<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (January 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (January 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> A CD player is an electronic device that plays audio compact discs, which are a digital optical disc data storage format . CD players were first sold to consumers in 1982 . CDs typically contain recordings of audio material such as music . CD players are often a part of home stereo systems, car audio systems, and personal computers . With the exception of CD boomboxes, most CD players do not produce sound by themselves . Most CD players only produce an output signal via a headphone jack and / or RCA jacks . To listen to music using a CD player with a headphone output jack, the user plugs headphones or earphones into the headphone jack . To use a CD player in a home stereo system, the user connects an RCA cable to the RCA jacks or other outputs and connects it to a hi - fi (or other amplifier) and loudspeakers for listening to music . They are also manufactured as portable devices, which are battery powered and typically used with headphones . </P> <P> Modern units can play other formats in addition to PCM audio coding used in CDs, such as MP3, AAC and WMA . DJs playing dance music at clubs often use specialized players with an adjustable playback speed to alter the pitch and tempo of the music . Audio engineers using CD players to play music for an event through a sound reinforcement system use professional audio - grade CD players . CD playback functionality is also valuable on CD - ROM / DVD - ROM drive equipped computers as well as on DVD players and CD - ROM / DVD - ROM based game consoles . </P>

When did the first cd player come out