The Curtis CD149 portable player

Archived from groups: rec.audio.high-end (More info?)

"normanstrong" <normanstrong@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:cfrem502h60@news4.newsguy.com...
> I recently purchased a cheap CD player in order to see what you can
> get for $10. After noting that it sounds just like the other CD
> players I've purchased over the years, I took it apart and counted the
> components. As you read what's in there, keep reminding yourself that
> this player has a retail price of $10, and this is not a closeout or
> teaser price, since I can go back today and buy another one for the
> same price! There are 3 assemblies:
>
> 1. The case:
>
> 1. bottom with battery door
> 2. Top with 6 switch actuators and a window for the display
> 3. The pop-up lid with a plastic window whose sole purpose seems to
> be to allow you to watch the disc spin around.
>
> 2. The PCB:
>
> This is a single-sided epoxy-paper circuit board with parts mounted on
> both sides. The part numbers for each component are screened onto the
> side on which they are mounted. On the bottom:
>
> 31 chip capacitors
> 81 chip resistors
> 6 surface mount transistors
> 3 LSI integrated sircuits
> 1 MSI IC (a dual op-amp used to drive the headphones.)
>
> On the top:
>
> 6 metal film resistors
> 17 electrolytic capacitors
> 7 tiny inductors
> 8 switches
> 2 jacks
> 1 volume control pot
> LCD display attached by a flex strip
> a 10:1 divider whose purpose I can't fathom
> 21 bare wire jumpers
> 3 insulated wire jumpers
>
> 3. The laser assembly:
>
> The laser assembly consists of a plastic 'chassis' containing 2
> motors, one to spin the CD and the other to move the laser sled back
> and forth on its steel rod. The motors are connected to the PCB
> through a 6 wire bundle, and the laser sled through a flex strip. I
> have not yet opened up the laser sled to see what's in it, but I will
> sooner or later (it's a one way operation; it will never go back
> together again.)
>
> The fact that one can make a pcb with 200 parts on it for $10 is a
> miracle. Adding in the laser assy and putting everything
> together--even by automatic machinery--is beyond my understanding.
> What could the factory cost of this player be?
>
> Norm Strong


You've just defined "dumping".

Archived from groups: rec.audio.high-end (More info?)

On 16 Aug 2004 23:06:45 GMT, "normanstrong" <normanstrong@comcast.net>
wrote:

>I recently purchased a cheap CD player in order to see what you can
>get for $10. ....

I've been amazed by precision electro-mechanical goods
prices I've seen for quite a while. 200 GB disks for < $200 ?
But you may want to run an objective test or two on that CD
player before judging it to work well. I bought a very cheap
portable CD player a while back and played a test disk
on it, one with a series of tones. It mangled everything above
6K or so (I don't remember the exact starting point).