[ismschism]

Quote:

Originally posted by dgs Just my two cents. I wouldn't cross the 470 off the list completely. I have had two of them, and they both sounded fine. It seems however, that there is variation in quality depending on the unit you get. If you can still find the 460 anywhere, I really loved that unit.

Are you saying the Panasonic SL-CT460 is even better than the SL-CT470? If so, in what ways? And is there any reason to get a 470 if I can get a SL-CT570? The 570 is supposed to be about the same level of sound quality, but with a possibility of removing the anti-skip buffer, which should make it sound better than the 470.

Plus, are there any alternatives to the Panasonics (470/570) that I should be considering, that are just as good or better in sound quality (and just as modern)?

For example, I'd still like to know how the Pana 570 compares to the Sony D-FJ401, volume-output-wise, sound-wise...

 

[gloco]

I still think the pana 470 is a piece of garbage, awful sound out of the headphone jack and decent line out, the dsp modes are totally useless. It simply sounds dull, muddy, murky, boring, ininvolving...everything that's bad rolled into one. It can barely (!!!) drive my grado's and Sony 7506's!!! Come on! Every MD player i own was able to drive those cans to hella loud (and clear mind you) levels. At least the 470 extremely light and pretty

It was one of those times where i questioned the opinions of other head-fiers

 

[Eagle_Driver]

gloco,

Are we in agreement that the CT470 sounded like hammered crap?

At the Chicago Head-Fi meet this past April, I let a few people listen to the headphone-outs of the Panasonic SL-CT470 and SL-CT790 and the Sony D-EJ1000 - all with a pair of Sony MDR-7506 headphones. (The anti-skip circuits on the older CT470 and the Sony were set to their minimum settings - off for the CT470, non-compressed anti-skip for the Sony. The newer CT790's compressed anti-skip is on all the time, and cannot be turned off - but it still seems to compress the sound less than earlier anti-skip circuits did.) The result? Surprisingly, the few who did the comparison liked the newer CT790 more than either of the other PCDPs. (Or put it this way, the newer high-end Panasonic sounded less crapty than the other two PCDPs.)

 

[ismschism]

Quote:

Originally posted by gloco I still think the pana 470 is a piece of garbage, awful sound out of the headphone jack and decent line out, the dsp modes are totally useless. It simply sounds dull, muddy, murky, boring, ininvolving...everything that's bad rolled into one. It can barely (!!!) drive my grado's and Sony 7506's!!! Come on! Every MD player i own was able to drive those cans to hella loud (and clear mind you) levels. At least the 470 extremely light and pretty It was one of those times where i questioned the opinions of other head-fiers

It isn't just "head-fiers" that like the Pana 470 you know. So what by you is lively, clear, exciting, and involving - and is NOT a rare, pricey 15-20 year old D-series Sony? I'm still accepting recommendations, you know!

 

[ismschism]

Quote:

Originally posted by Eagle_Driver gloco, Are we in agreement that the CT470 sounded like hammered crap? At the Chicago Head-Fi meet this past April, I let a few people listen to the headphone-outs of the Panasonic SL-CT470 and SL-CT790 and the Sony D-EJ1000 - all with a pair of Sony MDR-7506 headphones. (The anti-skip circuits on the older CT470 and the Sony were set to their minimum settings - off for the CT470, non-compressed anti-skip for the Sony. The newer CT790's compressed anti-skip is on all the time, and cannot be turned off - but it still seems to compress the sound less than earlier anti-skip circuits did.) The result? Surprisingly, the few who did the comparison liked the newer CT790 more than either of the other PCDPs. (Or put it this way, the newer high-end Panasonic sounded less crapty than the other two PCDPs.)

Perhaps I missed it, but I haven't seen anyone here or elsewhere rate the 790 above the CT-470. So now I'm wondering why people in a blind test at a hifi show preferred the 790? Does it in fact compare in sound quality to the 470/570 models, or is it just the features of the 790 that aren't liked round these parts?

 

[Eagle_Driver]

It's the feature set and design of the CT790 that isn't well liked among us head-fiers.

 

[dgs]

Despite the resounding emphasis on the 470 being a POS, I will answer the question asked of me...

I liked the 460 better because it was more powerful, was cleaner and more open-sounding, and sounded better with the ESP on than the 470.

To reply to other general issues, and please keep in mind that these are only my opinions, I do not take the position that these are facts:

Apart from walking around on the streets, I have found that all ESP modes (pana or sony) sound worse than my MD player, so I can't say that ESP makes or breaks a PCDP for me.

I have never cared for the sony sound on their PCDPs. I have always found them to be overly punchy, as if someone has pressed the loudness button. I found the panasonic more neutral and cleaner, especially in the mid treble. As with anything else, this is just a matter of opinion. I have an old sony unit (can't remember the number right now, but it's the old square one) that sounds better than any PCDP I've found in several years. I also have a new sony PCDP which I bought solely for it's digital out. I don't really listen to it otherwise.

I sort of gave up on the PCDPs because for portable use, I found that the MD sounded better than the antishock modes of the PCDPs out at the time, but I must admit, I haven't kept up with the PCDPs, and this may have changed.

 

[MERTON]

man.. it's weird.. but my ms2's actually sound fairly good out of my imp 550... they even have a decent detail and bass level... very... pretty and enjoyable.

 

[gloco]

Quote:

Originally posted by ismschism It isn't just "head-fiers" that like the Pana 470 you know. So what by you is lively, clear, exciting, and involving - and is NOT a rare, pricey 15-20 year old D-series Sony? I'm still accepting recommendations, you know!

Rare? Expensive? Nonsense. I paid $5 for a D-33 on ebay less than a year ago. Sure, it ain't portable, but it kicks ass. As for portable, try the Sony DE561 if you can find one.

 

[Lisa]

If you still got the SlimX 350 on your list you might aswell look at the imp-150.
Runs on AA's instead. They both have poor batterylife with regulair cd's. My imp-150 does 4,5 hrs on 1800mah nimh rechargebles.
With an mp3 CD it's over 13hrs.
I think the SlimX has even worse batterylife. And uses gumsticks.