All commonly used controls are conveniently located on the front panel including CD transport controls, preamp controls, phase inversion, display brightness settings, CD time options, and repeat options. A large bright two row vacuum fluorescent display provides easy visibility. A menu interface allows easy user customization including renaming of inputs, input level adjustment, and other infrequently used operational settings. A flash memory containing the customized and hidden control codes can be updated via a serial port on the rear panel. If changes or customizations are developed, they can be distributed electronically for field/consumer installation.