High on Fidelity

We recently came by one of those new compact disc audio players, and we’re here to tell you that if you haven’t heard one yet you’re in for a treat when you do. The sound is breathtakingly clear and precise, and free of distortion, scratches and noise. Individual instruments sound as if they are being played live. It’s no exaggeration to speculate that phonograph records--the familiar LPs--may be doomed by this new technology, which was developed jointly by Sony and Philips of the Netherlands.

Mind you, we are not usually audio freaks who ooh and ah over every new stereo system and its supposed improvement in sound. The truth is, most home hi-fi setups sound pretty much the same to us. But compact discs--shiny, silvery things less than five inches across with a rainbow patina--are a different matter. Their laser-read, digitally reproduced sound is as fine as any machine is likely to yield. What’s more, the discs, which sell for $11 to $15 each, are all but impervious to normal wear and tear. They don’t scratch or nick, and, since no needle ever touches them, they don’t wear out with time. They will sound the same on the thousandth playing as they did on the first.

It’s no wonder that sales of CD players and of the discs themselves are booming. When the players were introduced in 1983 they sold for about $1,000 apiece, but they now can be had to $300 or less, and the price may continue to drop. There are three manufacturing plants for compact discs in the world, and they can’t keep up with the demand. The number of titles available on compact disc is reasonably large and growing, though it will take years before it equals the inventory of LPs.

We could go on and on about this, but you’d suspect that it was a paid advertisement. Not so. Modern technology requires everyone to put up with many discomforts, so we might as well enjoy its benefits, too.