Top 10 Best CD Players with Pitch Controls
for December 2023

The Philips SHP730/20 Bluetooth stereo system offers good sound quality, a stylish, compact design, and plenty of connectivity options, making it a good choice for someone who's looking for an easy way to bring music into their home. The sound quality is quite good, even at the highest volume setting, and the system's wireless Bluetooth connections are reliable. The Philips system's speaker cabinets are made of composite, which gives them a warm, vintage sound. The CD and CD players are easy to use, and the FM tuner's reception is pretty clear. The remote control is basic but functional. The Philips system is bulky, but it's small enough to fit on a bookshelf or countertop, which makes it a good choice for people who hate the look of large home-theater systems. The Philips system doesn't have built-in Wi-Fi, but you can connect an external Wi-Fi router to your home network, then stream music directly to it from your smartphone. The Philips system isn't compatible with streaming services such as Spotify or Pandora, but it supports a wide variety of music services such as Deezer, Groove Music, Napster, and Rhapsody. In addition, the Philips system has Bluetooth audio streaming with aptX, aptX HD, and AAC audio codecs, and it also has Bluetooth music streaming from a USB-connected device.

This Gemini Sound CDX-2250i player is one of the best-sounding models we tested. It offers plenty of power, and I appreciated that the unit has anti-shock memory, which protects the player's data if you accidentally drop the unit. The player also has a stop button, which comes in handy if you accidentally transport a disc that doesn't finish playing. The CDX-2250i player's display is large and easy to read, and the player has controls for adjusting pitch, which comes in handy when mixing. The CDX-2250i player is housed in a rack chassis, so it's easy to mount or place on a shelf. The built-in speakers are loud, though, so you'll definitely want to invest in some external speakers if you want great sound.

The TechPlay Commander is a sturdy, well-built turntable that sounds great, has very good playback quality, and is simple to use. It has all of the features that a discerning turntable user needs, including a pitch control, a strobed disc, a headphone jack, a USB recording port, and Bluetooth connectivity. The Bluetooth connection isn't perfect; the Commander struggles to connect with some phones (Samsung Galaxy S8, for example) and the connection drops out if you move the phone or place the phone anywhere near the turntable. The turntable also lacks a universal power adapter, so you'll need to grab a mini-USB to USB cable (not included) if you want power. Overall, though, this is a great turntable that looks great, sounds great, and is simple to use.

The Qoosea CD Player with Bluetooth is a well-designed, affordable CD player. It has all the features you need, including compatibility with a wide range of audio formats, a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery, an aux-in jack, and a digital clock. The CD player is compact and lightweight, and it comes with a dust cover to protect the discs, which is a nice touch. The sound quality is quite good, and it's loud enough to fill a small living room or bedroom. The CD player has a USB port, which you can use to play files from a USB flash-drive, and the CD player's battery charges through the USB port. The CD player's remote control is nicely designed and easy to use. The CD player's menu system is easy to navigate, and the CD player has 10 built-in equalizer presets, which we found useful, as it allows you to customize the sound of the music. The CD player's built-in Bluetooth receiver is a nice touch: You can stream music from your smartphone or laptop to the CD player, and you can control the music from the CD player's remote control. The CD player's built-in FM receiver is a nice touch: You can listen to radio programs from the CD player's remote control. The CD player's multi-function light show is a nice touch: There are 10 different light shows in the CD player's menu system, and you can turn them on or off via the CD player's remote control.

The KC809 roadom cd player holds up well against similar models we tested, and it's the best-sounding one we tested. It supports CD, AUX, Bluetooth, U disk, and FM radio, and you can play FM radio with the built-in tuner. Most importantly, though, it plays CDs well, with excellent sound for portable players. While the KC809 doesn't feature a built-in CD player, you can plug in a CD player or CD-RW into the USB port, or plug in a USB device such as an external hard drive or flash drive into the SD card slot. The USB port also lets you play MP3s, and it supports USB mass storage devices, so you can also plug in flash drives or other USB devices to play music files stored on those devices. The KC809's audio quality is particularly good, with clean, clear voice reproduction. The volume level is also adjustable, and there's a volume knob on the player's base. The KC809 also has buttons for turning on Bluetooth, playing/pause, skipping to the next track, and going to the previous track.

The Tascam CD-200BT Rackmount Professional CD Player with Bluetooth Wireless offers top-notch audio quality and wireless operation. It has an attached subwoofer for bass, and its display is readable even in bright daylight. The audio playback quality is excellent, and the built-in Bluetooth is well supported. It can connect to up to eight Bluetooth audio transmitting devices at once, and its 10-second shockproof memory prevents skipping from vibration and other causes. The CD drive supports playback of CD-DA and WAV/MP3/MP2 files (Data CD). The remote controller is well made and easy to operate, and it has useful buttons for play, pause, stop, and track forward, back, and skip. The CD-200BT has an attractive, professional appearance, and it's designed for easy installation in a rack. It's more expensive than some alternatives, but it delivers top performance.

The Gemini Sound CDMP-1500 is one of the best-sounding and most versatile CD-based digital media players we've tested. It's big, it's heavy, and it's not cheap, but it's a workhorse that sounds great, plays lots of file formats, and comes with a ton of useful features. It plays CDs and CD-Rs, but it's CD-Text and MP3 support are particularly good. The CDMP-1500 comes with a remote, but you can also use the front panel buttons for navigation; it's big and chunky, but it's easy to use. The CDMP-1500's display is bright and easy to read, and it has many good features, including pitch control, cueing, and instant-start functions. It has an analogue output, two RCA line outputs, and a balanced XLR output, all of which are very useful for connecting it to external amplifiers and speakers. The CDMP-1500's sound is rich and powerful, and it's well integrated, with virtually no noise or distortion. It quiets down when it's playing, but you can still hear the music, and it stays quiet when it's off. The unit comes with a USB and line-in connection, so you can plug your iPod or iPhone into it and play music from the device, and it's also compatible with USB flash drives, so you can plug those into the unit, too. There's also a headphone output, so you can plug your headphones into it and play your music privately. The CDMP-1500 is one of the heaviest CD players we've tested, and it's big, too, so it takes a fair amount of space. But it's well built, and the controls are easy to use, so it's satisfying to use.

The Jensen JTA-385 is hard to beat in its price range. It's compact and portable, it's easy to use, it's durable, and it has a nice, balanced sound. The turntable has a 33-45-78 rpm speed range, so you can use your favorite vinyl albums, and it has a generous capacity for 45 rpm records. The built-in AM/FM tuner has a 20 station memory, so you can store your favorite radio stations. If you have an mp3 player, you can connect it to the record player through the auxiliary input jack. The tone control allows you to adjust the level of bass, and the stereo headphone jack allows you to listen privately at the volume level you want. The turntable has a direct record feature, so it's simple to record your favorite radio programs to the turntable's built-in tape player. The turntable has built-in speakers, and the integrated speakers are pretty loud. The sound quality is decent, but not great. The turntable's sound quality is much better than the sound quality of older turntables, and the sound quality of newer turntables is still very good. The Jensen JTA-385 has a high-quality belt drive, so it's quiet. We used this turntable to record vinyl albums and cassette tapes, and both playback and recording were excellent. The Jensen JTA-385 has 3 speed settings: 33, 45, and 78 rpm. The turntable has a 45 rpm adapter, so you can play 45 rpm records. The turntable's weight is about 5 pounds. The Jensen JTA-385 is very basic, so if you're looking for a more sophisticated turntable with more features, you should look at the JVC GR-DX405 3-Speed Stereo Turntable with Bluetooth.

The Jensen Home CD Player System Sport Handle is an affordable, portable CD/CD-R/RW player with Bluetooth audio streaming. It's ideal for people who prefer using CDs, and also for anyone who wants to listen to CDs or a radio in any room of the house. The CD player is compatible with both CD-R and CD-RW discs, and the CD tracks display on the player's top panel. The CD receiver also plays 8-20 kHz audio files, including MP3, WMA, AAC, and FLAC files, and it has a built-in headphone amp for playing audio through headphones. The Jensen Home CD Player System Sport Handle also has a top-mounted auxiliary input and a line-in input, so you can connect other devices, such as a CD player, to the player. The Jensen Home CD Player System Sport Handle also has Bluetooth audio streaming, though its sound quality isn't as good as that of more expensive CD receivers, and its built-in rechargeable battery doesn't last as long as those of the best portable CD/CD-R/RW players. Still, the Jensen Home CD Player System Sport Handle is an affordable, portable CD/CD-R/RW player with Bluetooth audio streaming, and it's a good choice for anyone with an aversion to streaming music services.

This compact CD player from Denon offers solid sound quality and is built rugged enough to withstand years of use. It's linear power supply ensures clean, distortion-free sound, and the direct mechanical ground construction eliminates interference. The DCD-600NE also offers two-channel listening, so you can listen to your favorite CDs and stereo mixes in high-quality sound. While it's packed with features, its control panel is simple and straightforward: The CD drawer opens and closes easily, and the controls are clearly marked. The Denon DCD-600NE's sound quality is as good as our top pick, the Marantz CD-1428, and it's nearly identical in features, too. It lacks a built-in FM tuner, but that's hardly a dealbreaker: FM tuners are notoriously fragile and malfunction often. The Denon DCD-600NE is a good choice for anyone looking for a compact CD player that sounds great and plays a wide range of discs.