In , on 08/26/03
at 12:05 AM, "Chocoholic" said:

Putting a
thermometer into the CD tray I see that it's over 100 farenheit in
there. Is this normal? Do other 'bookshelf' systems do this?

Mostly, yes, it depends on the unit's construction and its immediate
surroundings.

Do
'dedicated' CD players in a seperate case do this?

Typically, no, but it depends on the surroundings. If the CD player is
in a cabinet with the receiver or on top or another unit, it will heat
up.

I was previously
using a fairly old/cheap CD player in a seperate case that didn't play
MP3s, and I don't recall the CDs ever being noticable warm when I
opened it. Isn't this bad for the CDs? I have heard that they will
deteriorate when exposed to temperatures over ~80 farenheit for long
periods. Is this true? Or is it more true of CD-Rs than 'pressed' CDs?
The unit is quite well ventilated so it's not a problem that can be
fixed my moving stuff away from it. I need to decide if this 'feature'
is something I would get from most any 'bookshelf' stereo or if I
ought to return it.

It's not a problem, but if you are really concerned, add a small fan to
cool the unit. (But this will introduce its own problems such as noise
and dust.)

It is possible that storing your CD's at mildly elevated temperatures
for years may decrease their ultimate life, but I think we will need a
few more decades of experience to know exactly what that decrease might
be (if any).

100 degrees is somewhat lower than the ambient temperature in some
areas (Such as Europe this summer). So far there haven't been any
reports of "wilted" CD collections.

That said, there is a group of audiophiles claiming that CD's subjected
to a cryogenic process sound better than regular CD's. I don't think
they researched the effect of their process on the ultimate life of the
discs or considered the possiblilty of repairing potential damage done
by playing CD's at 100 degrees.

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