[gnick]

Impressions:

Setup - D25-S, Radio Shack 1500ma 9V adapter, HD 600s.

This is one gorgeous player. Plays CDs and CDrs flawlessly, even ones with moderate scatches, and is surprisingly resistant to skipping. Has a warm rich sound with powerfull bass and very nice mid-range. The sound is so powerfull and seductive that it took me a while to key in on the highs, something is very wrong. Specifically anything with metallic overtones just sounds bad, the attack on cymbals is OK but the decay is both truncated and distorted, same for bells, chimes, etc. This was unexpected since other threads raved about cymbals. The effect is much more noticeable when using the line out into my main system. Doing back to back plays of Patrica Barber's Cafe Blue on the D25-S vs a CT 570 the difference just jumps out and hits you over the head. Same thing on other CDs.

Now for the questions:

1. Anybody else have the same problem? It is much easier to notice using the line out through a good stereo.

2. Is the D25-S old enough, that it uses a brick wall filter? If so what I'm hearing could be phase distortion caused by the filter.
I've seen other threads refer to 4 bit oversampling, what is the source of this information, the manual?

3. For those that have bought more than one D25-S, how much variation has there been in sound quality among units? Maybe I just got a bad one? But the lows & mids sound soooo good!

4. What are the 3 gold pins on the bottom for? Some kind of docking module?

Unrelated to the above, the bottom of the D25-S is easy to remove, my unit had some dried up lube on the guide rail opposite the worm screw. Took about 15 minutes to open up, clean re-lube and button back up.

Thanks in advance for your answers.

 

[Audio-Me]

Warm rich sound with powerful bass? The only strong point I saw in the Sony D-25S was its build quality and clean midrange. The highs were simply artificial sounding (very metallic). Mine couldn't play CD-Rs worth half a peso, fuzzy amplified static sound with every single CD-R (they play perfectly fine on all my other equipment, which suggests they are pretty damn good copies).

 

[Audio Redneck]

Quote:

Originally posted by Audio&Me Mine couldn't play CD-Rs worth half a peso, fuzzy amplified static sound with every single CD-R (they play perfectly fine on all my other equipment, which suggests they are pretty damn good copies).

Well either you got a lemon or I found the diamond, but I'm not having any trouble playing CD-Rs on mine that play fine on other equipment. But I admit I burn all my audio CD-Rs at 1x, which factors in. As far as sound, my test CDR sounds as good or better on the D25 as any other portable that I have heard (I haven't heard the high-side panasonics.)

Gnick,
something to try if you have access to one: try a different power supply and see if it makes a difference.

 

[cajunchrist]

I tend to agree with Audio&Me. The highs tend to have a sharp peak but are not full bodied and complete. Overall, the sound of my Pana 570 is better. The Sony is a fun toy to have, but I don't think it's a must have.

 

[gloco]

Yeah, i guess i can now say the highs do sound metallic (with the 7506's), but mine plays all my cdr's without a problem...and i happen to burn everything at 8X just for kicks

Audio&Me, maybe you got yourself a lemon, or your just using crummy, generic pile of crap cdr's

I would try to return it and get another one. The line out sure does sound sweet though.

 

[meithkiller]

Quote:

Originally posted by gnick Impressions: Now for the questions: 1. Anybody else have the same problem? It is much easier to notice using the line out through a good stereo. 2. Is the D25-S old enough, that it uses a brick wall filter? If so what I'm hearing could be phase distortion caused by the filter. I've seen other threads refer to 4 bit oversampling, what is the source of this information, the manual? 3. For those that have bought more than one D25-S, how much variation has there been in sound quality among units? Maybe I just got a bad one? But the lows & mids sound soooo good! 4. What are the 3 gold pins on the bottom for? Some kind of docking module? Unrelated to the above, the bottom of the D25-S is easy to remove, my unit had some dried up lube on the guide rail opposite the worm screw. Took about 15 minutes to open up, clean re-lube and button back up. Thanks in advance for your answers.

1. Not on mine.

2. Don't know about the brick wall filter, but the manual says this about the D-A Conversion: 16-bit Linear, 4fs digital filter

3. I've got two, but I just listened to the second one briefly to verify that it worked properly and then packed it away. I didn't critically compare the sound of the two, but from what I remember they sounded the same.

4. The three pins on the bottom are for the BP-100 auxiliary battery pack that clips on to the bottom. It measures the same as the D-25S for length and width, and is 3/8" tall. It is 6V and has 1000mW of current available. It is also lead-acid like the BP-2(X). I got one with a used D-10 I bought, and it still holds enough charge for a few hours of listening. The BP-100 was used on most of the Sony high end players from about 1988 to 1993. Unfortunately they are not available new anymore.

-Keith

 

[Audio-Me]

Ahhh screw it, still not worth the hassle (it aint really a portable! No anti-skip) already sold it. I've tried every type of CD-R that I've had success with. I would never use el cheapo cdrs btw.

I probably did get a sour one, cause I get random artifacts on retail CDs as well.

I write my CDs @ 4x, with both component recorder and CD-RW drive.

 

[Russ Arcuri]

Quote:

Originally posted by gnick 1. Anybody else have the same problem? It is much easier to notice using the line out through a good stereo.

Nope... Mine sounds great in the treble range. These things are subjective, though, so YMMV. Quote:

2. Is the D25-S old enough, that it uses a brick wall filter? If so what I'm hearing could be phase distortion caused by the filter.

No, it's not a brick wall filter. It's a 4X oversampling filter. I have a D-15 which does use a brickwall filter, and (IMO) the treble does suffer a bit compared to the D-25. Quote:

I've seen other threads refer to 4 bit oversampling, what is the source of this information, the manual?

Yep. It was a big thing when the D-25 first came out -- I believe all previous Sony portables did no oversampling. Quote:

3. For those that have bought more than one D25-S, how much variation has there been in sound quality among units?

I've heard far less difference between the various D-25 models I have than between any of them and the D-15. The minor differences I've heard between the D-25s I'm chalking up to imagination right now.

As to the CD-R question -- I've had no problems whatsoever playing CD-Rs, burned at various speeds between 2X and 8X.