Yamaha CDC-600 (Black)

5-disc black CD player with USB port

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Whether you're having guests over for dinner, or simply want chill out with a selection of your favorite albums, the CDC-600 from Yamaha has you covered. While this high-fidelity CD player sports a five-disc capacity, PlayXchange technology lets you change out multiple discs with out interrupting the CD that's playing. If you'd rather listen to an audio mix from your computer, you also have the option of connecting a USB thumbdrive pre-loaded with MP3, WMA, or WAV audio to the CDC-600. Finally, a three-mode text display shows a CD's title, artist's name, and track titles while you listen.

Uninterrupted bliss

You've invited a group of friends over for dinner, so naturally you've pre-loaded five CDs for the evening's soundtrack into your Yamaha CDC-600 CD changer. However, as the evening progresses, a song on the third album reminds a friend of an entire album that he claims takes its inspiration from the song you're currently listening to. As it just so happens, you have the album your friend is referring to. Now, while with other CD changers you would have to stop the music to add in the new album, with the CDC-600's PlayXchange technology you can keep listening and change discs at the same time. Further, PlayXchange allows you change multiple discs without ever stopping the disc that's currently playing. Like we said: uninterrupted bliss.

Beyond CD audio

In a slightly more "modern" telling of the dinner-party scenario from the previous paragraph, instead of DJ-ing your party with CDs, you might use pre-mixed music playlists from your computer or portable audio player. Again, the CD-C600 is equipped to meet your needs. First, a built-in USB port and support for compressed audio formats such as MP3 and WMA allow you listen to your playlists by simply connecting a preloaded USB thumbdrive to the CDC-600. Second, using a separate iPod dock unit, the CD-C600's iPod compatibility allows you to connect your iPod for access to all your favorite audio.

Hey, what's playing?

Again, to return to the dinner-party scenario, imagine that the meal is over and everyone is sitting around drinking coffee and chatting. Another guest remarks that they're "really diggin' " the song that's playing, and they ask you who the artist is. As it happens, this CD has a new mix of music that you've just compiled, and you don't actually know who the musician is. Now, you could get on your computer and try and track down the info, or you could simply take a peek at the CDC-600's digital text display. The three-mode display shows CD title, artist's name, and song title as you listen.