CD Carousels: The Offline Playlist

Intentional Listening

Streaming music has made music feel disposable. When everything is available instantly, nothing feels special. The endless scroll of recommendations, the algorithm deciding what you should hear next, the nagging feeling that you’re renting access rather than owning anything.

It’s soulless.

I’ve gone back to being intentional with my music listening. I want to choose what I hear, not have it chosen for me.

Vinyl would be the obvious choice for many collectors, but I’m not quite sold on it. Records are pricey, heavy, and really inconvenient if you just want to listen to music without making it a whole ritual. CDs hit the sweet spot: affordable, compact, high-quality audio.

But here’s the problem: single-disc CD players don’t solve the convenience issue. Sometimes I want to queue up some music and work on stuff or clean the house without getting up every forty minutes to change discs. CDs don’t help with that … until I found a 6-disc carousel.

My Thrift Find

I stumbled across an Onkyo DV-CP702 6-Disc CD/DVD Changer at Goodwill for $18. It was missing the remote, but eBay had me covered for another $15. For $33 total, I had a machine that could play six CDs back-to-back without interruption.

Front of the Onkyo DV-CP702 — It was a little beat up, but worked fine.

Back of the Onkyo DV-CP702 — We even have component out on this model!

This particular model has the added feature of playing DVDs. I can not only load up an entire band’s discography, I can load up an entire season of a show and binge watch TV. No streaming service required, no internet connection needed, no wondering if the show will still be available next month.

If you want to hunt for one yourself, the DV-CP702 shows up on eBay regularly. You can usually find them between $30-70: Onkyo DV-CP702 on eBay

The CD Carousel is Still In Production

Here’s something that surprised me: you can get a version of this player brand new. Onkyo still manufactures the DXC390, a CD-only version of this carousel changer. There are several brands offering CD carousels:

The fact that these are still being made tells you something. There’s still demand for physical media players that just work, without apps or subscriptions or firmware updates.

Why a Multi-Disc Player?

No apps, no Bluetooth pairing, no software updates, and definitely no algorithms deciding what you should hear next. You build your own playlist by choosing six CDs. That’s it. You have hours of music with almost the same convenience as streaming, except you own everything and nothing can be taken away from you.

The playback options give you flexibility: play albums in order, play albums randomly, or shuffle all tracks across all six discs. Want to hear a band’s entire discography chronologically? Load up six albums and hit play. Want variety? Load six different artists and put it on random.

These players handle Audio CDs, MP3-encoded CDs, and CD-R/RWs. You can burn your own MP3 mixes for truly endless playback. You can fit dozens of albums on a single disc if you want.

The carousel tray design lets you see the disc art for each slot, and you can easily swap discs without disrupting playback. This is an advantage over other systems like the Pioneer 6-disc cartridge magazines or those massive 200-disc jukebox players. Carousels are simpler, more reliable, and easier to maintain. No complicated mechanisms that will inevitably fail.

Both the DV-CP702 and DXC390 use gears for the tray mechanism instead of rubber belts. This is crucial for longevity. Belts degrade and need replacement, but gears last essentially forever. The tray design is straightforward and easy to maintain if anything ever does go wrong.

Here’s another practical detail: both players can play a disc while you change the other five. No waiting, no interruption. Just continuous music.

CD Carousel Player Features

The connectivity options cover everything you need. You get analog RCA outputs (the standard white and red cables) that use Onkyo’s quality internal digital-to-analog converter. If you prefer external processing, both coaxial and optical digital outputs let you route the signal directly to a separate DAC (like a modern receiver).

The front panel display shows which disc and track is playing, along with the current playback mode. It’s simple and readable from across the room.

Physical buttons let you quickly jump to a specific disc, pause, play, and skip tracks. If you lose the remote, you’re not locked out of your music. Everything is accessible from the front panel.

Standby mode remembers your playback position, so you can resume listening exactly where you left off.

Keep the Music Going

Need to queue up hours of music for a party? Want background music while you clean the house or work on a project? Your CD collection can do that. Load six discs, hit play, and you’ve got potentially hours of uninterrupted music.

You can still be intentional with your music listening while having modern convenience. You choose what goes in the carousel. You decide the order or let it randomize. You own everything that plays.

No algorithm. No subscription. No internet required. Just your music, played the way you want it.

Cheap Audio Man has a good video on the history of multi-disc CD players.