i own around 4 of them before. d303 has the best phone out. I love its detailed and warmed sound signature. I found the sound quality beat all the recently mp3 players as of 5/11/201. It also has very good line out but d555's line out is better than d303. the optical out is a plus if you use it to sync with your mini disc.
d303 has most common issue with the RF-410CH spindle motor and you often see skipping problem with that. in most case, if you hold the discman vertically it will play without skipping.
d303 has most common issue with the RF-410CH spindle motor and you often see skipping problem with that. in most case, if you hold the discman vertically it will play without skipping.
All I can say is ... I'm glad to be rid of those cumbersome units.
If you want WAY, WAY better sound portably, get a QLS-QA350 (that has SPDIF), or Teclast T51/S:Flo2. So much more convenient, if you EAC-rip your CDs, as you can throw so man albums onto a single (tiny) SD memory card.
The Philips PET724 could play 24/96 DVDs, it still does not sound anywhere close to the DAPs I noted above. The HiFiman 801 can do high-rez up to 24/96 I think. The Fiio X3 is due out shortly ... that should do 24/192
Those old Discman are inconvenient and unreliable (esp. with age). Think forward, folks!