Review of the sound of the Sony D465 portable CD player with optical output
I haven't listened critically to many portable players for cassette, MD, or CD. I will only speak with certainty about my particular unit, and merely hypothesize about generalities. This page has good testing and purchasing advice that is relevant to many MD users.
As soon as I first plugged headphones into my D465 at home, I instantly thought, "gee, that sounds strident, tinny (tin-like), metallic, and thin. Also, related but distinct: the low bass is missing. I must be going insane: I am sure that all CD players sound identical." So I did critical A/B tests against my good old Sony CDP 70 home CD deck and sure enough, I positively identified the difference between these two particular units, indicating that I am not a hi-fi golden-ears psychotic.
My CDP70 had more low-bass, more high-treble, while my D465 definitely had more mid-treble, of a peaky, jagged, grainy sort. I am against golden-ears hallucination, yet I learned one thing that day: all CD players do not sound alike. I did comparison tests using the headphone and line-outs of both units.
I am not an expert on CD players or portables, though I am an expert, compared to most people, as far as equalization curves. The first hearing of the 465, I had a clear *feeling* about the tone or character of the headphone amp. Then I did tests to objectively identify, in terms of eq, the difference. I'm becoming more confident in my hearing. I similarly "imagined" that the 2nd megabass position of the 465 boosted the high treble as well as the bass (remember, there was too much treble and too little bass, to begin with, so this position mostly fixed the bass, but made the treble even more strident). Closer examination of the mega "bass" [sic] positions verified my initial suspicion.
The optical output of the 465 sounded great: rich, full, lots of low bass and high treble, with smooth treble response (not jagged at various frequencies) -- just like my good old CDP70.
To say something positive, for once, about the Sony E40 portable MD player that comes with the official bundle: its headphone jack sounds really good (though I wish there were a more moderate megabass position [like 1/2 the first position] rather than the existing, extreme, position 2). I'll be listening to the portable Sharp MD units. I hear they sound better than Sony portables. At least the 465 taught me to think about headphone op-amp fidelity, not just media fidelity and ATRAC fidelity.
I am only pointing out things to pay attention to. For all I know, other units might sound better, and other CD portables might sound even more strident than mine did. Don't make your buying decision solely based on my unit's strident treble.
The moral of the story is: do critical A/B tests in the store before you buy a CD player or other gear, if you want to reduce the chances of having to return the unit.
We are entering a new era where we all tend to become golden-ears critics. With records and tapes, people didn't expect so much and didn't demand such near-perfection. But now we're spoiled by home CD decks and home MD decks that have incredible performance, and we expect portable gear to sound identical, but that is actually hard to do.
I spoke with a Magnolia Hi-Fi salesman who said, beware of the CD players with amazing battery life: they do this partly by choosing op-amps that are optimized for low power draw rather than high fidelity.
I am certain that my 465 had a metallic, strident sounding headphone jack and I'm glad I returned it. I did thorough A/B testing of the replacement, a $380 ($400) Sony 255 CD jukebox with optical output. I hope to post my experience making MD mixes automatically from the CD jukebox. I also plan to post about how the two Sony units (both with the curved/beveled front) interact via S-Link and the remote controls. I've been posting too much to this list, so I hope to pull out soon and attend to my career, now that I have just about completed my huge transition from tape to MD, and fixed and replaced most of my various old equipment that is mechanically worn out from excessive use. (Of course I got a 5 or 6 year warranty on the CD jukebox, which I expect will break at least once.)
I did 3-way A/B testing in the store of my CDP 70, the Sony cheapest ES (Elevated Standard) home CD deck (with optical output), and the Sony 255 CD jukebox. I concluded that the 255 sounds more smooth and mellow, like my CDP70. The ES deck had more treble than my CDP70 (a little too much) and the salesman agreed. One of the Sony non-ES CD jukeboxes was reported as having hissy, vague treble (in the current What Hi Fi that has a cover article about home CD changers). But the unit I heard in the store sounded very realistic and similar to my reference deck. To do these A/B tests, I used two copies of Jeff Beck's album _Blow by Blow_ on CD. This album was produced by George Martin, who produced the Beatles. Blow by Blow has excellent demo material: many tracks begin with well-mic'd, well-mixed drums and bass guitar, only. Drums have a kick drum and cymbals, which act as a microscope for low-bass and high-treble.
I would like to know if other people find the 465 to have metallic, strident treble, or if it sounds great. My unit is just one data point. I like the 465 aside from the headphone tone; it's a really nice unit.
Loud treble is easy. Smooth treble is more difficult to achieve.
D465's INLINE REMOTE - BEWARE!
The INLINE REMOTE (supposedly for the 465) that I special-ordered from Sony's 800 number (in Kansas, U.S.) for $20 was bogus! It did not have an LCD or earbuds! Triple-check these facts if you order one! In the U.S., the D465 is missing its inline remote. You *have* to have the inline remote! It's so stupid that Sony removes it from the U.S. D465 packaging! >:-( So, I don't know if you really can order the *real* remote via Sony's 800 number.
sigh - One more piece of gear to return. I'm tired of critical evaluation of music gear. It's been fun, but I want to think about music itself and get a life.
>Jake