Old and Older

[erix]

So I'm showing my friend Ralph at work my new/old d-25s and he says:

"Hey I got an old Discman"

You see, Ralph is curator of "The Revolving Old Audio Dust Collerctors Collection"

This is his D-5 from July of 1985

Shown with its docking cradle.

The cradle has a stereo plug that goes in the line out and a power plug that goes, you guessed it, in the power jack. There are RCA jacks on the back side. No, the plugs don't line up with the d-25s!

Controls are: Play/Pause, Backwards, Forwards, Stop, Power Switch, Volume, Mode, and Remain. Sorry 'bout the crappy pix - new camera.

It is all plastic and huge compared to the d-25s. Easily twice the height without the cradle.

How does it sound? Wish I could tell you!

Remember, this is a collection of dust collectors. He has McIntoshes, Dyna's, Reel-to-Reel machines, Big-Ass Voice Of The Theater speakers. His basement is full...

Meanwhile, here's a pic of my d-25s in it's new happy home.

The metal trio - quietly waiting for the fourth all-metal member to show up friday.....

ok,
erix

 

[Peddler]

Cool Pics!

I actually tried the Sony D-5 a couple of weeks ago. A friend of mine had one at his house - as good as new (amazing when you look at the crap he has on the floor of his house.... but that's another story!).

Anyway, I borrowed it for the night and tried it out on my Etymotics. The sound quality was excellent. A little bright for my ears and perhaps even slightly harsh but the volume! Loudest fu**ing thing I've listened to in many years!!! This unit would DEFINITELY make you STONE DEAF if you listened to it on full volume for a couple of minutes.

Skips like a sod! Weighs more than my wife's damp underwear and clunky as hell - but I was tempted.

Trouble is I have too many players around the house as it is. I suspect he would have sold me it for a fiver but I just couldn't justify it (I know, I know - a spark of sanity! Scarey eh?)

That's it!

 

[jlo mein]

My friend also has a D-5 (notice how none of us head-fiers dont actually have a d-5, but our friends do

).

Anyway, i tried to listen to it, it wasnt so great, but only because his is really busted. It skipped like mad, sound was all staticky, and the cd player itself made a wierd grinding sound.

He said it started to do that after he dropped it multiple times...

 

[andrzejpw]

Lol, it looks like a tank!

 

[Dusty Chalk]

LOL! I swear I have one of those. I thought it was a D-1, but it looks exactly like that.

I also had the portable case, mostly for batteries. Long strap that had to go over the shoulder, because the thing was so heavy. The thing ended up looking like a tricorder from the first Star Trek. I think it used like 8 D's.

It was monstrous. I will dig it out the next time I am over at my ex's (as that's where it is) and post pics.

But when it started to die, it did this really cool digital distortion which I would love to be able to recreate, as the new ones with the digital filters don't sound the same...as the batteries died, it just got coarser and coarser, like someone had downshifted a sample seriously or something...until all it had was a vague sense of the music's rhythm.

 

[morphsci]

Quote:

Originally posted by jlo mein My friend also has a D-5 (notice how none of us head-fiers dont actually have a d-5, but our friends do ).

I have a D-5. Very nice sonically but as Peddler said it skips very easily so I only use it stationary in its docking cradle. But it has played everything I have thrown at it including CD-R's.

 

[meithkiller]

I just got (another) CD player off of ebay, and it looks exactly, and I do mean exactly like the D-5 with its AC power cradle, but on the sticker on back, it says it is a D-14, and its build date is December 1985. It is in pretty good shape, and I picked it up pretty cheap. From the pics on ebay, I thought it was a D-5, but no model number was listed. Mine is metal and plastic (not all plastic like erix said of the D-5), with the bottom and the inside platter being metal, and the sides and top plastic. I think I remember reading that the original (optional I think) battery case for these used 6 C batteries.

I agree about the sound being a little bright and slightly harsh, but still very listenable. It seems every bit as powerful as my D-25S and D-10, but not quite as refined.

To add to the collection, I have two more Sony models coming from ebay, a D-16 (just looked interesting and it was cheap), and the famous D-555. I'm listening to a D-20 (circa 1988) right now that arrived today, and its sound reminds me a little more of the D-5 than the D-25S.

-Keith

 

[Onix]

Quote:

Originally posted by erix Meanwhile, here's a pic of my d-25s in it's new happy home. The metal trio - quietly waiting for the fourth all-metal member to show up friday.....

Nice trio, what's that thing on your amp, the one that looks like a Xmas tree ligth?

 

[neckfox]

About five years ago, I was quite satisfied with the D-250 (Japanese model for the D25. built a like a luxury metal tank), but I dropped it and had to buy something quickly in Japan in about 1997, and chose a D-335 (poorer built, better sound, honestly with the MDR-E888 or E848) which I was quite satisfied with, although a D-777 might have been a better choice. Just saving money I guess. But now I have the D-E01 bought over a year ago, I think it is pretty good for about USD 210 new.