Guess it depends on the sound you are after. Other vintage players I have, Akai CD-A7 (circa 1986/87) which I have been using an awful lot lately, sounds very clean. Sanyo CDP-300 circa 1984, actually my oldest, thing weighs about 30lbs, but the transport sinks when it warms up (and it gets very warm) then it won't track CDs, but while it works it sounds OK at best, if it was better I would have fixed it already. Emerson CD-150A circa 1986 the Yamaha built thing I picked up this past week sounds quite nice, hooked it up to my Sansui 990DB, seems to be a good match, a bit warmer than the Akai but it could also be those old HK speakers I use which tend to have a warm sound to them. Also have the Soundesign CD5050BK or something to that effect circa 1987 which was a rebranded Toshiba, has a very unusual transport setup, sounds closest to something of a modern vintage, aside from saying Soundesign and looking cheesy it performs very nicely. Got the Pioneer PD-T303 twin tray circa the early 1990s, an excellent unit, sounds great, never given me trouble and I have had this thing since new. Got a Nikko, forget the model # from the mid 80s in terrible shape that I use as a test player when working on equipment, sounds good too, perhaps a tad softer and less crisp, if it was not in such lousy cosmetic shape I would use it in a system somewhere. Got a Magnavox of unknown model w/ a swing arm pickup, sounds very warm, reads even the worst CDs known to man, you could sand the CD with sandpaper and it probably would read it without a hitch. Got the Technics SL-P1 circa 1984, theoretically it should be close to the MCS Series A 6801 but it appears to be a step down the line and does not quite match it in features or performance. Of all the MCS takes the cake, it sounds fantastic, is built like a tank, reads anything and has an interface for programming and track acess that leaves me wondering why others did not use such a setup, it is so logical, it looks the best too. Luckily this thing appears as though it was never actually used, it looks like new (did not even have a speck of dust inside when I got it), reads like new so hopefully it will serve me for a good while. Of all those the MCS 6801, Akai CD-A7 and Pioneer are the three I like best and use most often, not just for sound quality but they have to have a useable setup. I guess you don't realize how much of an advantage a good interface is until you have used it next to something with a terrible interface. Try programming the Pioneer as opposed to the MCS and you would see what I mean. I have the Akai, Technics and Sanyo all hooked up Fisher RS-1060 system #2 as opposed to using a CD changer, though about 90% of the time I use the Akai. Vintage CD players are not always best but if you can get them as frequently as you can around here it might be worth a try. I even know the whereabouts of two identical made in Belgium Magnavox units that I might pick up for a trial run when the price gets to be a tad better, $15 is just too much $ for a cheapskate like me. Actually of all the above, aside from the Pioneer which I bought new, the MCS was the most expensive at $9.
