SPECIFICATIONS Model CDM 7870R Max Power 45 x 4 RMS Power 21 X 4 Sn ratio 105 db Freq.Res 5-20000Hz Price Rs 21,750 Warranty 1 year Rating -

ALPINE CDM 7870R
Unusually for Alpine the design of the 7870R is a mess. Gone are the neat, almost geometrically correct, distinctive looks of earlier Alpines. Though the opaque green buttons remain, the design is extremely cluttered and fussy, with some of the main buttons being placed at an angle. Controlling the deck also proved quite a challenge as you are initially intimidated by the jumble of buttons. However a very useful feature allows you to tilt the face-plate upwards towards you, if the player is placed in a low position. The Alpine also offers you control of a subwoofer that you may attach at a later stage.

Though the design may have changed, performance remains true to its heritage. The 7870R is a bright, sharp player that picks up all the data available from the CD and flings it at you - just check out the signal to noise ratio. The Alpine actually sounds like it’s trying too hard as the circuitry boosts certain sections of the midrange and high frequencies in a pronoun-ced manner. Though this makes it a peppy and exciting perfor-mer, the attack is relentless - a fatiguing player to listen to over a long period. The highs are especially over the top.

If well controlled, the Alpine is actually a good player to listen to vocal music on as this part of the music is brought to the forefront. Too expensive for what it delivers though.

SPECIFICATIONS Model Santa Fe CD31 Max Power 50 x 4 RMS Power 25 X 4 Sn ratio NA Freq.Res 20-20000Hz Price Rs 14,900 Warranty 1 year Rating -

BLAUPUNKT SANTA FE CD31
Easily the prettiest and neatest design here, the Blau’s sleek lines, quality buttons and distinctive display wowed us from the word go. Though gorgeous to look at and extremely well built, it took us time to figure out how the tone controls functioned. Even after we figured it out, setting the tone was still a pain as the steps are genuinely confusing. Turning the volume up or down is a joy however as your index finger gets used to twirling the dial very quickly.

The Blaupunkt is a system with an emphasis on fun and the Santa Fe offers you three adjustable levels of ‘X Bass’, useful if thump is important to you. Though the Santa Fe managed impressive amounts of bass accross the spectrum, it sounded a touch muffled and muddy, lacking some detail and separation exhibited by some of the best here. The Blau’s strong midrange performance however kept the Santa Fe in the chase for the most fun player here as vocals and other midrange like acoustic guitar notes were placed in the forefront. Highs however rolled off much earlier than expected, robbing the music of some crucial detail. The Santa Fe may lack some finesse and sparkle, but you’re unlikely to get any better at this price.

SPECIFICATIONS Model KDS 600 Max Power 40 x 4 RMS Power 16 X 4 Sn ratio 98db Freq.Res 5-20000Hz Price Rs 15,990 Warranty 1 year Rating -

JVC KDS 600
The KDS 600’s face-plate and design come from the same family as the KSF 150, the tape deck that won our comparison test back in April. Logically laid out with soft touch buttons, the JVC is a joy to use. Though the design looks slightly dated, we preferred it to a number of confusing cluttered systems. We even found adjusting the pre-selected sound modes like ‘soft’ and ‘pop’ quite simple. But though it may look like the quiet kid in its class, looks couldn’t be more deceptive. The KDS 600 is Mr Punch, a party animal, delivering thump that has the ability to rattle the doors of your car with subwoofer-like bass. It was like someone had surreptitiously sneaked in a sub-woofer when no-one was looking!

Later, the data we recorded with the RTA proved that we weren’t just imagining things. Check out the wide freqency response.

But though the 600 delivers bags of bass, it is the loose sloppy kind that lacks definition. In addition the mids and highs also sounded very coloured, with the midrange not revealing much detail. The JVC also sounds very narrowly focused and lacks greatly as far as imaging or the surround effect is concerned. But if you just wanna party, this shouldn’t matter a toss.

SPECIFICATIONS Model KDC 5018 Max Power 47 x 4 RMS Power 27 X 4 Sn ratio 93db Freq.Res 10-20000Hz Price Rs 16,490 Warranty 1 year Rating -

KENWOOD KDC 5018
Though the Kenwood remains faithful to many design elements, the introduction of the horizontal chrome strip gives it a distinctive look that makes it hard to confuse. The 5018 also, like the Alpine, protects the CD slot with the face-plate; Kenwood’s D Mask. You can take the face-plate with you or simply reverse it, leaving a plain black surface. It is also extremely well specified. You can enter the CD’s name, attach a changer and it has a remote. It even has a adjustable high and low pass frequency filter for the front and the rear outputs. It even allows you adjustment of phase and volume offset - features you’ll appreciate if you need to attach more amps and speakers.

And the Kenwood isn’t just a feature-rich player, sound quality too is nothing short of lush. It involves you in the music, enclosing you in clean, well balanced music that had us impressed within minutes of listening to it. Balance, separation of instruments and a clarity devoid of harshness mean you can get aggressive with the volume without it hurting the ears. Throw any type of music at the Kenwood and it excels, be it rap rock or classical. It’s even great value.

The only downside is that the Kenwood is possibly too well rounded and as a result will not reveal as much detail as some of the competition here.

SPECIFICATIONS Model CD 35z Max Power 43 x 4 RMS Power NA Sn ratio 14 @ 60 Freq.Res 20-20000Hz Price Rs 18,400 Warranty 1 year Rating -

NAKAMICHI CD 35z (AUTOCAR INDIA’S CHOICE)
While all the other players here try and attract attention to themselves, the Nakamichi is content at presenting a neat, simple but well laid out design. A black glossy finish with the black-on-green display is a simple design so typical of high end audio manufacturers.

But the Nakamichi is not about shape, design or looks. The manufacturer with the most formidable reputation as far as sound quality is concerned, all the money you spend on a Nakamichi goes into the high quality components and their design. Obviously we expected a lot from the CD 35z, and it didn't disappoint. Though initially the 35z sounded a touch flat, it had us bowled over in a few minutes.

Hearing the CD 35z back to back with the other players here felt like we'd run music discs through a distillation process. Run the same CDs through the Nak and all extraneous unwanted sounds and disturbances are superbly filtered out.

Each instrument is given space for itself and this amazing separation of instruments and superb imaging makes you feel like the musicians are jamming it up on the rear seat of your car, no exaggeration.

The CD 35z excelled over the entire frequncy spectrum. Tight, well defined bass, clean, sharp mids and superbly detailed highs literally held us spellbound. It’s our choice and easily the most natural and best-sounding CD player here. Not for dance mixes and rap though

Above: Very revealing Infinity 6x9inch speakers helped decide winners. Right: In-car averaged response for the bass-heavy JVC versus the better balanced Kenwood.

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