CD changer
A CD changer is:
- on the one hand, a CD player with a mechanical device that enables multiple audio CDs to be played in succession without the user having to change them manually. CD changers can be found in the home as well as for store and restaurant sound systems and in motor vehicles .
- Furthermore, a CD-ROM drive with a mechanical device that enables multiple CD-ROMs to be played in succession without the user having to change them manually. They only existed in the 1990s and are no longer used today.
The devices are equipped with a magazine into which the user can sort his CD collection (without covers). Most CD changers have a device that ignores empty CD slots. So it is not absolutely necessary to use the full capacity, which can range from 50 to 400 CDs. Newer devices allow the playback of several CD and DVD formats. In addition to home use, the devices are also used in shops, restaurants and bars. In this respect, CD changers can be seen as successors to the classic jukebox . However, due to the great success of music storage and playback in MP3 format, they are losing importance in both private and professional areas.
Audio CD changer
Variations
In the simplest and earliest variant of the CD changer, the so-called magazine consists of a turntable that is roughly the size of a long-playing record . There are three or five recesses in it, into which the CDs are inserted. The transport to the playback drive is motor- controlled.
Another variation is the magazine design, in which five to ten CDs are placed one on top of the other in a magazine made of plastic, which is then fed as a whole into the actual CD player. This construction is typical for car radios with a separate CD changer.
The so-called carousel models for home use can hold between 50 and 400 CDs. The CDs are placed vertically in a round magazine and motorized to the vertically installed player (see photo). The advantage of this system lies in the fast access times, because the magazine can rotate faster or slower if necessary.
With another changer variant, the CDs are also placed vertically, but in a row. The CD drive moves mechanically to the respective CD, so that the CD magazine does not experience any mechanical stress as with the carousel magazine. This is considered to be even gentler on the medium, but the access times are longer.
Launched by the NSM in the jukebox offered and available for home use system stores the CD lying in their own caddy . As a result, the protection of the CD is particularly high and the access times are between 1.5 and 7.5 seconds.
organization
Archiving a large number of CDs requires a lot of support from the device, but also requires a certain organizational talent and appropriate care from the user. The one-time setup of a CD changer is very time-consuming, depending on its capacity. The device should have the technical equipment to be able to designate CDs by name. This makes it easy to find them later. Some devices even allow you to name each individual title. They can be connected to a standard PC keyboard to support this device . The subdivision of the entire capacity into different styles allows the targeted playback of CDs that have been assigned to them. This prevents, for example, a Mozart aria from playing during a birthday party. If a CD changer does not have the aforementioned devices, a list may have to be made by hand in order to be able to find the inserted CDs at all.
Extended functions compared to regular CD players
Normal playing of a CD is also possible with the CD changer as usual. However, in order to have an advantage over regular devices, CD changers are usually equipped with very convenient additional functions. The playback of the entire store, or only CDs assigned to a particular style, the random playback of individual titles from the entire store, the creation of complex programs consisting of different titles from several CDs, the permanent filtering out of less appealing titles from a CD and the option to select a Being able to play several CDs without interruption is one of the most useful features of a CD changer.
advantages
In addition to the additional functions already mentioned, which most devices provide, the careful handling of the medium is one of the greatest advantages because the CDs are stored in the recommended vertical position, protected from dust and light. Most CD damage is caused by improper handling when it is inserted into the player. Such damage can be reliably avoided by using a CD changer. This increases the value of a CD collection accordingly.
disadvantage
CD changers are quite expensive devices. This can already include cleaning the lens , which in the case of an ordinary device can often be carried out by the user himself. The effort involved in archiving and setting up the CD changer is high. Playing back individual CDs, for example borrowed CDs, is cumbersome when the magazine is full unless a separate feeder for individual CDs is part of the equipment.
CD-ROM changer
CD-ROM changers existed in the early 1990s as an internal or external solution, addressed via the IDE or SCSI interface. The SCSI interface offered the possibility of addressing each individual CD directly via the LUN . With IDE drives, this was done exclusively using the selection buttons on the device and special device drivers . Internal changers were offered as 5.25 ″ drives and offered space for up to six CDs; External devices and especially special jukeboxes also held several hundred CDs. Some of these also had several CD drives and CD burners .
With the availability of hard drives with capacities of several gigabytes, these systems became redundant. They were partly replaced by changer systems for DVDs and later by those for Blu-ray Discs .
| Manufacturer | designation | connection | Type | Number of CDs |
CD recording |
Reading speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pioneer | DRM-600A | SCSI | external | 6th | magazine | 1 × |
| Pioneer | DRM-602X | SCSI | external | 6th | magazine | 2 × |
| Pioneer | DRM-604X | SCSI | external | 6th | magazine | 4 × |
| Pioneer | DRM-1804X | SCSI | external | 3 × 6 | magazine | 4 × |
| Pioneer | DRM-6NX a | SCSI | external | 6th | magazine | 24 × |
| Nakamichi | MBR-7 | SCSI | external | 7th | drawer | 2 × |
| Nakamichi | MBR-7.4 | SCSI | external | 7th | drawer | 4 × |
| Nakamichi | MJ-4.4 | SCSI | internally | 4th | Slot-in | 4 × |
| Nakamichi | MJ-4.8 | SCSI | internally | 4th | Slot-in | 8 × |
| Nakamichi | MJ-5.16 | SCSI | internally | 5 | Slot-in | 16 × |
| TEAC | CD-C68E | IDE | internally | 6th | Slot-in | 8 × |
| NEC | CDR-C251 | IDE | internally | 4th | Slot-in | 4 × |
| NEC | CDR-4300A | IDE | internally | 4th | Slot-in | 6 × |
| Panasonic | SQ-TC500N | IDE | internally | 5 | magazine | 4 × |
| Panasonic | SQ-TC510N | IDE | internally | 5 | magazine | 10 × |