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From: jeff@tesla.UUCP (Jeff Frey)
Newsgroups: net.audio
Subject: latest Japanese CD news
Message-ID: <206@tesla.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 4-Sep-83 14:02:16 EDT
Article-I.D.: tesla.206
Posted: Sun Sep  4 14:02:16 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 23-Sep-83 03:31:31 EDT
Lines: 25

Just back from Tokyo, here are my impressions of the Japanese CD scene:

1. The vertical-load player, which lets you see the spinning disc but requires
a lot of vertical clearance, is on the way out.  I saw the LO-D (Hitachi)
player being sold out for Y100,000 (about $410) and no new models are being
introduced in this configuration.  Low-height models are advertised now as
"standard-size" (su-tan-da-do sa-e-zu).

2. National/Panasonic recently introduced a player at Y110K and Yamaha has
just introduced one at Y100K.  The Yamaha is a sliding-drawer model that
looks like the Sony CDP-101 but has the limited track selection capability
of the Philips/Magnavox. Y100K means a discount price of about $330.
The end of the Linn Sondek is getting closer.

3. None of the new players is accompanied by any claims for performance
improvement; it`s only price, features, or size that is differentiating
them.  

4. The CD software list available in Japan seems to be mostly DG, European
imports.  CBS/Sony hasn`t released much new.  Denon`s, Telarc`s, RCA,
and EMI (Angel) are now available.  I picked up a Denon of the Tchaikovsky
5th Symph. (Phila. Orch., Ormandy) which sounds very non-resonant and odd.
I`ll have to try this one again when I`ve got more time.

JF