GRRR! I'm sick of crappy Sony Quality! I want a NEW PCDP!!
Aug 20, 2002 at 5:42 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 70

Eagle_Driver

Headphoneus Supremus
Joined
Jun 22, 2001
Posts
6,496
Likes
61
Though my Sony D-EJ1000 hasn't broken on me yet, I am fed up with its increasingly crappier internal headphone-out! And even amped, its line-out may not sound as good as a Panasonic with no line-out through its headphone out. (BTW, my other working Sony - a D-EJ721 - suffers from rolled-off treble at its headphone out.)

I just want you to know that I'm considering a *cough* *gag* *choke* Panasonic from one of its newest lines. (And don't get me to buy an older model unit; its antiskip and battery life are unacceptablly short for me - alkaline batteries are relatively expensive where I live, so I must have at least 80 hours of battery life. And don't get me to buy any of the MP3-CD models at this time; all I want to listen to is regular audio CDs.)

Granted, this is a tall order, so I want something that's less sucky than others.

Any suggestions?
 
Aug 20, 2002 at 7:48 AM Post #2 of 70
Depending on where your 'gutter' is located
smily_headphones1.gif
,perhaps you can pick-up a Japanese version of a Panansonic pcdp. Then you would have line-out and optical out.
 
Aug 20, 2002 at 9:07 AM Post #3 of 70
Sorry to say this, but if you want good quality from the headphone jack, you're pretty much stuck with something older. The newest Pana line as has been reported by many and from what I could hear from a 5 min long audition in a store sound even crappier than your EJ721. I'm talking about CT790 in particular. CT780 may be a bit better, but then if you're in the US-no line out and no uncompressed headout eighter.
Concerning batteries, all new high end players work on pair of gumsticks. The in-built chargers usually abuse the batteries badly (overcharging) which shortens their life. In most cases they're gone (or at least have a decreased capacity) in about 18 months and cost $40 to replace. On the other hand some older and/or mid-of-the-line models use AA cells. Just pick for high capacity NiMh cells and an external charger and it will save you money in a long run.
 
Aug 20, 2002 at 10:09 AM Post #4 of 70
My relatively new Lenoxx CD-87 puts out 20mW x 2 (into 16ohms, I believe). That is at least two or four times the output of most current PCDP's and MD's. Quite adequate for most cans in the 16-120 ohm range (and appropriate sensitivity). It even drives my Senn 580's by itself, albeit while sounding a bit thin. I would love to try it with a pair of Ety's.

Build quality is cheap, but so is the cost, and I don't worry about taking it anywhere. Battery life is not so good either, but an inexpensive set of Ni-Mh AA's solve that. It even has a pretty decent line-out for use with an amp.
 
Aug 20, 2002 at 1:45 PM Post #7 of 70
Oh, I get it! There are players that combine the shortest battery-life, the worst anti-skip performance (or that it has no anti-skip at all whatsoever), and the crappiest sound quality - all in the same unit! The bottom-of-the-line RCA and Coby PCDPs!!
eek.gif
eek.gif
eek.gif


Those units embarrass me with their really muddy sound!
 
Aug 20, 2002 at 1:53 PM Post #8 of 70
And I want my PCDP to be powered by very proprietary batteries, with no AA battery capability whatsoever. (But then, the first-generation PCDPs used proprietary lead-acid rechargeables that 'figuratively' weigh a ton, and are elephantine in size.) Even AA-battery-powered units are unacceptably bulky for me.

BTW, I'm planning to use a PCDP only with an amp, so SQ from the headphone-out is irrelevant.
 
Aug 20, 2002 at 3:57 PM Post #10 of 70
Sorry, andrzejpw, but my CT470 is broken (it broke just six months after I bought it new) - and I would be against the CT570, as well, due to it being the same basic design as the 470.
frown.gif
 
Aug 20, 2002 at 4:42 PM Post #11 of 70
Incidentally, those gumstick batteries are NOT proprietary - I've seen them in a catalog somewhere, but I don't remeber where.
rolleyes.gif


I know that Panasonic makes 'em.
 
Aug 20, 2002 at 5:15 PM Post #12 of 70
I always thought that the units that use gumstick batteries can charge only gumstick batteries that are of the same brand as the PCDP itself.
 
Aug 20, 2002 at 5:41 PM Post #14 of 70
eagle: Well, yeah, that's what they WANT you to believe so you pay $40 or whatever they charge. But if the battery capacity/shape and whatnot are the same, then there should be no problem. It's not like the internal chargers are tuned for a particular battery anyway - as blr mentioned, they horribly abuse/overcharge the batteries that are SUPPOSED to go in there.
 
Aug 20, 2002 at 6:03 PM Post #15 of 70
My 470 keeps stopping playback for no apparent reason. And I had the Hold button engaged, and didn't touch any controls on the player or the Open latch on the lid.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top