[Drewster]

Hi Everyone,

I found the cd player Michael was so excited about this past weekend, for about $29.00. I brought it home and put it into my system, after first removing it from its case. Since I knew I would use it "nekkid", it didn't make sense to try it out first in the case, which is very cheap plastic.

As you can see from the photos, it's a 1/2 standard width design. It looks like it uses the same transport mechanism as the Mag MWD7006 which I reviewed on this thread: http://www.michaelgreenaudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=884.

There is about 1/2 the circuit board real estate of the 7006, however, though with a similar kind of weird two-story design. Like with the 7006, I used pieces of Magic Wood to support the "free floating" green circuit board.

Right out of the box, the 200 sounded great The issues I heard with the 7006 regarding pace, image size and boundary around the players are nowhere to be found here.

That's all I'll say for now.

And I invite and encourage all of you out there take the $29 plunge to try it in your system. Matt, Chipdivot -- I want to hear from you how you find it compares to the Samsung P241.




Front view




Left view




Right view



_________________
Drewster

[Drewster]

Hello TuneLand,

The first 200GA I bought I found would play for a while and then spontaneously skip to the following track. I was just going to return it to the store, but I noticed that the transport was extremely quiet. Much more so than the transport in the 7006, which had a noticeable high pitch whine which I learned to listen through. So I didn't want to risk losing this quiet transport by returning the unit.

I therefore just purchased another 200 to see if the transport would be the quiet version or the noisy one, since the transport looked to be identical for the 200 and 7006. The second unit transport was quiet, too.

Unfortunately, it had the same skipping problem. At Michael's suggestion, I called the Magnavox customer service line. They recommended that I clean the laser, since it may have accumulated some dirt or debris in the manufacturing process. So I bought a Philips CD/DVD laser cleaner CD and ran it through a few times and VOILA no more skipping.
If you try this player and have this problem - there's the solution .

I've now been listening on and off for more than a week. My initial impressions are confirmed so far. It has an extremely balanced sound to my ears. A wide and deep soundstage that just sounds right. Effortless. Natural detail, full harmonics, though not to the "atomic" level. Natural space between the players. A very comfortable perspective, where the listener is seated slightly further back than with the Samsung P241, but not nearly as removed as with the 7006. All the constraints that I noticed with the 7006 are not present with the 200. Totally unfatiguing to listen to.

To me, this unit has less personality than the Samsung, which means I don't notice the player, just hear the music. Like I've said before, the Samsung is just slightly too upfront for me, so this unit fits my preferences a little better. Still love the P241 though.

My next step is to replace the stock power cord with an MGA cord. I plan to do this myself (just bought a soldering iron and have been practicing a little). Wish me luck. I'll report back soon.

Has anyone else out there picked one up yet?



_________________
Drewster

[Drewster]

I have been listening and the sound is really starting to settle in and lose the slight edges it had initially.
_________________
Drewster

[Michael Green]

Hi TuneLand,

Any body listening to the 200GA lately? Hint, no, big hint



_________________
Michael Green
MGA
Las Vegas,NV
702 762 3245
info@michaelgreenaudio.com
www.michaelgreenaudio.com

[Drewster]

I've found what appears to be the same player at the same store with a different model #DP100MW8. It has just slightly different labeling on the front of the unit. Otherwise I can't tell any difference.
_________________
Drewster

[dakota28]

Hi Drewster,

I have the Mag 100 and can't get the replay button to work. Is there certain way to do engage this I might be missing. Also, getting the skipping someone else mentioned.

Thanks
Dakota28
_________________
dakota28

[Michael Green]

Hi Guys,

I'm hoping that I will have the opportunity to put in a listening/viewing show house in the next few months. Some of the products on my list is a wide selection of magnavox toys.

Dakota,

I believe Drewster has found the cure for the skipping. It's a simple laser cleaner. As far as the repeat button goes, you might want to speak to Magnavox directly.

I can't wait to play
_________________
Michael Green
MGA
Las Vegas,NV
702 762 3245
info@michaelgreenaudio.com
www.michaelgreenaudio.com

[Drewster]

I think if while a cd is playing you hit the repeat button on the remote 2x it repeats the track, 3x and it repeats the cd endlessly.



_________________
Drewster

[Drewster]

Here's a follow-up I originally posted on Ultrarunner's thread:


"I tried the Oppo too, since I have a bunch of hybrid SACDs, and I hoped it would have good sound. I took it completely out of the case and used some Magic Wood with it to get the best sound I could. Fact is, it's overbuilt audiophile-style even though it's inexpensive for audiophile gear. It actually sounded to me not even as good as the $60 Sonys and Phillips I've auditioned. Blah dynamics, electronic sounding and 2 dimensional.

As I've been auditioning DVD players, I have ventured to the "extreme" in simplicity, listening to the $30 players from Magnavox, and Target's house brand, Tru-Tech. They have plastic rather than metal cases, and weigh about as much as a bag of Peanut M&M's. Probably contain about $6 worth of parts.

Listening A/B between the Oppo and the Mag or Tru-Tech, and the Oppo couldn't compete. Boring, flat and irritating in comparison. The Mag has much better dynamics and 3D soundstage. I never would have believed this in my audiophile days, but the Tru-Tech (made in China) is what I find sounds the best. It has an organic naturalness, realness and roundedness of timbre and soundstaging that the others don't, and is not at all fatigueing. Not quite the dynamics and punch of the Mag, but more analog sounding than any player I've heard. And it sounds good out of the box and breaks in completely in about a day. It grew on me the more I listened, and now nothing else sounds as pleasing to me.

The other thing with these ultralight players is that discs will settle well, and sound really really good after a few play-throughs.

For anyone who's brave enough to experiment with (low)mass-produced players, it's only a 30 buck investment, and Target has a 90-day return policy...."




_________________
Drewster

[ddouin]