Sony D-5
Aug 13, 2003 at 1:53 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 42

fractus2

Headphoneus Supremus
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Well I just got my D-5 in the mail. Got it from ebay about 10 days ago. It came with everything pictured: stock phones, wallwart, and D-5. Unit is very heavy and impressive to look at. Having never seen one in person (that I can recall), it looks much better in person that the pictures can describe. As Duncan's review describes, there is no internal battery for this unit.

The sound is very nice. Let's say it's my new source and replaces my D-EJ925. Have the line out into META42 into 4S. Duncan describes the volume correctly, loud. Turned the META volume knob down a tad to get my normal listening level. I'm going to be listening to more cds but currently have The Chicago Transit Authority playing.

Had a question for other D-5 owners. When you press the open button, is the door suppose to unlatch then open up all the way? Mine clicks open and they I have to manually lift up the door past a "click" to fully open it. Do you think I need to lube the hinges?

Also, would it be expensive to get a manual and the external battery pack Duncan mentioned? Any links would be appreciated.

Anyway, I'm loving this sound.

ety.gif
 
Aug 13, 2003 at 2:38 AM Post #2 of 42
First off, congratulations! Glad you like the D-5. It really is physically impressive, and while the sound isn't my favorite, it's pretty good and very powerful.

I'm not sure if I can explain this properly, but here goes. The mechanism that holds the CD in place is magnetic, just look on the bottom of the lid and you'll see the little metal ball. When you close the lid, it magnetically sticks, so when you open it, you're releasing the latch on the lid, but not the ball.
That is the "I don't know the technical terms, so I'll go about this blue-collar style" explanation...
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Aug 13, 2003 at 2:42 AM Post #3 of 42
Quote:

Originally posted by EyeAmEye
First off, congratulations! Glad you like the D-5. It really is physically impressive, and while the sound isn't my favorite, it's pretty good and very powerful.

I'm not sure if I can explain this properly, but here goes. The mechanism that holds the CD in place is magnetic, just look on the bottom of the lid and you'll see the little metal ball. When you close the lid, it magnetically sticks, so when you open it, you're releasing the latch on the lid, but not the ball.
That is the "I don't know the technical terms, so I'll go about this blue-collar style" explanation...
biggrin.gif


Thanks EyeAmEye. When you hit the open button, does the cd door open all the way, or do you have to manually pull it up? BTW, what is your favorite pcdp sound?
 
Aug 13, 2003 at 3:16 AM Post #4 of 42
Hello fractus2,

I have a D-5. Bought it new in 1985. The action you see on opening the lid is exactly how it is supposed to work. Pushing the button only unlatches the lid. The lid then manually has to be opened all the way until it clicks. Unless excessive force is needed to open the lid there should be no lubrication needed. The classic Sony D-555 lid operates this way as well.

Paul
 
Aug 13, 2003 at 3:21 AM Post #5 of 42
That's what I was explaining. No, the D-5 lid will not open all the way, because of the magnetic connection I was describing. It will open slightly, because when you press the open button, you are releasing the latch. You have to manually pull the magnetic connection apart. If you were to open it fully, then put the lid back down, not fully so the latch closes, but so that it almost closes, you will see what I mean. It will magnetically attach itself, but remain slightly open. When I first got mine, I thought the lid was misaligned because of this. When I looked at it closely, I realized why
wink.gif


My current favorite, though it may change when I get some of my "acquisitions" in the mail
very_evil_smiley.gif
, is the Aiwa XP-55. Excellent detail, warmer sound than the older Sony's, but not as warm as Panasonic. It has an impactful sound that I find Sony lacks, but of course, I'm in the minority here. Old Sony's seem to be the standard on this board. I thought so too, especially when I got the D-5, but I took a few chances on Ebay and scored a few Aiwas for dirt cheap, and now I know better!
cool.gif
 
Aug 13, 2003 at 3:52 AM Post #6 of 42
Hello,

Some of the early Sony's have some heavy duty lids -- none of this cheap self-securing spindle stuff!

On the D-5, even without the magnetic clamping, the lid will not open up fully unassisted. At most it will only open up about 3/4" of an inch. With the magnetic clamping the lid only opens up about 1/2". In either case the lid will then have to opened manually until the "click" occurs.

Paul
 
Aug 13, 2003 at 3:56 AM Post #7 of 42
DSC00108.JPG


yeah, mine only goes up part way too when i hit open. then i pull it up the rest of the way. seems like that's the way it was designed.
 
Aug 13, 2003 at 3:58 AM Post #8 of 42
Quote:

Originally posted by EyeAmEye
That's what I was explaining. No, the D-5 lid will not open all the way, because of the magnetic connection I was describing. It will open slightly, because when you press the open button, you are releasing the latch. You have to manually pull the magnetic connection apart. If you were to open it fully, then put the lid back down, not fully so the latch closes, but so that it almost closes, you will see what I mean. It will magnetically attach itself, but remain slightly open. When I first got mine, I thought the lid was misaligned because of this. When I looked at it closely, I realized why
wink.gif


My current favorite, though it may change when I get some of my "acquisitions" in the mail
very_evil_smiley.gif
, is the Aiwa XP-55. Excellent detail, warmer sound than the older Sony's, but not as warm as Panasonic. It has an impactful sound that I find Sony lacks, but of course, I'm in the minority here. Old Sony's seem to be the standard on this board. I thought so too, especially when I got the D-5, but I took a few chances on Ebay and scored a few Aiwas for dirt cheap, and now I know better!
cool.gif


You are right EyeAmEye, I can feel the magnet now. I also have a few acquisitions to come (D-25S and DCP-100).

cool.gif
 
Aug 13, 2003 at 3:58 AM Post #9 of 42
Quote:

Originally posted by D555
Hello fractus2,

I have a D-5. Bought it new in 1985. The action you see on opening the lid is exactly how it is supposed to work. Pushing the button only unlatches the lid. The lid then manually has to be opened all the way until it clicks. Unless excessive force is needed to open the lid there should be no lubrication needed. The classic Sony D-555 lid operates this way as well.

Paul


Thanks Paul. How do you like your D-5?

Don

cool.gif
 
Aug 13, 2003 at 4:01 AM Post #10 of 42
Quote:

Originally posted by usc goose
yeah, mine only goes up part way too when i hit open. then i pull it up the rest of the way. seems like that's the way it was designed.


Thanks goose. I've got to get back to watching my cd spin round and round.

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cool.gif
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Aug 13, 2003 at 4:02 AM Post #11 of 42
I'll add my voice to those people who owned a D-5 (er, well, I owned a D-14, which is nearly the same beast), and it as well has the "pull open til you hear a click" mechanism.

So far, my PCDP experience has gone a bit like this, audio-wise:

D-303
D-311
D-14
D-626
D-25S

...or something to that effect. The 303 is simply the best I've heard so far through line out, though if I ever get a DCP-150 I'm sure that will overtake it (hell, I just need to get a damned standalone already). The 311 has a great line out and headphone out, probably the best all-rounder. The 25S to me was overbright, which may be attributed to the fact that I had somewhat bright phones at the time, but I think it's supposed to be a bright player anyways, even with neutral phones. Definitely nothing on the level with the 303 or 311. The 626 has very good sound from the headphone out and wireless out (I thought this would suck) and decent from the line out. The 14 had tons of power and pretty good detail, but the other two are on another level.

That's just my experience.
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Aug 13, 2003 at 4:02 AM Post #12 of 42
I see single ended 6BQ5's lurking about in ceramic sockets.....

Nice looking D-5!

I built a headphone amp using 12AX7 and two 6BM8's years ago. It has bass, treble, balance, and volume controls. Haven't used it in years. I need to dig it out.

Paul
 
Aug 13, 2003 at 4:13 AM Post #13 of 42
Quote:

Originally posted by D555
I see single ended 6BQ5's lurking about in ceramic sockets.....

Nice looking D-5!

I built a headphone amp using 12AX7 and two 6BM8's years ago. It has bass, treble, balance, and volume controls. Haven't used it in years. I need to dig it out.

Paul


i'd love to see it.
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Aug 13, 2003 at 4:14 AM Post #14 of 42
I like my D-5. It was my first CD player and it has worked flawlessly for many years. Even used it in the car. It was my only player until I upgraded to the D-555 in 1990.

Back in 1989 a local audio store was having a little "test your CD player" promotion and would measue CD players for freq response, distortion, linearity, and phase. Of course, most people were bringing in their expensive rigs and many tested well. For some fun I brought in my ancient (even then) D-5 with no oversampling and brick wall filters. Everyone was having a good laugh but still curious to see how it would test out. You know what? Except for some phase problems in the upper frequencies (to be expected with the "brick wall" filter) the player amazed everyone by testing so well. Distortion was very low and the player extremely linear to -90db.

It may be incredibly ancient by today's standards but the little D-5 can still hold its own.

Paul
 
Aug 13, 2003 at 4:25 AM Post #15 of 42
Quote:

Originally posted by strohmie
I'll add my voice to those people who owned a D-5 (er, well, I owned a D-14, which is nearly the same beast), and it as well has the "pull open til you hear a click" mechanism.

So far, my PCDP experience has gone a bit like this, audio-wise:

D-303
D-311
D-14
D-626
D-25S

...or something to that effect. The 303 is simply the best I've heard so far through line out, though if I ever get a DCP-150 I'm sure that will overtake it (hell, I just need to get a damned standalone already). The 311 has a great line out and headphone out, probably the best all-rounder. The 25S to me was overbright, which may be attributed to the fact that I had somewhat bright phones at the time, but I think it's supposed to be a bright player anyways, even with neutral phones. Definitely nothing on the level with the 303 or 311. The 626 has very good sound from the headphone out and wireless out (I thought this would suck) and decent from the line out. The 14 had tons of power and pretty good detail, but the other two are on another level.

That's just my experience.
biggrin.gif


Thanks strohmie. Did you have an amp when listening to the 25S? I'll get one in a week or so and will have a META42 and ER-4S.
 

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