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A CD player is an electronic device that plays audio and video compact discs. There are three components in a CD player – a drive motor, a lens system and a tracking mechanism. The drive motor rotates the compact disc at a speed of about 200 and 500 revolutions per minute. The tracking mechanism directs the lens towards a particular area of the CD which it has been instructed to read. This information that the lens reads is transmitted as sound.

A subcode of a CD player contains information such as the total number of tracks on the CD, and the running time of the entire CD and of each track. This information helps users to shuffle between the tracks and listen to the particular track they prefer. The interface of a CD player is usually similar in most models with the same few buttons and a display screen, which shows the track number, time and other information.

There are several different types of CD players available today. Sony manufactured the tray loading CD player in 1982. Sony also released a CD player called the CDP-101, which had a slide out tray design. This design became very popular and has been adapted by almost all manufacturers since then. Sony showcased the vertical loading CD player at the Japanese Audio Fair in 1982. Sony itself never started manufacturing this commercially, but many other companies like Alpine, Matsushita, Kenwood and Toshiba adapted it for their new CD player models.

The top loading CD players were launched by Philips in 1983. The design has a clamp on the lid that can be opened by pressing a button. The CD is fixed into a slot and the lid is closed. This particular design has been very successful since it doesn’t require the motor functions of a moveable tray which was used in other designs. Also, the CD is placed near the lens, thereby improving the sound quality. Some of the most notable models with this design have been the Luxmans D-500/D-500X series players and Denons DP-S1, which were launched in 1993.

In the tray load with sliding mechanism design, a tray slides out to collect the CD. Once the CD is placed inside the slot, the tray slides back into the player. The first models which adopted this design were the Meridian 200 and the Meridian 203 CD players. Some CD players use the tray load with dampers design in which the tray loads have rubber grommets built into them to avoid distortion of sound. The Yamaha CDX-1000 CD player uses this design. CD players with a slot loading design are mainly used for car stereos.