[BDA_ABAT]

Anyone have any info on the Sony D 180K? It was marketed in the late 1980s as a car discman. I purchased this unit right outta grad school to help ease a drive cross-country (Philly to San Diego... in late June!).

I was cleaning out some crap around the house and happend to find the box with pretty much everything inside.... missing the cassette adapter but that appears to be all. Took a brief listen and breezed through the documentation but have not had a chance to critically evaluate or compare. Was pleased to see that it has a line out and a 9 mw output from the hp jack.

I remember buying the unit mainly because of the car adapter and the shock absorption claims (which largely did not hold up). Will post a review once I've had a chance to compare with other players.

Bruce

 

[BDA_ABAT]

Breif review:

Equipment list...

D180 or Panasonic SL CT570
both powered by wallwart --> Markertek mini - mini --> JMT built CHA47 optimized for Grado --> Ety ER4P+S adapter cable

Music:
Yes, Fragile; Mozart, Symphonies no 28 in C, 29 in A, 34 in C; Staind, Break the Cycle

I was a little surprised that the Sony worked. This unit hasn't been powered on in over 11 years. It's solidly built, mainly metal, qute heavy compared to the Pana, has a lovely illuminated front panel and the only antishock is mechanical vibratrion dampening.

Sound: not bad! Sorry, don't have much to in terms of REAL source compare to... Definately a different sound that the Pana.. more emphasis in the mids and lows. A little less "clean" sounding than the Pana. This emphasis seems a little unnatural to me since I'm very used to the Pana's sound. The Pana + Cha47 + Ety to my ears provides a very clean, detailed sound that seems very even... nothing seems emphasized, no range seems more prominent than another, just a fine overall sonic impression. The Sony seemed to be pushing the mids and upper bass more forward. Also the Sony seemed to have slightly less detail than the Pana. Yes, The Fish was a great track to compare the two. The Sony seemed to push the emphasis of the mid bass but also produced some muddiness in that same range. In comparing the two between the Mozart symphonies, there was a warmer sound in the quieter phases of the piece. Also discovered some hiss (it's not a good recording... early Philips disc done in 1990). The hiss was also present in the Pana, just much less prominent. The Pana provided terrific detail, no muddiness was detected, just the usual, just-the-facts-ma'am response that I've grown accustomed to.

The Sony had good output from the line out. Needed to adjust the volume on the amp downward when switching between the Pana and the Sony. Wonder if the sound will change with a little "re-burn-in"???

Will listen some more and post comments later. First impressions: seems like a decent player that's solidly built, has good output from the line-out, and is a great find!

Bruce