Review: Sony D-25S Portable CD Player (LONG)

[neilb]

Hey Russ,
I also ordered one of these and one of the battery packs from Sony. I was wondering about recharging with the Radio Shack converter. Does it recharge
like most do by just plugging the converter into it and is there any indication as to when it has received a full charge. Thanks in advance. I think Silicon Salvage is probably having a bit of a run on these right now thanks to you. I can't wait to get mine. It looks and sounds like it could be a little marvel. Thanks again, Neil

 

[Russ Arcuri]

It recharges the battery internally -- no need for a separate charger. When the battery is charging, it says so on the far left side of the display, with a little animated "charging" sequence. The animation stops when it's fully charged.

 

[gloco]

Quote:

Originally posted by neilb I think Silicon Salvage is probably having a bit of a run on these right now thanks to you.

I gotta agree with neilb, he Russ, maybe they can give you a portion of the profits, lol!

George

 

[Russ Arcuri]

Quote:

Originally posted by acidtripwow Is there any hiss or background noise with this model? I have an old RCA CD player that looks kinda like this player that I purchased at least 10 years ago for $100. It's a great player with no skip protection so it's not really portable. It is the loudest CDP I've ever had but has a lot of background hiss.

I didn't want to answer this question until I had a chance to actually try the player again, specifically looking for amplifier hiss. I got home, checked for hiss, then promptly forgot to reply. Sorry about that.

I can detect NO amplifier-induced hiss at all. The hiss present in older CDs made from hissy masters is faithfully reproduced, but with newer recordings, silent passages are absolutely silent, even at unnaturally-loud volume settings. Yet another reason to like the D-25S.

 

[bootman]

I gathered a list of available (official) Sony parts (part numbers and price)for this CDP.

Model Number : D25

Description : DISCMAN

DISCMAN CAR ADAPTER (CPA9C) $ 24.95

CD CAR MOUNTING ARM (CPM300A) $ 44.95

CD CAR MOUNTING PLATE (CPM300P) $ 49.95

AC-940,AC ADAPTOR (110/9V) (146396811)$ 45.95

BATTERY PACK (BP2EX) (152832511)$ 30.95

CORD,CONNECTION (RK-G129) (155990632)$ 38.80

INSTRUCTION MANUAL (378697521)$ 5.00

RAYON CARRYING CASE (492614301)$ 35.95

 

[meithkiller]

Russ, thanks for the great review. You sold me, I just placed my order for one on ebay. For around $60 (+ shipping) for the Cd player and AC adapter from Radio Shack It sounds like it is definitely worth a try. No more amp for my Senn 580's. I'm not even sure if I will bother ordering the battery pack from Sony, I'll probably just use one of my other portables for "true" portable use.

-Keith

 

[cdub]

hey russ,
Thanks for the great review. I too was inspired to purchase the D25s from the Silicon Salvage. I plan to use this as my stationary unit while I'm at home. I was wondering if you have and opinion on a on the move portable unit. I was considering a portable MD player, the CT 570, or the new Slim X from iRiver which plays both cds and mp3cds. I was also wondering do you know what the "connection cord" is for on Sony's website is for. Thanks Again.

ps. Are you sure you're not getting a commission

 

[meithkiller]

Quote:

Originally posted by cdub I was wondering if you have and opinion on a on the move portable unit. I was considering a portable MD player, the CT 570, or the new Slim X from iRiver which plays both cds and mp3cds. I was also wondering do you know what the "connection cord" is for on Sony's website is for.

I was wondering about the connection cord on Sony's web site that listed all of the accessories for the D-25 too. I dug a little farther and if you type in part number RK-G129 (the connection cord) it comes up as an 1/8" stereo to dual RCA patch cord for $5-10. Not sure why the other page lists it for $38.

I think you will be pleased with the Panasonic 570 for portable use. For around $80 from OneCall.com it is quite a bargain too.

-Keith

 

[Russ Arcuri]

Quote:

Originally posted by cdub I was wondering if you have and opinion on a on the move portable unit. [...] ps. Are you sure you're not getting a commission

I wish I was getting a commission. I know based on comments here and e-mails that they're selling a bunch of them now, due to the review. Oh well... the review wouldn't have been so positive if I didn't really like it. I suppose if I was getting some kind of commission, I couldn't have been as objective.

As to the on-the-go player -- I do like the Panasonic SL-CT570, but then again I don't have any mp3 CDs. If that's not important to you, the 570 is a great bargain from onecall.com.

 

[JML]

I'm still waiting for my Silicon Salvage box... I'm dying to hear how the old Sony sounds with my V6 and F1.

But I did get the D-25 manual today from Sony (sent separately from the battery). Anyone know what the optional BP-100 battery was? It's listed in the manual as providing up to 6 hours of play, but isn't listed on the website as an available part (I haven't called them, though).

 

[neilb]

Wow!, this is a good deal. I received my d-25s today from mr. ups, and I absolutely love it. It is truly jewel-like in its appearence and build quality. Built like the proverbial tank. It is compact and hefty. Why, oh why don't they build 'em like this anymore? Anyway, have not done a lot of extensive listening yet, but the line out seems very musical. Quite laid back overall. It's strange to think that with all the supposed advancements in digital recording and playback in the past 12 years that this thing sounds so good. Have done most of my listening through headphone out and this is really impressive. As Russ so acurately described, the volume level is unbelievable. I have sr80s and akg 501s and have been using a panasonic 570 with the grados. I still had to crank them(the grados) more than I really wanted to get decent volume. My ears are still good but prone to wax build-up which I am experiencing a bit of right now. With the old sony, the volume level was optimum between 2 and 4 depending on the cd. BUT, here's the kicker. I could most certainly get good volume and quality with the akgs also. Wow! Sure, I had to crank it to 6 or 7 on most cds but it did not sound distorted or clipped at all. This to me was amazing. People.........for 50 bucks, I think this is the coolest piece of audio gear I have ever bought. It may not sound as good as the best pcdps ever made but I'll bet it's damn close and as far as I'm concerned I'll bet there's not a better made one out there. Thanks, Russ for the tip!

 

[Russ Arcuri]

I've updated the full review with a 2nd addendum, since I just got the Sony D-25 to compare with the D-25s. I would have put another photo in too, but there appears to be a limit to the number of images you can insert in a single post. Here's a copy of the 2nd Addendum, so you don't have to seek out the full review in the "Full Reviews" section.

[size=small]2nd Addendum -- Monday, 17 December 2001[/size]

Well, I got the D-25 finally. I can now report that the D-25 seems to have the same headphone amplification as the D-25S. It too has lots of gain and enough power to drive the Sennheiser HD580s well.

You might wonder if there are any differences between them other than color. The only one I've found is this: the stepper motor in the D-25 is MUCH quieter than the stepper motor in the D-25S. I've now had the chance to play with two different D-25S models, and both had motors which were significantly louder than the D-25. This might have something to do with the S models being stored unused for so long, or they might actually use different stepper motors. The D-25 I have now has a "manufactured" sticker saying it was made in February, 1989, making it more than 3 years OLDER than either D-25S I've played with. So maybe they do have different motors.

Anyway, what really matters here is the sound, and as I mentioned above, they appear to be identical in that respect.

I apologize for the quality of this photo -- it's just a quick snapshot to show the difference in color. I didn't have the time or inclination to set up proper lighting, etc.

 

[Milestones]

Well I finally got my D-25S today by UPS. I had already picked up the 9V 800 mA radio shack adaptor with the "M" adaptaplug and so I eagerly unpacked the player, plugged the adaptor into the unit and plugged the adaptor into the wall and...............nothing.

I can't believe it. The damn thing doesn't work. I don't know if it is some kind of problem with the adaptor or if the PCDP unit itself is broken - so I am going to have to do some trouble shooting.

My first thought is that maybe the adaptaplug is wrong even though the box at Rat Shack had it labelled as adaptaplug "M" - I re-checked the polarity on the plug and I have it inserted correctly so that is not the problem.

One question for those of you who have the Radio Shack 9v 800mA adaptor with the "M" adaptaplug - does the silver part of the plug go all the way into the D-25S unit? When I tried to plug the adaptor into the unit there was a point of resistance before the plug was entirely into the unit - Is this normal or do I have the wrong adaptaplug (it was labelled "M" - but who knows)?

HELP - I really need to determine if I have a defective unit or if the problem is somewhere in the power source.

 

[Russ Arcuri]

Milestones -- it might be the power adapter, or it might not. Check your PMs, and maybe we can troubleshoot the problem.

 

[jibra]

I got my D-25S today. I drove to the nearby radioshack and bought 9V DC 800mA adapter with M-plug. After I hook up the AC adapter to the CDP and connect the adpater to the AC outlet, Nothing happened. Alas! I am so disappointed. It was too late to come back to Radioshack to pick up another Ac adapter. I don't have any voltmeter at home. The special SONY battery just nullify any effort on my side to make this CDP working. I should wait till tomorrow morning to check the AC adapter. Hopefully it is the Ratshack Ac adapter not the beautiful D-25S. Even without playing any CD, this CDP is a beauty.

Jibra