[david5016]

Hey guys, Ive been using a sony D-EJ721 ->Headroom airhead portable amp ->Grado sr-80 headphones, but recently my cd player died. I'm looking for a good replacement with a high quality line out (headphone output quality doesnt really matter). Are any of the new sony players good for my needs? I know the headphone output is pretty bad, but does the line out quality suffer too? Price doesnt really matter but i need a decent amount of skip protection and the smaller the better. Thanks for any responses

 

[Duncan]

Hi David, Welcome to Head-Fi

On a general level, personal CD players can't match even budget full sized CD players... yes, PCDP line outs are good for pairing with a portable amp (as you know by the looks of things) but they don't have either the transport or the raw quality of construction needed to sing like the big boys...

But, that being said... my EJ1000 that I have easily matches my 'vintage' E905 in terms of line out (which is good)... so ~ I'd say yes... have faith in newer PCDPs line outs...

What is your budget for the replacement? I know the top of the line players are pretty good for their line outs, but I don't know if their cheaper brothers have got cut down internals... which may hamper performance?!

 

[Suedama]

I just got a D-EJ1000 and the line out, as Duncan says, is very good. I've got it running through a Creek OBH-11 SE amp right now doing some A/B comparisons on my HD 600s and DT 931s. It's hard to believe that something so small and sleek can sound so good.

I noticed something interesting about the EJ1000 when I was running it without the amp. I started using it with my Grado SR 80s expecting that the low impedence Grados would sound decent with the built-in 5mW PCDP amp. Actually, the Grados sounded very thin and completely lacking in bass. Then I tried my Sony EX70LP earbuds. I hadn't used these in a while because they had always sounded kind of muddy to me. But lo and behold they sounded fantastic with the EJ1000. Go figure. I suppose there is a lot to be said for getting the right match between source and headphones.

 

[david5016]

Thanks guys, thats good to hear. Price isnt really an issue, I'm a landscaper and use my PCDP on the job though so I was hoping i could find something small with good antiskip and avoid having to go vintage sony (although i bet they sound great.)

 

[Duncan]

David...

I'd say go for the EJ1000 then, built with a metal lid... really thin... and good anti-shock

Suedama...

Same with the PX200s from Sennheiser, sound really muddy in their own right, but them teamed with the Sony player do something weird, and almost magical...

A pretty neat combo if you like bass!

 

[dparrish]

I use my D-EJ1000 with my Cosmic portable system (traveller bag and all--really great) and find the line out to be QUITE good when heard through my Etymotic 4S's.

Amazingly enough, I think the headphone out of the EJ1000 sounds pretty good with the Etys as well (though not near the quality of the line out).

I think you'd be very happy with the EJ1000. The skip protection is great even at the non-compressed setting (which makes for better sound quality), and the battery life is excellent.

Having sung the praises of the Sony, if you'd consider coming straight out of the headphone out (not using the line out), the Iriver IMP400 sounds OUTSTANDING with a good pair of headphones like the Ety 4S's. It's heaphone amp is excellent--the best available that I've heard by far, plus you get an FM radio and MP3 capability built-in. I can't speak for skip protection (works fine in my experience, but I haven't moved around with it like you probably would in your work), but I believe the sound would probably be better quality than what comes out of your Airhead (if it's the Airhead, not the Total Airhead).

 

[Audio-Me]

I've been wondering if there is a better pcdp than my Panasonic SL-CT570, but I don't have much faith in Sony ones, though I have not heard this EJ1000 model. Anyone ever compare the two?

My criteria are:
only care about line out
preferably runs off AAA, but AA is good as well
uncompressed antiskip (10-sec is fine)
slot loading would be cool as hell, but unnecessary
build quality is a must (I've no idea how many times I've dropped my pana)
I don't care for the use of one of them wired remotes, but it's tolerable