Peddler
1000+ Head-Fier
Hi
Just to throw the cat amongst the pigeons! I have both the Sony D-915 and the Panasonic 570 discman's. I have to say up front that these are both excellent players and you can do a lot worse than get either of these two.
I purchased the Sony model first at full retail. Whilst browsing through a second-hand shop one day I came across the Panasonic for the astonishing price of £16 ($24 or thereabouts) – it would have bordered on a criminal act not to buy it even though I already had a perfectly good player with the Sony. After listening exclusively to the Panasonic machine for several weeks now, I have come to the conclusion that I prefer the Sony in all departments.
Sound Quality.
Both players sound excellent. However the Panasonic does suffer from two basic problems which the Sony doesn’t. Firstly, there is a more distinct ‘noise floor’ with the unit and secondly the remote control’s backlight function affects the sound – again with an increased noise floor. The Sony player is virtually silent at all times. The Panasonic’s headphone output is slightly louder than the Sony’s but – I have re-educated my listening habits since owning the Etymotics ER4P’s and I very rarely need to listen to music louder than about 7.5 – 8.0 out of 9.9. If I do have a sudden urge to listen to louder levels, I can always fall back on my trust AirHead portable amplifier.
Build-Quality.
Again, I have to say that both units are very well made. Although the Panasonic features an LCD display on both the main unit and the remote control, I think the Sony looks sleeker and more sexy (sick I know but I’m a sad git!). I must admit I haven’t dropped either unit to test their strength but I’m sure they are pretty equal in general construction. (I must admit that due to the excessively cheap price I paid for the Panasonic I would much rather drop that one than the Sony!).
Battery.
This is perhaps where the Panasonic may have an edge. It uses standard AAA batteries and I tend to get good results using rechargeable nMh cells. The Sony uses their own ‘Gumstick’ batteries. Much more expensive to replace but I have to say that they offer better longevity between charges and generally are well behaved when estimating playback time through the LCD display. I also own the Sony MD-R900 Mini Disc recorder which also uses these ‘gumstick’ batteries so I’m quite comfortable with them now. BTW – Both the 915 CD player and the 900 MD recorder both offer outstanding battery life!
Supplied Headphones.
Both suck! I cannot understand why companies like Sony and Panasonic insist on bundling their top of the range players with these crappy headphones! I’m using the following:
Sony 888’s – For general ‘walkman’ use. They’re cheap enough not to worry too much about getting them trapped in car doors (compared to the Ety’s anyway!).
Etymotic ER4P’s – Frightening addictive. I’m beginning to think that these things should have been licensed by the F.D.A. or something. Anyone thinking of getting these should stop thinking and just get them – trust me, you won’t have any guilt-trips about spending that kind of money on headphones once you’ve heard these babies!
Sennheiser MX400 – Poor man’s version of the 888’s? In some ways perhaps yes. They’re smooth sounding, non-offensive and cheap enough to invest in back-up pairs. DEFINITELY NOT AS GOOD AS THE 888’S THOUGH!!!
I accept that there is a possibility that the Panasonic Discman is not performing at its best – being second hand and all, but it works perfectly well with no strange foibles.
In many ways this whole piece is about nitpicking! The differences between units and even headphones is pronounced as far as I’m concerned and I’m certainly not regretting purchasing any of my players or headphones. I just think that, for many casual listeners out there the differences will be fairly subtle and they will not perceive the worth of these units like I do.
Just to throw the cat amongst the pigeons! I have both the Sony D-915 and the Panasonic 570 discman's. I have to say up front that these are both excellent players and you can do a lot worse than get either of these two.
I purchased the Sony model first at full retail. Whilst browsing through a second-hand shop one day I came across the Panasonic for the astonishing price of £16 ($24 or thereabouts) – it would have bordered on a criminal act not to buy it even though I already had a perfectly good player with the Sony. After listening exclusively to the Panasonic machine for several weeks now, I have come to the conclusion that I prefer the Sony in all departments.
Sound Quality.
Both players sound excellent. However the Panasonic does suffer from two basic problems which the Sony doesn’t. Firstly, there is a more distinct ‘noise floor’ with the unit and secondly the remote control’s backlight function affects the sound – again with an increased noise floor. The Sony player is virtually silent at all times. The Panasonic’s headphone output is slightly louder than the Sony’s but – I have re-educated my listening habits since owning the Etymotics ER4P’s and I very rarely need to listen to music louder than about 7.5 – 8.0 out of 9.9. If I do have a sudden urge to listen to louder levels, I can always fall back on my trust AirHead portable amplifier.
Build-Quality.
Again, I have to say that both units are very well made. Although the Panasonic features an LCD display on both the main unit and the remote control, I think the Sony looks sleeker and more sexy (sick I know but I’m a sad git!). I must admit I haven’t dropped either unit to test their strength but I’m sure they are pretty equal in general construction. (I must admit that due to the excessively cheap price I paid for the Panasonic I would much rather drop that one than the Sony!).
Battery.
This is perhaps where the Panasonic may have an edge. It uses standard AAA batteries and I tend to get good results using rechargeable nMh cells. The Sony uses their own ‘Gumstick’ batteries. Much more expensive to replace but I have to say that they offer better longevity between charges and generally are well behaved when estimating playback time through the LCD display. I also own the Sony MD-R900 Mini Disc recorder which also uses these ‘gumstick’ batteries so I’m quite comfortable with them now. BTW – Both the 915 CD player and the 900 MD recorder both offer outstanding battery life!
Supplied Headphones.
Both suck! I cannot understand why companies like Sony and Panasonic insist on bundling their top of the range players with these crappy headphones! I’m using the following:
Sony 888’s – For general ‘walkman’ use. They’re cheap enough not to worry too much about getting them trapped in car doors (compared to the Ety’s anyway!).
Etymotic ER4P’s – Frightening addictive. I’m beginning to think that these things should have been licensed by the F.D.A. or something. Anyone thinking of getting these should stop thinking and just get them – trust me, you won’t have any guilt-trips about spending that kind of money on headphones once you’ve heard these babies!
Sennheiser MX400 – Poor man’s version of the 888’s? In some ways perhaps yes. They’re smooth sounding, non-offensive and cheap enough to invest in back-up pairs. DEFINITELY NOT AS GOOD AS THE 888’S THOUGH!!!
I accept that there is a possibility that the Panasonic Discman is not performing at its best – being second hand and all, but it works perfectly well with no strange foibles.
In many ways this whole piece is about nitpicking! The differences between units and even headphones is pronounced as far as I’m concerned and I’m certainly not regretting purchasing any of my players or headphones. I just think that, for many casual listeners out there the differences will be fairly subtle and they will not perceive the worth of these units like I do.
