[evil-zen]

Duncan,
I remembered you saying that the 1000 were similar to the 905 in terms of line out. why is there a large difference now?

 

[Duncan]

Quote:

Originally posted by evil-zen Duncan, I remembered you saying that the 1000 were similar to the 905 in terms of line out. why is there a large difference now?

Hiya...

Its kind of how listening to Sony MDR-Stock earbuds is good for the masses, in the early days of the EJ1000, I felt really good about having it... so small, so cool... Its only with this review that i've really listened to each player in turn, letting the real sonic signature come out...

Another factor, in the early days of having both players (about 14 months ago now) is that I was heavily into dance / trance, which is one thing where the EJ1000 isn't so bad... its booming nature almost lends an edge to the beat on that kind of music...

...Also 14 months ago, I thought the D777 and D-E905 were the best PCDPs there were, period... how wrong, and naive I was

 

[Duncan]

Is there anyone else here with the D311?

I've noticed something strange today, whilst messing with the bass boost ~ that it seems to extend the soundstage quite dramatically... pushes everything further in front of you, and doesn't just add weight to the bass, it adds a room like echo ~ is very strange... just want to know if its maybe just the CD i've been listening to (haven't got much time on my hands to experiment right now) or if this is a general thing?

Its a pretty damned cool (and different) experience

Hmm... I feel a revision coming on this weekend... bass boost implementation, the pros and cons

 

[jaskin]

Hi Duncan,

I do have the D311 player which was graciously sold to me from vwap. So far I haven't noticed what you mentioned but it's perhaps because I wasn't listening to intently. I'll do another listening session today or tomorrow and let you knowof the results. However, I don't really know how to describe what I hear so it'd be a short description.

Cheers
Jason

 

[dougbrad81]

hi duncan,
a little off topic question if you don't mind. i see you use your minidisc deck as a dac. i'm guessing you use it with by putting no disc in and pressing the record button. do you know if doing this will wear out the recording head?

 

[Pappucho]

Great review Duncan! I have a Optimus CD-3400 that I could add to the list if your'e interested....anyone know how much shipping would run from Texas to the UK???

 

[vwap]

Quote:

Originally posted by Pappucho Great review Duncan! I have a Optimus CD-3400 that I could add to the list if your'e interested....anyone know how much shipping would run from Texas to the UK???

about $20.

 

[Pappucho]

Sounds reasonable, if your'e interested, email me at pappucho@aol.com.

 

[Duncan]

Quote:

Originally posted by dougbrad81 hi duncan, a little off topic question if you don't mind. i see you use your minidisc deck as a dac. i'm guessing you use it with by putting no disc in and pressing the record button. do you know if doing this will wear out the recording head?

Hiya...

You're correct about how I use the MD as a DAC, and no ~ it doesn't wear the head out... MD isn't like analog cassette where each individual tape needs calibrating, but if you want to get extra headroom out of your MD, if you put it in that mode (which only works when no MD is inserted) you can then go into the settings of the MD deck, and add some extra volume...

No worries there at all

Pappucho...

Thanks for the offer, its an amazingly generous one... but I personally wouldn't trust your valuable CD3400 to travel 8000 miles out and back, in one piece... so i'm going to decline...

It would've been interesting though, maybe if this was a UK model at some stage, I could look on EBay...

Jaskin...

Apart from that question about the bass-boost, what do you think generally aboiut the D311? I really hope you like it as much as i do

 

[D-EJ915]

It's kind of weird that you'd say it's sound is like that of the new ones, since "they're terrible", because I have listened to SOO many older CD players (not D-555/777, but still), and the 915 is far superior in comparison, but-alas, I have moved to MD, and my S1 serves me well.

 

[EyeAmEye]

Quote:

Originally posted by Duncan Is there anyone else here with the D311? I've noticed something strange today, whilst messing with the bass boost ~ that it seems to extend the soundstage quite dramatically... pushes everything further in front of you, and doesn't just add weight to the bass, it adds a room like echo ~ is very strange... just want to know if its maybe just the CD i've been listening to (haven't got much time on my hands to experiment right now) or if this is a general thing? Its a pretty damned cool (and different) experience Hmm... I feel a revision coming on this weekend... bass boost implementation, the pros and cons

Duncan,
I've never listened to a D311, but I received a D11 this morning I bought on Ebay, and I noticed exactly what you did. The bass boost on the D11 brings everything up front, and seems to extend the soundstage considerably.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Okay, I'm not going into any details about the overall sound quality of the Redbook-only PCDPs currently in my collection. But I can definitely tell that both of my Sony players sound darker and have rolled-off highs compared to my Panasonics - both from the headphone output and the line output jacks. The Panasonics may be closer to 'neutral' than the Sonys. However, I've noticed some high-frequency distortion from my Panasonics with the anti-skip circuitry turned on (at worst, the sound quality is similar to that of a 128kbps MP3), due to the fact that the 40- or 48-second anti-skip is compressed. The SL-CT790's anti-skip circuitry cannot be turned off at all, and the North American market versions of this PCDP has no line output jack or optical output jack whatsoever - but even so, I prefer its (the permanently fudged SL-CT790's) sound quality to that of the other (fudged) Panasonics with their anti-skip circuitry turned on.

And as much as I thought I had loved my Panasonic SL-SW850, I found it somewhat lacking in overall performance compared to the other Panasonics in my collection: Its line output is grainy; its headphone output, somewhat echoey. But then again, it was a high-priced model that uses the innards of a much cheaper model.

As for Sony's G-Protection, current versions offer a choice between 'uncompressed' and 'compressed' buffering - but even uncompressed buffering cannot hide the fact that the DACs and op-amps inside post-Y2K Sony CD Walkman players are of inferior quality to those inside post-Y2K Panasonic PCDPs as a whole.

And no brief comparison is complete without a mention of how well the USA-market Panasonic SL-CT790's headphone output functions as a line output. Well, it actually works pretty well in that capacity, but its maximum settable volume is lower than the line output jacks on the other PCDPs.

 

[beastie]

hey eagledriver,

have you ever tried panasonic models from 1993 or older? i really want to hear what others have to say about the quality. my pana sl-s150 is pretty nice methinks.

does anyone know if sony had a cd player monopoly in the US in the early 90's? is that why almost no one have owned older pana models?

 

[Duncan]

EyeAmEye...

Thanks for concurring with me on this one, the older design bass boost definetly (if nothing else) appears to add some extra reverb to the sound

Eagle...

You're making me wonder if I should take the word 'Sony' out of the title of this thread... Pappucho is sending me the 3400 to demo, and the more I think about it, the more I think there should be some Panasonics in there somewhere... I think, maybe a CT-470/570...

 

[puppyslugg]

How 'bout a Turbo D25?