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+++
title = "Audio gear: my new old CD player"
author = ["Michał Sapka"]
date = 2024-05-18T20:13:00+02:00
categories = ["blog"]
draft = false
weight = 2001
abstract = "I've added archive of User Friendly comic to the site."
+++
I've been [tooting](https://emacs.ch/@mms) my recent CD purchase journey.
I love music and I want to listen to it on my own terms.
The superiority of CDs is a subject for a different occasion, but know that I consider it a fact.
I've bought the CD, ripped it to flac and listened to it from computer[^fn:1].
But, I thought, why not listen to the disc in its natural habitant?
And so my journey has a side quest: an old-school stereo system.
I decided to go with the inventors of CDs, Sony.
Luckily, since all the kids out there use their phones, used gear became very affordable.
And therefore I became a proud owner of a Sony CDP-987.
I'm old enough to had been an owner of a stereo system, but those were _mini_ systems.
This is 40 cm wide monster.
The first time I opened the box I almost cursed at this cow.
It looks comical, as I have connected my Ruard MR-1 **desk** speakers.
But hey, they play nice for their size and allow for toslink input.
This allows me to delay purchase of an amp.
CDP-897 is a unit from 1992.
It's 32 years old, and it works flawlessly.
All buttons work, CD reading is spot on, audio it generates through all outputs is clear.
It even came with a full service manual, which till this can day can be easily found on the web.
Nowadays not many things exist after 5 years of purchase, and here I am.
Just another happy owner in the 30-year history of this player.
I got what wanted, but two things shocked me.
Real buttons.
I know that I dislike touch screens, but I never knew how much.
Having a real button alone is worth the price of admission (here, about 100USD).
I love touching them, my 5yo son loves pressing them and my wife can finally turn it off without fighting with a phone.
We lost so much.
The second thing is the speed.
This is a Speedy Gonazalez.
I can open a CD box, turn it on, insert the disk and start playing faster than I would be able to use _Spotify_.
This is a single purpose device and it excels.
{{< img-c "audio-may-2024.jpg" >}}
Huge player, tiny speakers, pretentious selection of music.
{{< /img-c >}}
[^fn:1]: Recently released [listen.el](https://elpa.gnu.org/packages/doc/listen/listen.html) made it much nicer.
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