zoboomofo
1000+ Head-Fier
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- Jun 22, 2001
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Thanks for the comprehensive reviews, Duncan. I've enjoyed biggie's as well, and I'll get to the others in time. I was inspired by your description of the mid-nineties generation pcdp: the D-141. This was my only source for about 6 years, so the sound is firmly set in my head - even if I don't have it anymore. I agree that this is not the best cd player ever, and I wanted to share my thoughts on this unit sound-wise. Then I'll describe how buying the Panasonic CT-570 was a step up in sound.
I would describe the sound of the D-141 primarily as grainy. The highs are harsh, and murky. The highest treble is absent, but the mid treble < 10kHz is cranked up high to the point of piercing. The line-out tames the harshness, and seems to level the eq out substantially, but still reveals much grain. Further down the frequency spectrum, I'll just parrot what you said - recessed mids, and an overly warm poofy, but not punchy bass. The extension is poor down low, but the mid-bass is thick.
The second most significant quality of this player is good and bad- the soundstage. Like the late-nineties Sony pcdps I demoed, this unit has a novel soundstage that initially wows me for pop music, but really is unfaithful to the cd. The staging is wide, but overly, and permanently so. The music sounds big, but the imaging suffers - there is no depth. This sound might be to your liking for music that is compressed, but has good beats. Thievery Corporation's "Mirror Conspiracy" sounded enjoyable to me only on this player (I hate compression). I guess this player works for compressed cds because the width you get kills any dynamics on the cd anyway.
On the matter of subtlety- there was none on this player. There was as much air on this unit as there is on the moon. Details get lost in the murk of the mid-bass bloat too. Stereo separation was ghastly. It was like listening to simulated Stereo broadcasts of AM stations.
Overall, I did not enjoy this player after 6 years. The grain, lack of treble extension, and lack of dynamics (in this order of priority) made me pine for a good source. The one thing I really enjoyed about this player was the meatiness that helped along the beats.
And so it was with great pleasure that I upgraded to the Panasonic model. I probably tried out 6 Sony/Panasonic units before I made my decision. The high end Sonys (Summer 2000)were syrupy sweet, and had improved treble extension over my old unit. The problem was that the soundstage was the same sensationally wide one I had on the D-141, but the stereo separation was much better. There was hardly any air to speak of, but the nicer Sonys were waaaaay less grainy than I expected. I moved on to the Panasonics, and faced a tradeoff in sound.
I tried 2 Panasonic models - the CT-470 (only available in blue), and CT-570. I can't recall any differences in sound between the 2 but I ended up with the 570 because of it's better colour & build appearance, and because of it's better display and features (esp. antishock).
The Panasonic sound was a stark contrast to the Sony sound (considering the pcdps on the market in 2000). The most notable quality of the 570 was the improved dynamics over the Sonys. The stage on a pcdp isn't great, but at least I could appreciate precise imaging on the Panasonics- the blobs in my head were in their own distinct spaces along the width of the shallow stage. The tradeoff in sound compared to the Sonys was the second most notable quality in the Panasonic playback. There was less air (if that's possible) than the Sony pcdps. Hey these are portables, so I can forgive this weakness from such a totable device. The major complaint I have about the Panasonics is the frequency spectrum on it. The highs were thin but with decent extension, and the mids were weaker than either the highs or the anemic bass. This sounds more harsh than it really is with the 570 though. The point is that the sound comes off less sweet than the Sonys, but it is still enjoyable through an amp - ie. decent power. The Creek obh-11 pairs up well with it on my Grados. The 47 adds a little sparkle to the highs, and some warmth down low, but the Creek really widens the sound. Overall, I'd say that the virtue of the Panasonic CT-570 is that it is more neutral, and true to the cd than any of the other players I tried. There was a tradoff in sound compared to the D-141 in fidelity for power, but it was worth it. The tradeoff w.r.t. the newer Sonys was the same except that the nice Sonys were more agreeable in the frequency range than either the D-141 or CT-570. I'm sure that if I bought a Sony, that I'd still be frustrated with an artificial soundstage, so I stand by my purchase of the Panasonic. It may not sound as good as the Sonys on some discs, but the sound is better on non-pop styles, and therefore better in the long run for me.
I would describe the sound of the D-141 primarily as grainy. The highs are harsh, and murky. The highest treble is absent, but the mid treble < 10kHz is cranked up high to the point of piercing. The line-out tames the harshness, and seems to level the eq out substantially, but still reveals much grain. Further down the frequency spectrum, I'll just parrot what you said - recessed mids, and an overly warm poofy, but not punchy bass. The extension is poor down low, but the mid-bass is thick.
The second most significant quality of this player is good and bad- the soundstage. Like the late-nineties Sony pcdps I demoed, this unit has a novel soundstage that initially wows me for pop music, but really is unfaithful to the cd. The staging is wide, but overly, and permanently so. The music sounds big, but the imaging suffers - there is no depth. This sound might be to your liking for music that is compressed, but has good beats. Thievery Corporation's "Mirror Conspiracy" sounded enjoyable to me only on this player (I hate compression). I guess this player works for compressed cds because the width you get kills any dynamics on the cd anyway.
On the matter of subtlety- there was none on this player. There was as much air on this unit as there is on the moon. Details get lost in the murk of the mid-bass bloat too. Stereo separation was ghastly. It was like listening to simulated Stereo broadcasts of AM stations.
Overall, I did not enjoy this player after 6 years. The grain, lack of treble extension, and lack of dynamics (in this order of priority) made me pine for a good source. The one thing I really enjoyed about this player was the meatiness that helped along the beats.
And so it was with great pleasure that I upgraded to the Panasonic model. I probably tried out 6 Sony/Panasonic units before I made my decision. The high end Sonys (Summer 2000)were syrupy sweet, and had improved treble extension over my old unit. The problem was that the soundstage was the same sensationally wide one I had on the D-141, but the stereo separation was much better. There was hardly any air to speak of, but the nicer Sonys were waaaaay less grainy than I expected. I moved on to the Panasonics, and faced a tradeoff in sound.
I tried 2 Panasonic models - the CT-470 (only available in blue), and CT-570. I can't recall any differences in sound between the 2 but I ended up with the 570 because of it's better colour & build appearance, and because of it's better display and features (esp. antishock).
The Panasonic sound was a stark contrast to the Sony sound (considering the pcdps on the market in 2000). The most notable quality of the 570 was the improved dynamics over the Sonys. The stage on a pcdp isn't great, but at least I could appreciate precise imaging on the Panasonics- the blobs in my head were in their own distinct spaces along the width of the shallow stage. The tradeoff in sound compared to the Sonys was the second most notable quality in the Panasonic playback. There was less air (if that's possible) than the Sony pcdps. Hey these are portables, so I can forgive this weakness from such a totable device. The major complaint I have about the Panasonics is the frequency spectrum on it. The highs were thin but with decent extension, and the mids were weaker than either the highs or the anemic bass. This sounds more harsh than it really is with the 570 though. The point is that the sound comes off less sweet than the Sonys, but it is still enjoyable through an amp - ie. decent power. The Creek obh-11 pairs up well with it on my Grados. The 47 adds a little sparkle to the highs, and some warmth down low, but the Creek really widens the sound. Overall, I'd say that the virtue of the Panasonic CT-570 is that it is more neutral, and true to the cd than any of the other players I tried. There was a tradoff in sound compared to the D-141 in fidelity for power, but it was worth it. The tradeoff w.r.t. the newer Sonys was the same except that the nice Sonys were more agreeable in the frequency range than either the D-141 or CT-570. I'm sure that if I bought a Sony, that I'd still be frustrated with an artificial soundstage, so I stand by my purchase of the Panasonic. It may not sound as good as the Sonys on some discs, but the sound is better on non-pop styles, and therefore better in the long run for me.
