the flakey Sonys until they broke
    altogether.  When the last one broke solidly, Sony offered me a new
    CDXR88 for only $90. 
    
    Manufacturer: Sony
    Model: CDXR88                      
    Date of purchase: 10/87
    Date of first trouble: 12/87
    Cost of repair: not done yet
    Recurring trouble: dropouts
    Comments: I get random clicks when playing the unit (driving over
    smooth surfaces) - I wouldn't call them skips since the music playing
    just seems to go away and them come back (as if someone muted the
    output then unmuted it). MUCH improved performance over bumps - you
    reall have to hit something HARD in order to make it skip.  No doubt
    that Sony will not be able to reproduce the problem so I'm waiting to
    see how bad it gets. 
    
    Manufacturer: Sony
    Model: D10
    Date of purchase: 8/86
    Date of first repair: 1/87
    Cost: $19
    Recurring trouble: none
    Comments: This unit failed after an airplane flight.  The repair
    was done in 2 weeks and was a broken spring.  I can find my way
    to the Sony Service Center in Westwood blindfolded.  Is more sensitive
    to scratches or dirt than any other CD player in household.
    
    Manufacturer: Alpine
    Model: 7901
    Date of purchase: 6/87
    Date of trouble: none
    Comments: worked perfectly until stolen 2/88.
    
    Manufacturer: Alpine
    Model: 7902
    Date of purchase: 2/88
    Date of trouble: none
    Comments: Tracks just about as well as the Sony CDXR88, but with
    a much better tuner section (not that I listen to the radio at all).
    I like the layout and operation of the controls much better than
    the Sony CDXR88 and since it is all in one box (CDXR7 and CDXR88
    are two boxes) it is easier to install.  I will not buy another
    Sony unit.  Alpine has sold me.
    
    Manufacturer: Technics
    Model: SLP8
    Date of purchase: 12/83
    First instance of trouble: none
    Comments: Solid as a rock, never skips even with the worst CD I
    can find, however I would think twice about another Technics since
    they seem to have a bad reputation in this file.

    
    MANUFACTURER: Technices
    MODEL: SLP-420
    DATE OF PURCHASE: Nov. 1987
    DATE OF FIRST REPAIR:  NONE 
    COST OF REPAIR: NA
    
    COMMENTS:  I haven't had a single problem with this unit.  Its 
    never skipped or acted abnormally at all.  Since I got it, its used
    about 33 hours almost every day.
    
    Daryl B.  

    Re: .42
    
    The guts of your Alpine CD player are made by Sony.
    
    				Steve

        re .43 and
        
>    never skipped or acted abnormally at all.  Since I got it, its used
>    about 33 hours almost every day.
        
        Where can I get a 33-hour day? :-)
        

    
    My hand must have slipped on the keys, I meant 3 hours a day.  But
    of course you already knew that.  :-)       
                                         
    Daryl B.

    Machine: Sony CDP21
    Purchased: Jan 88
    Problems: None
    
    	This machine has operated perfectly since the day I got it in
    early January. Plays anything in any condition.
    
    Machine: Sony CDP510
    Purchased: Mar 88
    Problems: Many
    Cost of Repair: Nothing so far
    
    	The 510 has been very touchy since I received it. Couldn't walk
    across the room without a skip. When it started to sound like it
    was chewing up disks I sent it back under warranty. Got it back
    within a week but within two days it started skipping again, then
    stopping in the middle of a song, no reset, just stopped. Started
    getting distortion following the music pattern. Sent it back again
    this month and haven't got it back yet this time. That seems to
    be the pattern at Sony repair, first time do a fast check out, don't
    find anything, send it back. Second time give it to a tech to really
    fix it.
    		Charlie
    

    re .44: Actually, according to my dealer (Beaconwood Motors in
    Watertown), the older Alpine CD players were made by Sony (so at that
    time I purchased a Sony at another dealer).  On the older Alpine units,
    all of the controls and actions were the same as my Sony CDXR7 but the
    buttons looked like Alpine buttons.  My dealer had a large number of
    problems with the Alpine-by-Sony units. 
    
    My dealer also says that the 7901 and 7902 players are manufactured by
    Alpine. The new Sonys and the new Alpine units do not have the same
    functions or controls.  For example the Sony requires quite a push to
    load the disk and the Alpine seems to almost grab the disk and pulls in
    in very fast. If you shut off the car with the Sony playing a CD, when
    you turn the car back on you will have to hit PLAY to get it to resume
    playing the CD again; I'd rather have it resume playing the CD like the
    Alpine does. Furthermore, the tuner section in both Sony models I have
    owned has been very poor, disappointing since Sony tuners are usually
    excellent. The made-by-Alpine units have an excellent tuner section,
    much better than the Sony, and what seems to be Alpine's best. 
    And my dealer has had nearly no problems with the latest generation
    Alpine units.
    
    
    
    Steve, I know you are very pro-Sony but I haven't had real good luck
    with their portable or auto CD players; and from what I have heard a
    lot of other people have had problems with them too; the home players
    are known for their relibility and quality and I wouldn't hesitate to
    consider one for my next home CD player purchase. 

    Re: .48
    
    Just upholding my reputation as "Mr. Sony"! :-)
    
    I dunno if I lead a charmed life, or what, but I never seem to
    have the problems with some Sony products as others do.
    
    But I also think that, especially in the area of portable CD players,
    that because Sony is by far the most popular brand, there are more
    players out there, and thus more likely that someone will have a
    problem.
    				Steve

    re .49: I think that ALL of the earlier portable and car units seemed
    to have reliability problems... the manufacturers seem to have learned
    and the later units (all brands) seem to be more robust.  And yes,
    maybe we hear about more Sony problems because more people have
    had the good sense to buy a Sony portable.  ;-)