SONY PS1 best cd player in the world?

[Sonci]

DC offset?

 

[Minio]

After this thread I will sit back and watch the price of 340Cs, 3080 mklls and PS1s soar and maybe reach high end levels, as people scramble for a high performance prince in frogs clothing!

 

[Lee T]

I doubt that, this is a forum, not exactly world news, delusions of grandeur i think.

 

[abbydog]

While we're at it, shouldn't we have nominations for the best 8-track cartridge player or Betamax machine? Bet they're worth a few bob.

 

[Lee T]

Just looking out for a 340c and Kenwood now on Ebay.

Had the PS1 against a 5k cd player, which I thought was for me the best sounding of many top end players. Well the PS1 matched it and may have been to my ears that bit more special sounding. Before i could come to any meaningful conclusions both Shahinians blew their fuses whilst on the PS1!! E mailed John from Pear audio but no reply perhaps he is on holiday.

I am away for a week and need new fuses, so will report again after that. Both pre and power Dynavectors are still alive. Bit concerned about the PS1 mods now to the circuit board. However cannot see how it could have influenced the power output to the speakers.

Here's a cracker that would surprise even you, i would be very surprised if a playstation 1 outperformed this, has far superior parts internally & no need for modding that's for sure, owned one back in 1999 before i went all Rotel, smooth, huge soundstage, ridiculous amounts of detail & a wonderful bass end. Uses the puck option to clamp the disc for stability & it shows.

This is the uk model, tuned here by Sony uk, don't ask me how, it has 3 digital filters to choose from to tailor your needs, superb bargain.

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5338728743&icep_item=321837552063

 

[audiojoy]

Ragaman you have been hunting a lot.
Hard to believe that there can be so many machines similar to the PS1 which is to my tastes. As you say light footed.

So lets get this thread into perspective despite my claims in the title. What I am looking for is a very specific sound and does not mean that it is necessarily accurate at all. So realistic dynamics, tonal accuracy at all frequencies, refinement, bass and treble extension etc etc may not be great. However if it moves me emotionally then that's good enough for me, and the one that does it the best, is the BEST CD PLAYER IN THE WORLD IN MY EYES OR SHOULD THAT BE EARS. It just so happens that what I like can be had from cheaply priced units. SO LUCKY ME but not necessarily everybody else.

I do see how high end cd players are gifted in what they achieve, especially in terms of detail transparency refinement presence etc.

 

[Minio]

Crazy thread but I feel there is a point here.

For the last couple of weeks I've been using a Naim CD5X and a very much cheaper Rega Apollo. The former being of the richer and lusher variety. The latter more of a lighter and thus faster presentation.

It's impossible for me to say which I like best as they both seem to have their own strengths with different sorts of material.

 

[Lee T]

Ragaman you have been hunting a lot.
Hard to believe that there can be so many machines similar to the PS1 which is to my tastes. As you say light footed.

So lets get this thread into perspective despite my claims in the title. What I am looking for is a very specific sound and does not mean that it is necessarily accurate at all. So realistic dynamics, tonal accuracy at all frequencies, refinement, bass and treble extension etc etc may not be great. However if it moves me emotionally then that's good enough for me, and the one that does it the best, is the BEST CD PLAYER IN THE WORLD IN MY EYES OR SHOULD THAT BE EARS. It just so happens that what I like can be had from cheaply priced units. SO LUCKY ME but not necessarily everybody else.

I do see how high end cd players are gifted in what they achieve, especially in terms of detail transparency refinement presence etc.

Apologies, obviously you have misunderstood the post, i scroll through ebay pretty much everyday looking for a bargain as i have mentioned many times on pfm, just saw this & thought it may suit, i will leave you alone, obviously i have caused some upset which wasn't my intention, quite the opposite.

It is the first player i have seen for you to take a look at BTW but whatever.

Live & learn i suppose.

 

[audiojoy]

NOT at all Ragaman no need to apologise. I am pleased with what you have dug up and I will listen to some of your recommendations as I believe they will suit the sort of sound I am after.

I just wanted to bring some balance to the thread so that it did not seem like we were on the war path against high end equipment. I have been a user of high end equipment for many years and know what people see in them.

 

[Lee T]

Crazy thread but I feel there is a point here.

For the last couple of weeks I've been using a Naim CD5X and a very much cheaper Rega Apollo. The former being of the richer and lusher variety. The latter more of a lighter and thus faster presentation.

It's impossible for me to say which I like best as they both seem to have their own strengths with different sorts of material.

I had both a cd5i & rega apollo at the same time & felt the same way, the Rega was more hifi i felt though, the Naim just had something that involved me more, it was odd as i felt the Rega was more open & 3 dimensional sounding with clearer detail but the Naim played music imo, still not in the same league as a cd3.5 though.

 

[Minio]

So to get the best of both worlds, which way to go?

I could trade in both players and get a ... er what?

 

[Lee T]

That's the big qiuestion, i sold them on & got my self a Naim cd3.5 which i felt outperformed both, saved a bundle in the process. It depends on what your looking for i suppose.

The 3.5 plays music the way i like it, in a more real, natural way, none of the hifi nonesense, such as overly smooth to tame the top, accenuated bass, 3d imaging etc.. meaning unless you sit in a very specific place it sounds awful, it plays it as it is & that's good enough for me. It may not be for everyone, it's no wallflower that's for sure.

You could of course get a Sony playstation one for £20

Mine is on ebay as we speak, just thought, as an experiment, how popular is this player, really, listed it for 30 days, one offer so not very by the looks of things. If someone doesn't want to spend £20 for one, maybe it is all hyperbole. I thought it sounded decent, quite analogue, not digital sounding but this may be down to rolling off the extremes as in budget gear to create a pleasant experience, i don't know, hard one to call.

 

[audiojoy]

ok hifi back up and running but with a different preamp so must have a capacitor input so it does not affect the dc offset of the modified playstation.

Can categorically state the ps1 in its final iteration was superior to my £5k cd player. Voices were so much more tactile, the vocal inflections produced a more accurate interpretation of the mood of a song and among many other facets it even had more bass drive and presence.

Tried the 'cheapo' cambridge audio 340c azur as recommended. I am afraid I can see whee the speed is coming from but it is so mechanical sounding in comparison. It does not have the same natural ease and flow of the playstation. I do truely believe that this PS1 as a cd player in the configuration I have it in is the best cd player I have owned.

I just need to dress it up in fancy clothing now, and not the kings one I dare say!!!

 

[Colin Barron]

On a positive note, with many people disposing of their high end cd players it should soon be possible to purchase and compare them for not much money.

 

[Lee T]

I sold mine for £20 on ebay, it was immaculate, correct serial number etc, played anything you could throw at it, unmoddified, essentially only 3 years old as it had been boxed since 2000, controller included, also immaculate, i had to relist for over a month to get rid, i fell for the hype & thought it would sell quickly, wrong, obviously they are not in demand which must say something in the hifi world.

Actually, the guy who purchased it wanted it as it was intended as i supplied a load of games also.

 

[audiojoy]

Ragaman

i dont know which version you had but to attain the sound I got you have to go go through many screening processes as to which version to buy and a few simple mods to the board.

They are not selling because not every one is comfortable with the mods, looks horrible and cheap. Also why should a £10 unit sound good. Other's dont realize you can actually use a standard remote and quite possibly many dont like the sound it produces. Like I said its to my taste.

 

[Lee T]

Seems to me it's more hyperbole than substance, i did think mine sounded quite nice, it surprised me for what it is, i have read though that modding them ruins the initial musicality & makes the sound a little sterile & "hifi" which sort of goes against everything it is renowned for.

To me it sounded anything but hifi & sounded quite analogue & smooth, i did post my model many pages back, i included the serial number etc.. & photo's of the internals, it is the "so called" sought after model but i had very little interest considering it had only been used for 2-3 years from new then boxed & sold it to someone for games use.

 

[beammeup]

Now someone recommend me a Streamer / DAC that sounds as good as a Playstation 1 - because I don't play CDs - I like to stream my music .

Anyone got a good £20 idea for a slick, fleet footed, tactile DAC (not just a "all DACs sound the same DAC", but one that stands out as being particularily musical).

I mention DAC of course because I can find the respective source allowing me to stream music - for example I own a Squeezebox.

Or perhaps someone's found a DVD player that streams with the musicality sought after here

Anyone .... ? Even you PS1 man with all your experience.

 

[audiojoy]

Seems to me it's more hyperbole than substance, i did think mine sounded quite nice, it surprised me for what it is, i have read though that modding them ruins the initial musicality & makes the sound a little sterile & "hifi" which sort of goes against everything it is renowned for.

To me it sounded anything but hifi & sounded quite analogue & smooth, i did post my model many pages back, i included the serial number etc.. & photo's of the internals, it is the "so called" sought after model but i had very little interest considering it had only been used for 2-3 years from new then boxed & sold it to someone for games use.

thats fine as i said its not for all tastes , so lucky me. I can do something else with the 5k i paid for the cd player which itself replaced a 12k cd player!

 

[adamdea]

Now someone recommend me a Streamer / DAC that sounds as good as a Playstation 1 - because I don't play CDs - I like to stream my music .

Anyone got a good £20 idea for a slick, fleet footed, tactile DAC (not just a "all DACs sound the same DAC", but one that stands out as being particularily musical).

I mention DAC of course because I can find the respective source allowing me to stream music - for example I own a Squeezebox.

Or perhaps someone's found a DVD player that streams with the musicality sought after here

Anyone .... ? Even you PS1 man with all your experience.

For it to sound as good as a PS1, you will have to love it as much. Why not try an rpi plus one of those hifiberry dacs or similar. Total cost a bit more than £25 (maybe 50), but people who make them seem to love them.