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Thread: S'ony a pretty good CD player

  1. #1
    Join Date: May 2008

    Location: Surrey

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    I'm Rob.

    Default S'ony a pretty good CD player

    Some years ago I modded a few Sony PS1's following a cult following on Diyaudio. These were picked up for around a tenner each and sounded pretty good. Sadly they will not play all CDs and really don't like CDRs. I was up in the loft recently looking for something that could not be found and came across a PS2 that my son must have had in the past. It has an optical dig out and I thought I would give it a go as a transport.

    Well blow me, it has made me want to play CDs again. A very musical and full bodied presentation. The fan was making too much noise for me, so I swapped it out for quieter one.

    If you see one at a car boot for a tenner I would buy it and see what you think....oh you will need a controller as well. You can also get remote control plug in doodahs which I got when messing with the PS1s (they are PS2 remote controllers, but work with the PS1 as well)
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  2. #2
    Join Date: Apr 2016

    Location: Bishops Stortford

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    I'm Chris.

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    So against what price level of conventional player would it compete?
    Source
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  3. #3
    Audio Al is offline Pishanto Specialist & Super-Daftee
    Join Date: May 2012

    Location: Dagenham Essex

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    I'm Allen.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Puffin View Post
    Some years ago I modded a few Sony PS1's following a cult following on Diyaudio. These were picked up for around a tenner each and sounded pretty good. Sadly they will not play all CDs and really don't like CDRs. I was up in the loft recently looking for something that could not be found and came across a PS2 that my son must have had in the past. It has an optical dig out and I thought I would give it a go as a transport.

    Well blow me, it has made me want to play CDs again. A very musical and full bodied presentation. The fan was making too much noise for me, so I swapped it out for quieter one.

    If you see one at a car boot for a tenner I would buy it and see what you think....oh you will need a controller as well. You can also get remote control plug in doodahs which I got when messing with the PS1s (they are PS2 remote controllers, but work with the PS1 as well)
    Rob , you need to offer £5 bargain hard , Nice offer of you buying it for me
    Last edited by Audio Al; 11-09-2019 at 16:18.
    [

  4. #4
    Join Date: May 2008

    Location: Surrey

    Posts: 7,103
    I'm Rob.

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    Chris, that's a very difficult one to quantify. However, if I were to pit it against a heavily modified Marantz CD63 that I picked up for £25. Again this was the subject of a thread on Diyaudio running to hundreds of pages. The mods I did were, upgraded PS caps, voltage regulators to replace current limiting resistors (16 or 17) removing the HDAM stage, adding a Trichord Clock and power supply. Lining the whole case with adhesive bitumen pads and other mods that I have probably forgotten about now. It is not bad but a bit bright for my tastes, some would say "detailed"?

    I had a Trichord Genesis some years ago (a modified Pioneer stable platter machine) that cost a fortune for what I subsequently knew was inside it. I would politely call it a "pleasant" sound....or a bit dull

    I have had several other CD players, Cambridge, Marantz (not the 63) but I just like the way the PS sounds, detailed and musical, but not in your face, unless it is a badly mastered CD. You can use the analogue outs of the PS2 if you get an AV lead.
    Buy Bose...And get your parking validated!.

    https://youtu.be/ZCBe7-6rw4M

    No Highs...No Lows....It Must Be Bose!

  5. #5
    Join Date: May 2008

    Location: Surrey

    Posts: 7,103
    I'm Rob.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Audio Al View Post
    Rob , you need to offer £5 buargain hard , Nice offer of you buying it for me
    Your very welcome Al.
    Buy Bose...And get your parking validated!.

    https://youtu.be/ZCBe7-6rw4M

    No Highs...No Lows....It Must Be Bose!

  6. #6
    Join Date: Nov 2011

    Location: Romford

    Posts: 11,057
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    What buttons on the controller do you use to get it to play (I've tried PS1 & 2 controllers)

    (wondering if the one I've got is faulty, although the blue & green lights are on & the fan's working)

    Cheers

  7. #7
    Join Date: May 2008

    Location: Surrey

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    I'm Rob.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Roy S View Post
    What buttons on the controller do you use to get it to play (I've tried PS1 & 2 controllers)

    (wondering if the one I've got is faulty, although the blue & green lights are on & the fan's working)

    Cheers
    Hi Roy, the wired games controllers have controls for which the knowledge as to which button does what is not available for those over the age of 16. Those that are over that age have to stab blindly at any or all (or a combination) of the buttons in the hope that the CD starts to play. Once you know what does what WRITE IT DOWN because the next time you use it......... I will take a pic of a controller and add tags as to what works for me. With the remote control unit I have I have to press ENTER once and then again and the CD will start.....unless it doesn't like it, in which case it wont. PAUSE uses the play button, the STOP button for some unknown reason stops the CD!. The EJECT button does not EJECT or open the drawer.

    I have played a DVD without access to a screen....now that was fun!!!!
    Buy Bose...And get your parking validated!.

    https://youtu.be/ZCBe7-6rw4M

    No Highs...No Lows....It Must Be Bose!

  8. #8
    Join Date: Nov 2011

    Location: Romford

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    Quote Originally Posted by Puffin View Post
    Hi Roy, the wired games controllers have controls for which the knowledge as to which button does what is not available for those over the age of 16. Those that are over that age have to stab blindly at any or all (or a combination) of the buttons in the hope that the CD starts to play. Once you know what does what WRITE IT DOWN because the next time you use it......... I will take a pic of a controller and add tags as to what works for me. With the remote control unit I have I have to press ENTER once and then again and the CD will start.....unless it doesn't like it, in which case it wont. PAUSE uses the play button, the STOP button for some unknown reason stops the CD!. The EJECT button does not EJECT or open the drawer.

    I have played a DVD without access to a screen....now that was fun!!!!


    Tried all the buttons on the PS1 & PS2 controllers & it made some noises so it's plumbed in right. I guess if you did it once when it was connected to a telly you could write down the sequence of buttons to press to use when it wasn't?

  9. #9
    Join Date: Aug 2009

    Location: Staffordshire, England

    Posts: 37,778
    I'm Martin.

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    I have a PS2 and tried it as a cd player some time ago but I had the same issue. There's nowt wrong with it, only has a few hundred hours on it. But I couldn't get it to audio output with a cd no matter how many buttons I stabbed. Even strong language didn't help, which was unusual.
    Current Lash Up:

    TEAC VRDS 701T > Sony TAE1000ESD > Krell KSA50S > JM Labs Focal Electra 926.

  10. #10
    Join Date: Nov 2011

    Location: Romford

    Posts: 11,057
    I'm sorted.

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    Managed to get some farty noises out of the left speaker, so it’s good if that’s what you’re after


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