Multidisc Players Dominating Market : Compact discs: Carousel and magazine models offer convenience to listeners. Big price drops also help boost sales.

The CD changer--or multidisc player--is beginning to dominate the compact disc player market that once was owned by the single-play models.

Mike Fidler, senior vice president at Pioneer, says that 55% of the CD players sold are still single-play models. But because the multidisc players cost more, they account for 65% of the market’s dollar volume.

Changers are the CD versions of the old album stacking device, which automatically played several albums, one after the other. But since the records were stacked on top of each other, they were damaged by friction, and the sound could become distorted when playing the second or third one in the stack. CD changers, on the other hand, offer multidisc convenience without any sacrifice of sound or damage to the discs.

Most CD changers hold five or six discs, and some expensive models stock 10. The advantage of the changer is allowing the listener five to seven hours of uninterrupted music. They also enable listeners to skip from a track on one disc to a track on another.

What’s boosting sales is a drastic drop in price during the last two years. CD changers are generally available from $200 on up. Single-play models are often discounted as low as $100, but many consumers are finding that for the same money they’d pay for a medium-priced single-play model, they can buy a low-priced CD changer.

But which kind to buy?

There’s a war going on between two types of changers: the carousel and the magazine. In the carousel model, five discs fit on a big platter, which is on either a front-loading slide-out drawer or under a top-loading dust cover. Magazines are box-like units that have six trays--one for each CD. These units are simply fitted into the CD changer. Both carousel and magazine changers roughly sell for the same price.

Pioneer, the leader in magazine changers, first marketed the multidisc changer in 1985. Sony introduced the carousel model in 1987. Since then, the carousel has slowly become the style of choice. Sony is the leading manufacturer of carousel players.

Bob Weissburg, vice president of Sony’s hi-fi division, said that the carousel changer claimed 40% to 50% of the market last year, and he expects that market share to swell to about 70% by the end of this year.

What’s the biggest selling point of the carousel?

“Ease of operation,” Weissburg said. “It’s easier to load--both the front-loading and the top-loading models. You just pop those discs into the holes on the platter.”

Pioneer’s Fidler conceded that the magazine model is a bit more difficult to load, but he added that his company’s survey show that it’s the style of choice among younger consumers.

Fitting the discs on those little trays certainly can be tricky. But the magazine can also be used as a storage unit, which means that after putting the discs on the tray the first time, operating the magazine is much simpler from then on. However, using magazines as storage bins requires stocking up on them--at a price of $10 for a six-disc magazine.

If you’re planning to buy a changer, here’s another question to consider: Will you at some point want a CD changer in your car? If the answer is yes, you might lean toward the magazine model, since the magazines for the home units are transferable to car units.