[Watchdog]

At first I was going to just ask for sound quality of MD units as I have 2 units MZ-N707 and my newly acquired MZ-E33. I'm interested in getting a better sounding MD, I've heard so much about the E10 and DR-7 that they intrigue me. However I figured why not include all portables.

I figure if everyone could list their top 5 or 7 or however many you feel like listing (Head-fi'ers tend to have a lot of equipment) portables in terms of sound quality i.e. #1 is the best

I'll start this off:

1) MZ-N707
2) MZ-E33 (Haven't really had proper time to evaluate this unit as I just got it 4 hours ago)
3) Nomad II (way behind the other two)

That's it, amazingly enough I only have 3 portable units, which I know is nothing compared to others on here.

Help me add to my inventory by telling me what you own that sounds the best. I'm also interested in an iPod or NJB3 or Zen down the road.

 

[soupy]

I'm slowly expanding my collection, but as of right now...
best to blah:

Sony D-350 (when it was working)
Sony D-25S
Panasonic CT470
Sony EJ01 (sold tho)
Sony R55 MD
Optimus 3380
Sony D11 (came kinda broken, prolly need to fix before I can really judge)
Sony D131 (came completely dead)

 

[dudlew]

I only have two

But from what I have owned, this is the ranking based on headphone output

1) Sharp MD-MT831
2) Sharp MD-MS702
3) Panasonic Sl-S361c
4) A Realistic walkman I had, cant remember the model
5) Sony DE-J955

Bear in mind this is from the headphone out. The order changes for line outs or as being used as line outs.

D

 

[Tina]

whew...this is a difficult thread since there will be lots of factors. but here's my paper:

10. sony wm-gx688
9. sony d-ej925
8. slim-x imp350
7. sony mz-n1 = pana ct570 (at times the pana is ahead but the eq tweaked n1 is hard to beat at certain times...i told you this is difficult)
6. sharp st77
5. sharp dr7 = aiwa am-f70 (the dr7 is a bit difficult animal to judge since in some points like instrument separation, it goes a bit ahead of the 831 but as for sonic quality on the 3 basic frequency groups, the 831 is way ahead)

4. aiwa hx909
3. sony d101 (sometimes i think my dr7 is better...oranges and apples)
2. sharp mt831
1. sharp st60

very very soon...i'll be owning the d303 pcdp...i'm stoked to know where it belongs on my list.

 

[myself, aka me]

1. Sharp DR7
Umm.. err.. ahh..
2. Wax cylinder Walkman

(if it existed.. I WANT ONE!)

I had more portables, but the Sharp sounds better than them, so bye-bye!

 

[krayzie]

Okay I'm gonna have the weirdest list here...

10. Sony ANK-L2 Caraoke Tape Player (Can only play Type I Normal Bias Tapes)
09. Sony WM-EX5 Tape Walkman (Too heavy muddy bass with Groove)
08. Sony MZ-R90 Minidisc Walkman (Lack of bass with Digital Mega Bass)
07. Sony WM-EX20 Tape Walkman (MegaSurround creates a fake sounding cold feel)
06. Sony WM-EX808HG Tape Walkman (Accurate sound reproduction)
05. Sony WM-EX2HG Tape Walkman (A bit warmer than the 808)
04. Sony WM-EX1HG Tape Walkman (Even a bit more warmer than the EX2)
03. Sony D-777 Compact Disc Discman (Colorful sound and super punchy bass with ample of power)
02. Sony WM-EX80 Tape Walkman (Everything is so perfect with this, punchy bass just as powerful and more solid than 777, great treble clarity, can make even the worst tape sounds good, ample of power)
01. Aiwa HS-PX1000 Tape Player (It's not even here yet, just a thought it might end up being #1 on my list)

Gosh seriously I think I need more MD and CD players...

 

[Superbaldguy]

If we're talking about portable MD's, here's my list:

(1) MZ-E707 - sweet, overall warm balanced sound
(2) MZ-R910 - good, clean-sounding recorder
(3) MZ-R909 - similar to R910 but noticably not as crisp and detailed.

I have an MZ-E80 coming, which should equal or better either recorder. My Sony MXD-D5C deck trumps them all.

BTW, I didn't rank my D-EJ925 as it's, obviously, inferior to any MD unit on the market; when is Sony (or anyone) going to make a good-sounding PCDP with G-Protection?

 

[dkm24]

1) Sony D25-S
2) Sony D-303
3) Sony DE-406-CK
4) Optimus CD-3400

I guess I really like the Sony sound. What I really like is the Sony sound coupled with power. I find I like the D25-S without an external amp. The headphone out makes my RS-1's sound perfect.
I don't have the venerable D-555 or the D-777. My D-303 is brand new, but I found it lacks the punch and musicability of the D25-S. That is what I enjoy. doug

 

[phonatic]

1. Sony MZ-N505 MD recorder. Best sound I've heard from a portable. Very sympathetic to Koss Sportapros.

2. Sony D-242 Discman. Not bad, I guess. It's several years old now and has a bit more amplifier current than a lot of the newer models. Not very portable... the anti-skip buffer doesn't sound too good. Reasonable build quality (Japan), adequate 1-bit DAC. Matched well with Grado SR-60's I no longer have. Since I got MD, I hardly use it.

 

[gloco]

1. Sony MZE75 red/blue-Great sound, can easily drive my Grado's and Sony 7506's with sweet sound. I'm always amazed with the sound this little person can produce.

2. Sony D2 (non-functioning)- i wish this person would work, when it did function it sounded incredible from what i recall.

3. Sony D-33- Very strong headphone out, good/great sound, battery life stinks, very heavy unit, heavier than the 25S i think. The headphone jack is pretty neutral compared to the DE561.

4. Sony MZE33- Probably has the best non Megabass sound out of all my pcdp's/MDP's, very warm, smooth sound, definitely don't need the MB function turned on at all, as it adds way too much bass.

5. Sony DE561- pretty solid headphone out, haven't listened to it in a while, but i recall liking what i heard. EDIT: I'm listening to the unit right now via the 7506's and megabass turned off...really nice sound! Not neutral like you'd expect with the MB turned off, but still crisp and clean sound (and very loud too). The only annoying thing so far is the beeping it makes when you hit a button.

6. Sony D-141- light, solid and actually a pretty strong headphone out, non-Megabass function sounds pretty good, Megabass isn't half bad as well

7. Sony D-121- pretty solid non-Megabass sound, mine doesn't work well with many cds, so it doesn't get much use, i gotta try it again, probably sounds identical to the 141.

8. Sony 25S (two of em)- too bright, metallic sounding. Heavy, short battery life, really not worth the hype it got at all. The only reason i use it now is to check for gaps in between tracks with bootlegs, the remaining time/tracks feature is cool.

EDIT: 9. Panasonic CLT470: Based on the glowing reviews/comments, i picked this log up two years ago. What a waste of money, the headphone jack sounds bland and incredibly weak compared to the rest of the pcdp's listed above. The line out is decent, but still, i really don't consider this a good pcdp to own unless your desperate. Probably the most overrated pcdp out there. The Sony DE561 beats it hands down, it has a line out, anti skip and provides good, clean sound out of the headphone jack.

 

[martioz]

My short list, top 10, PCDP only:

1.DCP-150
2.Optimus 3400
3.D-25
4.D-555
5.D-303
6.D-900
7.Aiwa XP-7
8.EJ01
9.CT570
10.XPS-900

 

[redshifter]

from the headphone out? using which headphones?

okay okay, here are mine:
1. sony dd9 titanium walkman
2. sony d777 pcdp
3. sony mzr70 mdr
4. sony mzr50 mdr
5. sony d3 pro recording walkman (noisy)

dats all i got!

 

[krayzie]

Hey redshifter, you never mentioned b4 that DD9 is titanium... WOW! I'm impressed...

 

[SFbayArch]

1) Cowon iAudio CW 200
1) Iriver IFP 108T
2) Sony MZ-R70

these two flash mp3 players are my favorite, they've essentially replaced my sony mdr as my everyday portable device. At the moment, I would give a slight edg
e to the CW-200 for sound quality (slightly higher S/N ration) - but they each have their advantages (size, ergonomics, useability, fit and finish, build quality, etc) that lead me to rank them tied.

I really like the mini-joystick controller on the Iriver (much more intuitive)... the build quality on the iAudio is superior with the aluminum skin and blue back lit LCD, but it is a bit fumbly compared to the Iriver for manipulation of the controls.
The Iriver came with nicer earplugs (Sennheiser MX-300s) Tho, I mainly use my KSC 50s with both devices.

 

[Yang]

Krayzie,

Yep, the DD9 is solid titanium, front and back. I feel I can smash just about anything with it.

Still no MDR-E484 or PX1000?