[Audio-Me]

KR... & Nezer - ROFL!

The Sony D-25S that I bought is due to arrive on the 10th. I didn't even bother to get the battery, 'cos no way I'm using that thing for any situation that requires serious portability. Strictly for school/stationary work(ofice, studio, etc.)/friends/and so fourth.
I remember listening to the old model now (D-25), but it was so long ago, thus I don't remember how they sounded, good thing I came by head-fi...

 

[bootman]

Wow!
I lend KR my PCDP and all hell breaks loose!

Sorry for not posting earlier since this is my PCDP that KR (at first )was trashing after I lend it to him for review.
(I've been working like a madman lately.

)

First off, I like to lend stuff to KR for review because of the simple facts that:

A) He doesn't BS you.

If he thinks something sucks he comes out and says it.
No tact here mind you.
He doesn't care if your feelings or ego are hurt, he just tells you like he hears it.
(I really wouldn't want it any other way)

B) He has better ears than I do.
(well 11 years younger at least!)
He can pick up thinks right away that it would take me more time to pick up.
(of course he listens to music like a million more times than I do or have time to do!

)

I too was a little surprised when he told me that the player sucked.
(no tact here again. he could have said its not as good as my PCDP.

)

It wasn't until I got to this point in the posting that I realized that I've been listening to the player with the AC adapter only and never really gave it a listen with just the battery!
I guess that this PCDP really needs alot of power and that the battery is not doing a good job of supplying enough current for it.

Just one more example of how overlooked the importance of a good power supply is the the sound of audio equipment!

 

[Audio-Me]

ehhh, I've had the 'shack 800mA 9V adapter prior to purchasing the Sony D-25S. Is this going to be enough juice? I SO don't want to hear what KR... was experiencing.

?¿¿?¿?? :: panics :: ?¿¿?¿??

***stares sadily at his wallet that has nothing but pennies and reciepts/invoices in it...

 

[KR...]

I am telling you, wallwart listening is a must, don't even waste your money on the battery. This player sounded like **** with it. This player is extremely power hungry, with the wallwart it sounds very good for a portable.

I should have tested it with and without the wallwart, and maybe I wouldn't had freaked so many people out

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Well, DUH!

Some of today's (read: current generation) PCDPs actually sound better than the D25S when all of them are run on battery power alone. It is when you use the wallwart AC adaptor that the older players start pulling ahead.

 

[KR...]

so true,

but it's funny how no one asked what I was using as power.

 

[Audio-Me]

**Is 800mA enough power to force good sound out of the Sony D-25S??? Or do I need to get like 1600mA?

Eagle_Driver - perhaps, but my old Pansonic SL S261C still sounds best to me (double AA alkaline batteries). They do sound better with 4.5V AC adapter though. It skips easily too, but not a problem in most of MY critical portable listening situations.

Question: I want to get a GOOD car kit (9v power adapter and line out to cassette convertor) for the Sony D-25S, which to get? The kit that came with the Panasonic SL S261C really ******** blows. Or do all portable CD to tape deck devices give incredibly unbearable sound?

 

[bootman]

800mA should be plenty, but more doen't hurt.

(unless you have a short!

)
I got my walwart from and old phone modem.
It was 9volts (I just inverted the polarity)
I don't recall what the amp rating was. (600 mAs?)
KR, can you post it?

 

[meithkiller]

For a 9V car adapter I'd try Radio Shack, but I'd give up on trying to use the D-25S in a car. It has absolutely no shock protection, and unless your roads have no potholes or expansion joints and you drive some kind of luxo-barge that soaks up every tiny little bump, it isn't likely to play without skipping. If you still want to try, good luck finding a decent cassette adapter. I've used adapters from Sony, Panasonic, and Philips and they were ok when there was road noise, but for any kind of even semi-critical listening cassette adapters pretty much suck.

-Keith

 

[Audio-Me]

I don't want "plenty" of juice, I want to know what the max power it needs to sound its ABSOLUTE best without breaking the damn thing.

miller - thanks for the reasurring, I completely ditched the CD to cassette idea.

 

[drob]

My first post...

Well first off thanks to Russ for the tip! I got my (2) d-25s and
think they sound pretty great. Both have ONLY been used with
wallwarts so no low current 'brite' sounds from either of them.

RadioShack #273-1667 works good (3-12V 800mA universal) plus
'm using a 3-12V 2A (yeah overkill !!!

) universal at work and it
work fine with the d-25s also. These are both REGULATED power
supplies and I would recommend using this variety for lots o'
reasons... cost a bit more than cheappie ones but 'no' power
robbing problems. OK 'less', until you get a real expensive supply.

Grados (60/80 with RS pads) sound equally nice , of course
differently, through both units. No CD skipping problems with
either player unless I tap on the top with more than average
force

The one on my bench at work only skips with a fairly
big hit to the table top. Overall very impressed with their stability.

Later...

 

[Russ Arcuri]

Hmm... I do the vast majority of my D-25S listening with a wallwart. I've only run the battery down to almost nothing twice, and even then it was just to see how long it would last. I'm pretty sure I was using the KSC-35s or the MX-400s during those tests.

I have listened to the HD580s off of battery power, but I'm pretty sure I never ran it down more than halfway like that. I wasn't really looking for a problem like this, though. The D-25 instruction sheet says to recharge the battery after every use, so that's what I've been doing.

BTW, KR, I wasn't freaked out about your opinion of the player. Everyone's entitled to their own. The only thing I really took issue with was the idea that I didn't know what the HD580s should sound like.

Someone asked about the power supply -- the original Sony supply is 9V 600 mA. You can use a supply that's the same voltage but rated to deliver more mA, which is why the Rat Shack 800 mA supply works. But the wallwart doesn't 'push' power into the player; the player draws however many mA it requires. That's why using a wallwart rated below 600 mA is a bad idea -- it won't be able to supply adequate power when the player needs it. Conversely, using an 800 mA or higher supply won't really offer any advantages over a 600 mA supply, unless the player is damaged in an unusual way and demands a peak power draw above 600 mA.

 

[KR...]

Quote:

I got my walwart from and old phone modem. It was 9volts (I just inverted the polarity) I don't recall what the amp rating was. (600 mAs?) KR, can you post it?

Class 2 Transformer
Input: 120VAC 60Hz 9W
Output: 9VDC 600mA


Quote:

The only thing I really took issue with was the idea that I didn't know what the HD580s should sound like.

But you don't!
Remember how much I hated the AKG 501's until I finally was able to use this with an extremely powerful amp, then they sounded great. Now everyone wants to use powerful headphone amps with them, and they all get the same WOW factor, because they are finally hearing what the 501's are suppose to sound like. You shouldn't take this personally, maybe I'm too brutally honest, but you own it to yourself to get a great headphone amp for your 580 one day, and you will know why I wrote what I wrote and you will agree with me and you will thank me.

 

[Russ Arcuri]

Hmm... something else occurred to me. The battery provides 4V. The wallwart provides 9V. There's no way an extra 5V is necessary just for the backlighting on the display, and the extra power isn't used for recharging the battery if there's no battery installed. There could be a real difference electronically here. Now I'm going to have to do further listening tests...

 

[gloco]

Well, i gotta agree with KR, he does make valid points one what a headphone should sound like when properly "juiced."
I'm sure i dont have any clue for the full potential of the 501's until i buy a good amp. KR, what amp do you find works well (In your own personal opinion) with the 501's? The Creek 11SE and the Corda have been on the back of my mind.

George