fiddler
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2001
- Posts
- 1,930
- Likes
- 30
Intro
A Head-fier recently PM'd me about the differences between two CD portables that I own... and I couldn't give him a good answer right away because quite frankly, these two CD players have been collecting dust lately due to the fact that I haven't been doing any portable listening. I bought the Panasonic CT570 a long time ago, and recently I acquired an almost mint-condition Sony D-465 Discman on eBay for a good price. I honestly hadn't spent more than a couple hours listening to the Sony before I was asked to do a comparison.
I spent an hour or two of listening before typing him a response via PM, but then realized that it's been a while since I've written anything resembling a review on Head-Fi, so I did some extended listening, and the result is a pretty comprehensive comparison.
DISCLAIMER: You won't find any comparisons of the line-outs here, sorry. Why? Mostly selfish reasons--I don't currently own a portable amp, and have no intentions of using either of these in my stationary setup... so quite frankly the line-out's quality isn't all that interesting to me, and I do value my time.
This review is strictly centered around true portable use, i.e. with portable headphones out of the headphone jack. For practicality's sake, all listening was done with the players powered off wallwarts. I couldn't detect any sonic differences between battery and wall power. Shock protection (Panasonic's Anti-shock and Sony's ESP) was turned off, just to be safe.
Portable sources being compared:
-Sony D-465 (made in 1996)
-Panasonic SL-CT570 (made in 2000)
Headphones used:
-Sennheiser PX200
-Etymotic ER-4S
Design and Features
Both of these players are small enough to be considered truly portable. Their designs are very similar; they share an almost-identical-sized footprint, and their lids are metal, while the rest of the body is plastic. The Panasonic is slimmer and lighter however; it measures at around 3/4" while the Sony is about an inch at its thickest point. On the other hand, the Sony feels considerably more solid in terms of build quality. Both players feature antishock. The Panasonic is unique in that it offers two levels of shock protection, 10 second uncompressed, and 40 second compressed, which degrades the sound. Unless you're using it for really active use, the 10-second uncompressed is a very good compromise. Now for somewhat disappointing news: the Sony adds an audible amount of noise when ESP is turned on. I first noticed this listening to a really quiet passage. It's a really high pitched whine that stays constant regardless of the volume level. The easiest way to hear it is to start playing a CD, turn the volume DOWN all the way and plug in a set of detailed headphones. The problem was noticeable in both headphones I tested with. I therefore suggest for stationery use to turn off ESP. The whine was only noticeable in quiet passages in a quiet room sitting still, so it would probably unnoticeable if you're on the move, and plus ESP didn't seem to affect the sound in any way apart from that.
They both have very readable LCD displays with all the info you want, track/timing, EQ settings, and battery level. However, the Sony clearly has the edge in this department because it has a backlight!. Very very cool. When running it off of batteries, the blueish-green light only comes on momentarily after you push a button to conserve battery life. When running it on wall power it's on all the time. IMPORTANT NOTE HOWEVER: I noticed that when running on batteries and the backlight come on temporarily, there is an added amount of background noise (somewhat similar to the ESP noise, hmmm...) that vanishes when the light turns off. Strangely, this noise is not present when running it off the AC adapter, where the backlight is on permanently. This seems to indicate a flaw in the momentary light timing mechanism, not the actual backlight.
The Panasonic has more EQ settings, "Live", S-XBS (bass boost) and "Train". These all sound awful, avoid them at all costs. I always found it annoying that the Panasonic resets itself to S-XBS and 40-second compressed antishock every time you disconnect it from the power source (i.e. remove all batteries). The Sony has two levels of bass boost, and while it didn't sound as bad as the Panasonic's S-XBS, I'm no bass-head so I didn't do any serious listening with it on. Sorry.
They both have line outs, but only the Sony has an optical digital out. The CT570 I have is the North American version; the Japanese version is equipped with optical out. As mentioned before, I'm not comparing the line outs in this "truly portable" review.
Bottom line, they're both players with good size/weight and reasonable amount of anti-shock, making them totally usable as portables, although neither are meant for active use (like jogging). As mentioned, the Sony ESP is noisy, so turn it off if you're sitting still.
Sound quality (of the headphone jack, read the disclaimer above.)
The CT570 has a very warm, laid-back overall presentation... for me it was too much, especially when it was paired with the PX200. It is always nonetheless quite "pleasant" sounding, but in terms of fidelity, it's not all neutral. To me the Sony has a much more neutral tonal balance. There's not one part of the sound spectrum in particular that jumps out at you, as opposed to the Panasonic where the midrange warmth is quite pronounced. The Panasonic treble sounds rolled off, resulting in a lack of air and space. I found it difficult to visualise the recording venue, whereas the Sony portrays the attack and decay of notes so much more accurately. The echo the note leaves behind gives you a clear image of the space surrounding the performers, giving the music a 3-dimensional quality, a depth to the soundstage. The Panasonic sounds quite flat in comparison.
The Panasonic makes instruments sound more muddled together. Details are glossed over too much, resulting in a lack of life and focus. The Sony preserves much more of the fine grains in the sound that give instruments their own distinct character. The Sony just wins hands down in terms of transient response and sense of speed. In complex fast passages, every note is pronounced clearly. The Panasonic in the same passages tended to blur together the "consonants" (in a figurative sense) giving an impression of blurred rhythm, making it more difficult to feel the pulse of the music.
One area where I felt the Sony is lacking was in the bass. While it perhaps had a tiny bit better extension than the Panasonic, it often lacked "oomph" in this area, making some bass-heavy music sound rather lean and dry. The Panasonic on the other hand fills out this area more, with better impact. The differences in bass response were pretty subtle though compared to the other differences mentioned before; I had to do quite a lot of listening to grasp the differences in this area, although I'll be the first to admit that I don't have the most discriminating taste when it comes to bass.
Conclusion
While this comparison makes the Panasonic sound like a bad player, this isn't the case at all. In truth, these are both great sounding portables especially when compared to most of the more recent offerings from the two companies. For critical listening however, I felt the Sony was more accurate and detailed, while I thought the Panasonic added too much of a "warm 'n' fuzzy" sonic signature to the sound. The Sony is perhaps not suited for those who place bass response as a top priority. Otherwise, if you can find the D-465 for a good price used, it's very much worth the investment. I used to own an even older Sony (D-35), and I've gotta say... the D-465 for me, is a wonderful compromise between portability and good sound. My only major gripe is the noisy ESP. Is the Sony a worthwhile upgrade if you already own the Panasonic? Well, I'm doubtful on that one. While you probably wouldn't regret it, unless you do tons of portable listening, you'd probably be better off saving that money for a home system upgrade.
A Head-fier recently PM'd me about the differences between two CD portables that I own... and I couldn't give him a good answer right away because quite frankly, these two CD players have been collecting dust lately due to the fact that I haven't been doing any portable listening. I bought the Panasonic CT570 a long time ago, and recently I acquired an almost mint-condition Sony D-465 Discman on eBay for a good price. I honestly hadn't spent more than a couple hours listening to the Sony before I was asked to do a comparison.
I spent an hour or two of listening before typing him a response via PM, but then realized that it's been a while since I've written anything resembling a review on Head-Fi, so I did some extended listening, and the result is a pretty comprehensive comparison.
DISCLAIMER: You won't find any comparisons of the line-outs here, sorry. Why? Mostly selfish reasons--I don't currently own a portable amp, and have no intentions of using either of these in my stationary setup... so quite frankly the line-out's quality isn't all that interesting to me, and I do value my time.
Portable sources being compared:
-Sony D-465 (made in 1996)
-Panasonic SL-CT570 (made in 2000)
Headphones used:
-Sennheiser PX200
-Etymotic ER-4S
Design and Features
Both of these players are small enough to be considered truly portable. Their designs are very similar; they share an almost-identical-sized footprint, and their lids are metal, while the rest of the body is plastic. The Panasonic is slimmer and lighter however; it measures at around 3/4" while the Sony is about an inch at its thickest point. On the other hand, the Sony feels considerably more solid in terms of build quality. Both players feature antishock. The Panasonic is unique in that it offers two levels of shock protection, 10 second uncompressed, and 40 second compressed, which degrades the sound. Unless you're using it for really active use, the 10-second uncompressed is a very good compromise. Now for somewhat disappointing news: the Sony adds an audible amount of noise when ESP is turned on. I first noticed this listening to a really quiet passage. It's a really high pitched whine that stays constant regardless of the volume level. The easiest way to hear it is to start playing a CD, turn the volume DOWN all the way and plug in a set of detailed headphones. The problem was noticeable in both headphones I tested with. I therefore suggest for stationery use to turn off ESP. The whine was only noticeable in quiet passages in a quiet room sitting still, so it would probably unnoticeable if you're on the move, and plus ESP didn't seem to affect the sound in any way apart from that.
They both have very readable LCD displays with all the info you want, track/timing, EQ settings, and battery level. However, the Sony clearly has the edge in this department because it has a backlight!. Very very cool. When running it off of batteries, the blueish-green light only comes on momentarily after you push a button to conserve battery life. When running it on wall power it's on all the time. IMPORTANT NOTE HOWEVER: I noticed that when running on batteries and the backlight come on temporarily, there is an added amount of background noise (somewhat similar to the ESP noise, hmmm...) that vanishes when the light turns off. Strangely, this noise is not present when running it off the AC adapter, where the backlight is on permanently. This seems to indicate a flaw in the momentary light timing mechanism, not the actual backlight.
The Panasonic has more EQ settings, "Live", S-XBS (bass boost) and "Train". These all sound awful, avoid them at all costs. I always found it annoying that the Panasonic resets itself to S-XBS and 40-second compressed antishock every time you disconnect it from the power source (i.e. remove all batteries). The Sony has two levels of bass boost, and while it didn't sound as bad as the Panasonic's S-XBS, I'm no bass-head so I didn't do any serious listening with it on. Sorry.
They both have line outs, but only the Sony has an optical digital out. The CT570 I have is the North American version; the Japanese version is equipped with optical out. As mentioned before, I'm not comparing the line outs in this "truly portable" review.
Bottom line, they're both players with good size/weight and reasonable amount of anti-shock, making them totally usable as portables, although neither are meant for active use (like jogging). As mentioned, the Sony ESP is noisy, so turn it off if you're sitting still.
Sound quality (of the headphone jack, read the disclaimer above.)
The CT570 has a very warm, laid-back overall presentation... for me it was too much, especially when it was paired with the PX200. It is always nonetheless quite "pleasant" sounding, but in terms of fidelity, it's not all neutral. To me the Sony has a much more neutral tonal balance. There's not one part of the sound spectrum in particular that jumps out at you, as opposed to the Panasonic where the midrange warmth is quite pronounced. The Panasonic treble sounds rolled off, resulting in a lack of air and space. I found it difficult to visualise the recording venue, whereas the Sony portrays the attack and decay of notes so much more accurately. The echo the note leaves behind gives you a clear image of the space surrounding the performers, giving the music a 3-dimensional quality, a depth to the soundstage. The Panasonic sounds quite flat in comparison.
The Panasonic makes instruments sound more muddled together. Details are glossed over too much, resulting in a lack of life and focus. The Sony preserves much more of the fine grains in the sound that give instruments their own distinct character. The Sony just wins hands down in terms of transient response and sense of speed. In complex fast passages, every note is pronounced clearly. The Panasonic in the same passages tended to blur together the "consonants" (in a figurative sense) giving an impression of blurred rhythm, making it more difficult to feel the pulse of the music.
One area where I felt the Sony is lacking was in the bass. While it perhaps had a tiny bit better extension than the Panasonic, it often lacked "oomph" in this area, making some bass-heavy music sound rather lean and dry. The Panasonic on the other hand fills out this area more, with better impact. The differences in bass response were pretty subtle though compared to the other differences mentioned before; I had to do quite a lot of listening to grasp the differences in this area, although I'll be the first to admit that I don't have the most discriminating taste when it comes to bass.
Conclusion
While this comparison makes the Panasonic sound like a bad player, this isn't the case at all. In truth, these are both great sounding portables especially when compared to most of the more recent offerings from the two companies. For critical listening however, I felt the Sony was more accurate and detailed, while I thought the Panasonic added too much of a "warm 'n' fuzzy" sonic signature to the sound. The Sony is perhaps not suited for those who place bass response as a top priority. Otherwise, if you can find the D-465 for a good price used, it's very much worth the investment. I used to own an even older Sony (D-35), and I've gotta say... the D-465 for me, is a wonderful compromise between portability and good sound. My only major gripe is the noisy ESP. Is the Sony a worthwhile upgrade if you already own the Panasonic? Well, I'm doubtful on that one. While you probably wouldn't regret it, unless you do tons of portable listening, you'd probably be better off saving that money for a home system upgrade.
