[nanahachi]

i recently ordered a RCA PCDP (RP2440) as a cheap second player that i could carry around in my work bag and not mind if it got a bit beat up. im extremely protective of my Japanese SonyD-E525 (even though i dont know how it measures up quality wise), so i'd rather not carry it with me to work, but use it instead when i study at cafes or the library.

here is the page for the RCA RP2440 at amazon for a pic and description:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...206370-3957750

im just wondering if this is a real POS, or is a decent player. i know its not gonna blow me away with its high fidelity sound. but im somewhat reluctant to open the package if it turns out to be crap.

i bought it b/c it was fairly CHEAP ($54 shipped, msrp is $99 i think?) was *supposedly* thin (its not that thin--through the packaging it seems to be about 13/16 inch or about 18mm), 45sec skip protection, and had a remote with LCD. it has an external battery pack, and an optical out too, but id rather use my sony PCDP or marantz 5-disc for that purpose

any opinions would help. also, any recommendations for a good player to replace it would be nice too. ppl keep mentioning the panasonic 570, but am not sure where i can find it cheaply (cursory searches brought up >$100 prices)

thanks!

 

[nanahachi]

ok, so im going to reply to myself, and tell myself about the RCA PCDP.

i got impatient, and cut open the packaging (that clear plastic type case that some sony PCDPs, cheap headphones, other electronics come in) and pulled out the RCA player. ok this thing really is thin and light. its not the EJ1000, or the panasonic CT790, but this really is thin.

SIZE/FEATURES

as you can see from the link i provided in the above post, the CDP is mostly circular, with a little portion jutting out around the top, with small round buttons for play, stop, forward, and bass boost. there is NO LCD on the player itself, only on the remote.

i dont have any AA (for the external batt pack) or AAA (for the batt. compartment inside the player, under where the CD goes, not accessible unless you open the lid...like new sony players), so i'm just running off the AC adapter.

i shook it quite thoroughly as it started playing disc 2 of the K&D sessions....it paused for a sec, then resumed playing. i gave it many good thumps with my thumb, no noticeable disturbance.

i have the bass boost OFF, and my DT231s are providing very strong bass. however, when i had the Smiths on a moment ago, the bass was not very presesnt...so i dont think the player overdoes the bass on standard play.

the player has 2 sound modes: bass boost, and "surround," which are toggled on/off with the same button on both the remote and the player. surround does what it says, and provides kind of a cheesy surround effect, emphasizing highs. i wont use either feature.

The remote is about the size of two quarters side by side, or about 2.25" (60mm) long [including the little nub for the cord out to the player] X 1.5"(36mm) wide. its oval shaped, and very flat except for the clip on the underside. id say its under 7/16" thick.
on the remote are volume, play, stop, forward, back on the top side/edge, and mode, "memory" (aka display), and b.boost on the botton edge. its a decent remote, with a big easy to read LCD. the remote also displays a battery meter.

I should also note that while it does have optical out, its not too convenient. There is also no dedicated analogue line out in addition to the headphone out and the optical out. Here's the deal: the remote has two prongs on it, one for the headphone out, the other plugs into the optical out, which are side by side. this leaves no other jacks open. thus, you cannot use the optical out AND the remote at the same time. i find this problematic. unless you want to copy a whole cd as is, no programming is possible (esp selecting specific tracks, you would have a hard time doing so since there is no mode button on the player, no LED, and no program button). i wasnt going to use this players optical out anyway, but i thought you should all know.

SOUND
i feel very poorly qualified to describe the sound quality of headphones, CDPs, etc...but ill try. i know what sounds good to me, but dont have the diction/jargon down yet.

the mids and bass are VERY present. listening to No Doubt's Return of Saturn, the bass and guitar stand out most. the highs sound recessed. cymbals are kinda faint. gwen's voice isnt standing out as much as id expect.

when i had kruder&dorfmeister on, the bass was very strong. but then that cd is really bass heavy.

i think i'll try and A/B test this against my Sony EJ525 tonight or this weekend as maybe post the results if you guys care.

OVERALL
i was really skeptical about this thing. but i think it will be satisfying for its purpose.

like i said before, it doesnt blow me away. but its not crap either.
it has a remote, optical out, is pretty thin, and you cant get it really cheaply at the link i provided above, if i'm allowed to say that. for $54 and change, this will make my walk and BART commute a bit more enjoyable.

send any questions my way. just dont expect the player to be whats its not.

 

[blr]

Hi nanahachi.

thanks for the review and the link. I've been looking at this player (in Europe it is marketed under Thomson name but it's the same thing).

Can you elaborate a bit more on the sound of the player? I'll be particularly interested in comparison against your Sony. Also, does your player's manual have any info about the power output from the headphone jack, if not how loud it is compred to Sony and how well it drives headphones..
Also, what about battery life.

 

[nanahachi]

hey all (2 of us)

i didnt have a chance to A/B test against my Sony yet, but I did spend some time listening to the RCA (Thomson) CDP last night.

My first observation:
the bass boost functions dont suck. while i wont use the bass boost (it makes amazingly plangent bass on certain cds, LTJ Bukem's Logical Progression disc 3 for instance, was truly pounding in a good way with my EX70s...but i dont prefer that much bass, but it was clean and deep),

the surround fuction is a treble boost, plain and simple, to complement the bass boost. i usually prefer flat EQs to maintain some fidelity, at least i do on my home system and on my sony CDP. but i found that i actually preferred to have the surround function on with the RCA. when i turned it off, and listened to my cds with no EQ enhancement, it sounded so dead...unless i cranked up the volume from 9 (with surround on) to 14 (with surround off). im not a big bass fanatic, so the treble boost aided the mids and highs sufficiently that i could listen at softer levels and hear the parts of the music i especially enjoy. this was true on the LTJ Bukem cd, also with the Roots (rap), and the Red Hot Chili Peppers (funk/rock/...). so, forgive me, but i like this enhancement.

also of note: the CDP's lid is aluminum. i thought it would be plastic, but no, its nice, cool, smooth aluminum. yay!

i had a few other comments that i jotted down on an envelope, which i left at home, so ill have to continue this later. feel free to ask me specific or general questions, i will do my best to answer them all.

blr
i WILL look at the manual and try to find out the answer to your question, as well as test battery life. last night i only used the ac adapter to power the unit.

now, i have a favor to ask any/all of you. i dont really know how to critique sound quality. if you could provide me categories/verbage/jargon that would help me to classify and qualify the sound, i would truly appreciate it. descriptions to accompany the terms would really really help.

thats all for now, lunch time. ill add more as i can.