bit_user usertests said: Put a DVD or Blu-ray reader in them. For hi-fi players, I'm sure it's important the drive is inaudible, except when seeking and spinning up/down. Also, some of the hi-fi players advertise special pickup mechanisms for minimizing the effect of scratches or dirt. I have an old CEC transport from the late 1990's that has a "3-beam pickup", for this reason. Unfortunately, it's belt-driven and the belt dried out. This issue didn't even occur to me, when I bought it. I never bothered to fix it, because now I just play CDs I ripped on my PC. That said, many ripping programs don't properly handle stuff like the pre-emphasis flag and track lead-in. Some CDs have entire songs hidden in the lead-in of the first track! Reply
alexanderdavis The long-term sourcing point is the real problem, not whether mechanisms exist today. A manufacturer can buy a tray loader now and still be stuck in five years when that exact model is discontinued, which is what makes these players hard to keep serviceable. On the belt-driven transport, that's a good caution: consumables like belts and gears age whether or not the pickup is fine. Ripping does sidestep most of this, though the pre-emphasis and lead-in issues you mention are a reminder that a working drive still matters for accurate archiving. Reply
John musbach Admin said: The lack of optical drive manufacturers is raising questions about the repairability and longevity of new CD players that are coming out on the market today. New CD players keep launching, but a drive shortage could make them unfixable : Read more Is this clickbait? I see lots of optical drives still available, eg https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?d=Sata+Dvd+drive Reply
bit_user John musbach said: Is this clickbait? I see lots of optical drives still available, eg https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?d=Sata+Dvd+drive The article deals with hi-fi drive mechanisms. However, if you're using someplace like Newegg as an indication of supply chain health, then I'd recommend filtering on sold by Newegg and Condition: New , to eliminate refurbs and sellers unloading random stashes of inventory found here or there. When I do that with your query, I get two regular drives, one of which is selling for $256 which is way more than it would've cost new. But, you also specified "DVD". Try instead searching for blu-ray burners and you'll find no new ones currently being sold by Newegg. Reply
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/peripherals/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/peripherals/new-cd-players-keep-launching-but-a-drive-shortage-could-make-them-unfixable-almost-nobody-makes-the-drives-anymore#main
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