Every CD player, no matter who makes it, will be prone to problems. The advice on Philips being worse than Sony is not thought out. Most every high end player from every manufacturer uses the Philips. My guess is 80% of the "hot" high end players made use Philips.
So with that, you will hear more problems. I sell all of them, and every CD player can (and does) break. That's it.
If there was a drive that was immune to service...when it is a minor part cost-wise in the big picture of a $5000 CD player, don't you think companies like Krell, Meridian, Naim, BAT, Cary, and everyone else would just use it? Silly.
It would be like saying "Four wheel cars are not good. They break" Well...most all cars have four wheels, so that's what you will hear about.
Sony makes a fine mechanism. So does Philips. I have sold tons of Sony machines since the invention of the Compact Disc, including Sony, Sony ES, Musical Fidelity, and Rega. All of them have broken. Is this a bad design? No. It's a CD player. The fact that they work at all is amazing to me at times. Especially with the CD's I pop into them.
The only stinker in my opinion is JVC as a drive (at least in previous years). But I don't care for them as a company, and hope there is a special place for them in Audio Hell.
Now...has any of these companies made a stinker? Yes! But that is no different than any other business.
So buy a player with a warranty!
