CD has become the audio format of choice, and today's CD players offer crisp, clear sound as well as a wide range of programmability, anti-skip technologies, and other advanced features. Find out what to look for in a CD player, whether it's a basic portable model or a high-end HDCD-compatible 200-CD changer.

Compact-disc technology has come a long way. Touted in its early-'80s infancy as offering "perfect sound forever," the format drew fire from casual listeners and audiophiles alike for its "cold" or "lifeless" sound. By the mid-'90s, however, improvements in digital mastering (such as perceptual coding) and CD playback technologies (better digital-to-analog converters, or DACs, higher over-sampling, reduced "jitter") had raised the standards for CD quality so that CDs could reproduce most of the information found on high-resolution analog and digital masters. The late '90s witnessed a surge in the popularity of HDCD (High-Definition Compatible Digital), a mastering format that encodes 20 bits of information on standard 16-bit discs. HDCD discs sound great on any CD player and even better--at once more natural and more dynamic--when decoded using an HDCD-equipped CD or DVD player.

Sound quality aside, the convenience of CD over other formats is undeniable. CDs are much more portable than the 12-inch LP record and offer far easier track-search capability than the cassette tape. Modern technological improvements include features such as CD-Text, which tells CD-Text-enabled CD players the artist and track information for a given disc, and anti-skip technology for portable players that let you take your music jogging and driving without unwanted interruptions in the music. This guide will help you decipher the characteristics of different kinds of CD players and aid you in choosing the right one for your needs.

Portable CD players are also a great way to bring your songs wherever you go. When it comes to making a decision on which one is best you need take several things into consideration. First, what kind of batteries does it take? While standard batteries can be purchased cheaply, rechargeable are best to have reused over and over. Next would be to see what kind of outputs are on the unit. You’re going to have a headphone jack, but having a separate line-level output as well. This allows you to easily plug into any component (i.e. a car) system for listening in different environments.

CD vs. DVD Players
One important question any CD listener must face in this day and age is whether to buy another CD player or simply invest in a DVD (digital versatile disc) player that will play CDs and DVDs. While the current crop of DVD video players does a fine job playing CDs, most of them do not play recordable CD-Rs or CD-RWs. Most DVD video players are also designed as stereo components, not portables, so you might find a portable CD player will still come in handy for the car or backpack.

There's one more consideration before buying a CD player. Two new disc-based audio formats are about to be introduced: SACD (Super Audio Compact Disc) and DVD-Audio. SACD will offer high-resolution two-channel playback; DVD-Audio, while also capable of high-resolution two-channel playback, will focus mainly on high-resolution surround-sound. Each of these formats will require new hardware and new software, none of which will fall into the realm of "affordable" any time soon--but keep an eye on these formats as they emerge.

Anti-skip protection
Portables with anti-skip protection usually provide between 10 to 40 seconds of buffer memory. The more memory the player has to guard against bumps, the more ruggedly you can use your player.

AM/FM radio
Many players offer this these days.

Programmability
Most players will let you program anywhere from 20 to 32 tracks

Random play
This feature lets you randomly cycle through the disc until all the songs have been played.

Repeat play
Some players let you play one track or all tracks repeatedly. A-B repeat lets you cycle a segment you've defined.

Intro scan
This feature lets you play consecutive snippets, usually 10 seconds, of each of the tracks on a disc.

Peak scan
With this feature, the player will search for the loudest part of a track or disc to help achieve optimum quality when taping.

Single-disc home players
There aren't too many single-disc players coming out these days, largely due to the fact that DVD players also play CDs--but in many cases a stand-alone CD player can still give you the best CD sound quality for your dollar. Single-disc players share many features of multi-disc players; look for a remote control, multi-track programmability, random play, a headphone jack, and some form of digital output.

Multi-disc player features
Multi-disc players offer the convenience of loading and playing multiple discs, freeing you from getting up to change discs every time one ends. If you have a huge collection (200-plus discs) but want multi-disc playback features like shuffle-play (randomized play across all discs), you might want to consider a five- or six-disc carousel or cartridge player, which would grant you playback flexibility without completely disrupting whatever filing system you've devised for your library.

For smaller collections, a 25-disc or 200-disc CD changer and player might permit you to store your entire collection inside the CD player, simplifying your storage needs. If you buy a changer large enough for your whole music collection, you'll be able to set it for continuous random play for a personalized-radio-station effect. Here are some features to look for in multi-disc players:

Remote control
Remote controls are a necessity with any CD player, but especially those that hold more than one disc. A good remote will let you program multiple discs.

Random play
This feature lets you randomly cycle through the disc until all the songs have been played.

Repeat play
Some players let you play one track or all tracks repeatedly. A-B repeat lets you cycle a segment you've defined.

Intro scan
This feature lets you play consecutive snippets, usually 10 seconds, of each of the tracks on a disc.

Peak scan
With this feature, the player will search for the loudest part of a track or disc to help achieve optimum quality when taping.

Headphone jack
Being able to use headphones is important if you have roommates or want to keep the sound low for other reasons. Headphone jacks with a volume control are the most convenient.

Custom file
This feature allows you to organize and play your music by whatever groupings you choose.

Keyboard data entry
This feature lets you plug a PC keyboard into a multi-disc changer in order to store information about each disc or group of discs.

Play exchange
This handy feature lets you change other discs without interrupting the playback of the one you're listening to.

Digital output
Look for either coaxial or optical digital output. This feature lets you use an outboard digital-to-analog converter to handle the conversion duties, either for convenience (as when using a home-theater surround processor) or for better sound (depending on the quality of the converter supplied with your CD player). You can also use a digital output to feed a digital recorder like MiniDisc or recordable CD.

These "extras" usually add up to longer-lasting and better-sounding CD players, and for these you'll be looking at players in the $200-600 region (and up). It's true that $600 is more than you'll pay for many DVD players, but if you're serious about sound quality, you'll generally find that your CDs sound better on a higher-end dedicated CD player.

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