This article is from the rec.audio.* FAQ, by with numerous contributions by Bob Neidorff others.
Some players have one beam, some three. All use one laser diode
to generate the beam. Three-beam is just a different method for
doing track alignment. Neither is better than the other.
There are good 1-beam players and good 3-beam players.
Manufacturers want advertising claims and "More Beams Is Better"
sounded good to some marketing people. Trust your ears.
 
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