[kerecsen]

Could anyone tell me whether there is a difference between the Panasonic CT480 and CT580 as far as sound quality is concerned? Or is it only optics?

I'm now looking to buy the best sounding PCDP out there after I tried the iRiver2 (Rio Volt 250 equivalent) and was thoroughly disappointed.
First of all the sound is not detailed at all (this could be partly the fault of the mp3s, but when I decoded the files with winamp and wrote them back to a CD, they sounded more detailed even in a cheap SONY portable).
Then there is the annoying hiss which makes it impossible to listen to quiet tracks with sensitive earphones (I prefer the MDR-A34's from sony).
Otherwise the iRiver2 is great, the user interface is a wonder and the player has everything you could hope for. I feel so sad that the sound quality is lacking.

I'm starting to really appreciate my SL-S320 that was stolen from my desk

 

[Peddler]

I have just got my Iriver2 and I agree that there is some 'electronics noise' hiss that you can hear at low levels. Although it doesn't bother me, my Sony D-915 is totally silent when it comes to playback noise.

I have also noticed that the noise is less when using Ety's than when using 888's

 

[Deuce_Bigalow]

Off topic a bit, but the SL-S320 used to be worshipped on one of the old headroom forums as being the best sounding portable cd player at the time. Probably nothing better has come out since then but there doesn't seem to many around anymore.
Also, I used to really like the MDR-A34L but I can hardly remember what they sounded like.

I really don't know if there are any good sounding mp3 players or anything out there.

 

[kerecsen]

Here is another question/approach:
How much better would a Marantz CD-6000 sound than one of these portables? I mostly listen to my discman at work and if I can get better sound for a bit more money (I can get one of the suckers for $250), it would definitely be worth it.