Who still listens to their First Generation Cd Players?

Can't remember the model numbers. The first player was a Sylvania, the next, a Magnavox. Not the one everybody was doing the Frankenstein mods on though. In the Mid 90's, I had a Marantz CD-63 SE. Absolutely loved that player at the time. I think it sold for $500.

I listened in 1983 to the first CD player imported for sale here in the USA: a Hitachi vertical-loader. I was far from impressed! It was at a dealer's store in CT. In fact, I waited until 1992 before buying my first player - a Technics Bitstream. The first few generations never sounded good to me!

I find the tone from a rotel and many other retro cda's is pure.
A lot of the new type cd/dvd...sound clinical and synthetic to me, usually far to much treble.
Barring the new really expensive units like Arcam, Cambridge, HK and such.
So for me i will stick with the older ones, especially the units using the Philips CDM 9/65'S and such.
44CT357 Cape Town SA.

I find that certain early CDs released in the early and mid 80s that were reported to sound harsh and strident (presumably because the process was so young) actually sound very good, and not harsh and strident. They sounded harsh and strident to some people for a number of reasons including, but not limited to, (1) the CDs were not treated, (2) the CD players were not treated, e.g. isolated, and (3) the improvement over the years of playback systems and room acoustics generally. Exhibit A - the first CD issue of Solti’s The Ring in 1984.