The ultimate CD-player!?

[pangea]

I would do what you're about to do and see if the 5502 becomes more stable as well as more quiet after the swap.

But don't throw the replaced transport unit away, because you might want to keep it for spare parts.

I my self gave up on the 1001, Mr. Widget was kind enough to send me, since I wasn't able to adjust the "Gain" and "Bias", to get rid of the annoying dropouts.
The 5502 sounds just as good and works more than well enough for me anyway and does all the adjustments automatically.

I think there is a bit of psychology working here, why some people seem reluctant to praise the PS1. A "simple" piece of kids toy, just cannot be as good as a mega buck piece of, heavy duty, high end, audiophile grade CD player.
Also, if I spend a lot of money on a CD player, I sure would like to be able to impress all my friends and I sure would want it to be better than a ten year old toy costing less than $20, don't you think?....

BR
Roland

[440hz]

I swapped the transport in the 5502 for the one in the 7502, took about 2 minutes, it just dropped staight in. They have a slightly different layout on the main board so I had use the 5502 wiring loom with the 7502 transport or it wouldn't reach the socket on the pcb, but they unplug no problem.

The 5502 works fine now, and I also discovered the problem with its original transport. It was simply the plastic clamp that holds the CD in place, it had cracked probably from kids pulling out CDs carelessly, I ran it in the other machine with the lid off and I could see it slipping,. By this I mean the CD would slow and sometimes stop for a moment while the spindle spun inside the CD hole, it kept loosing its grip on the CD. Explains why it was so noisy too .

I am going to get a playstation 2 DVD remote as it seems they work with the playstation 1. just plug the reciever into the controller port and you have remote CD functions like play, stop, skip etc. I pulled apart a hand controller and was going to wire up play, stop and skip buttons to the case I am putting it in, but I might just go remote only, single button on the front of the case for power on and a nice LED smack in the middle, minimalist hardcore CD player


The case I have weighs about 5kg now that I have gutted it, full size CD player with 3mm steel base and machined heavy black anodised aluminim top and sides which bolts to the steel subchassis. Picked it up from a parts pile at a pawn broker for $5 as a non working player, laser module was dead. I will replace the front panel and have to cut a hole in the top, its about 4mm thick aluminium, then we'll see who has the megabuck gear just kidding.

I am going to tryout a 1002 before I make any final desicions on which to finally stick with, I even like the sound of the 7502, it does slightly different to the 5502, maybe a bit more dynamic, maybe thats not a good thing though, more testing needed. I have A/B the 5502 and 7502 and the 5502 with a couple of deomestic CD players a budget technics and sony and the playstation gets the thumbs up both from myself and my gf who thinks everything sounds the same but still seems to pick the PS in these blind tests.

I would really like to see the results from other comparisons, I don't know if the PS can hold its own against the really high end stuff or not, but it is better than any player I own or want to pay for right now, so I am happy to experiment with it and enjoy the sound I am getting.

thanks again for pointing it out.

[Alan Fletcher]

Too bad I didn't see this thread a while ago... Had a PS1 and chucked it. I set up a small system for my girlfriend and she used it for games, I used it to play CDRs since her crappy DVD player doesn't play CDRs. One day it fell off a shelf and smacked the floor pretty hard. She was almost to the point of tears so I took it home and tore into it-- turned out one of the gears inside the drive mech was cracked in half and the motor spindle was bent. It sat around for a few months until cleanup time and then it went to the breakers.

It would have been good for parts. When I would listen to it, I was never impressed-- it was just a CD player neither bad nor good, one with ridiculously complicated controls and video display requirement.

-A

[440hz]

Hey Alan it is a pity you chucked it, as for the sound I really think some models definately sound better than others, After a lot of listening I prefer the 5502 over the 7205, I still haven't tried the 1002. A lot of people have said the 9002 etc sound bad. Not surprising they sound different either, they have different components and layout inside (anyone have schematics for them?). Some people really like the sound they produce, some think they sound as good as an average player. I haven't heard too many negative comments about the sound, personally I like the sound, but that wont stop me from trying other things out, If there is one thing I know its that I am never completely satisfied with ANY part of my system.

As for controls I have tried using a PS2 DVD remote control and it works great. Just plug the little square reciever module into the control port and the remote gives you play, pause, stop, next track forward and rev, and fast forward and reverse functions. I have heard you can use a learning remote with these too, so you can reduce the remote collection that will soon consume itself due to its ever increasing mass

The 5502 I am using is destined for the full sized CD player case I have, I was going to try a 1002 first but I can swap it over later if I decide.

Theres plenty of room in the case for a valve output stage too, so that will be on the list, and remote control as well of course, will post pics when I'm done if anyone is interested.

[pangea]

Of course I want pictures!!!

About the remote, don't buy the "Saitek" remote, cos it won't fit unless removing a lot of plastic from the PS1 cover and after I did just that, it still didn't work.

BR
Roland

[440hz]

About the remote, don't buy the "Saitek" remote, cos it won't fit unless removing a lot of plastic from the PS1 cover and after I did just that, it still didn't work.

that sucks. I just bought a PS2 one because thats what they had at the pawnbroker I tried. Don't give up completely yet though, try one of those learning all in one remotes if you have one. Not all of the DVD function buttons on the PS2 control work either. I cant use the the usual play, stop buttons etc. that are present on the PS2 remote, I can only use the controller buttons that are replicated on the remote control at the bottom.

I have started work on mine, will post pics on a web page and let you know.

[panos29]

Just found this interesting thread! I got to say I am now using the 1002 for more than a year, my previous player was a stable plater pioneer707 and my all time favourite sony 50es( built like a tank). My opinion is that the 1002 joke is by far the best player I ever tried in my system in the sence it really makes music sound so effortless and so life like i wouldnt dare to think it could, something like after a long CD audition you put on your turntable and everything is so smooth and relaxed. Compared to the 50es is alot better in all respects except maybe a bit less analytical, compared to the pioneer there is no comparinson in any respect. I really cannot explain or reason why this happens but I take it as it is. I am in the proccess of designing a normal power supply to take the place of the pwm supply of the original and also build a dedicated aluminum box for this. My rest system is a DIY 6sn7 pre a la plack velvet, a push pull 6B4G amp at about 15W designed by me and a pair of Tannoy monitor 15" dual concentrics into a horn loaded cabinet designed by me. I really canot explain how this nice "joke" makes good music, maybe its because synergy with the rest of my system.

[pangea]

that sucks. I just bought a PS2 one because thats what they had at the pawnbroker I tried. Don't give up completely yet though, try one of those learning all in one remotes if you have one. Not all of the DVD function buttons on the PS2 control work either. I cant use the the usual play, stop buttons etc. that are present on the PS2 remote, I can only use the controller buttons that are replicated on the remote control at the bottom.

I have started work on mine, will post pics on a web page and let you know.

I took the remote back to the shop, but haven't yet come around to buy the original remote from Sony, but it'll be soon.

I'll be waiting for the pics.

BR
Roland

[pangea]

Just found this interesting thread! I got to say I am now using the 1002 for more than a year, my previous player was a stable plater pioneer707 and my all time favourite sony 50es( built like a tank). My opinion is that the 1002 joke is by far the best player I ever tried in my system in the sence it really makes music sound so effortless and so life like i wouldnt dare to think it could, something like after a long CD audition you put on your turntable and everything is so smooth and relaxed. Compared to the 50es is alot better in all respects except maybe a bit less analytical, compared to the pioneer there is no comparinson in any respect. I really cannot explain or reason why this happens but I take it as it is. I am in the proccess of designing a normal power supply to take the place of the pwm supply of the original and also build a dedicated aluminum box for this. My rest system is a DIY 6sn7 pre a la plack velvet, a push pull 6B4G amp at about 15W designed by me and a pair of Tannoy monitor 15" dual concentrics into a horn loaded cabinet designed by me. I really canot explain how this nice "joke" makes good music, maybe its because synergy with the rest of my system.

It certainly is no joke IMO!!!

I always get the same feeling as you, it sounds like vinyl, but without the cracks and pops. Only clean and effortless presentation of the music and that's also good enough for me.

It's always the weakest link that determines the sound quality and I would say, you need to buy some really expensive stuff before the PS1 becomes that weak point.

BR
Roland

[rek50]

"but haven't yet come around to buy the original remote from Sony, but it'll be soon." Hey, what's this? Soon after I read about the Sony remote, I grabbed a new one off eBay for cheap. Treat yourself and get one already!! It is nice to sit back and select with the push of a button. I'm still running mine BONE STOCK. When I show off my "New High Dollar" CD player, I keep a cover on it. Then I pull the cover off, and watch the jaws drop. "A lowly, old PS1, GASP, I payed XXXX for mine......" Sooner or later I'll try shielding the power supply, and maybe even adding a blue LED. But I will put it into a "Humble" looking box.

[440hz]

I have to agree with the comparison to vinyl sound with the playstation. I clean my records as much as I like but cannot completely get rid of the occasional click and bit of noise you hear in silent passages. Of course I want to improve my set up and maybe that will help. But the PS1 does have a vinyl like sound to my ears.

As far as the PS1 being a 'toy'. Well yeah but a very sophisticated toy, as is high end hi-fi gear. have a look inside, it wasn't designed and built in the factory where they make 'happy meal' novelty toys.

[pangea]

-rek50

I know, it won't be long now before I have one.

Nice party trick!

Recently I had a few of my colleagues over for a few brewsky and I can assure you they all dropped their jaws after I fired up the speakers. They were all VERY impressed with the sound coming from my, mostly DIY gear. There were my hybrid MTM speakers with the surplus JBL drivers, a few DIY Hypex class D amps, a couple of big vintage Yamaha studio amps, two Behringer Ultradrive and one Ultracurve, one vintage Audionics of Oregon BT-2 preamp and of course the PS1.

They simply couldn't believe that the PS1 could be that good and when I told them that some of my JBL drivers are more than 30 years old even, I could see that they almost didn't believe me.

BR
Roland

[pangea]

-440Hz

I agree completely!

When designing the first PS1, the engineers were told to do what ever it takes and use what ever they wanted, to get to the top of the "hill"!

At first they made some technical improvements on the 5002 and 5502, but then they began cutting corners with each new model and sure enough they had managed to destroy the concept on the later models.
BR
Roland

[cruisaire]

Did the 7001 "make the cut"? Mine sounds great, but I haven't been able to check it against an earlier model yet.

[pangea]

Did the 7001 "make the cut"? Mine sounds great, but I haven't been able to check it against an earlier model yet.

Hi cruisaire!

First of all, very welcome to this great forum! I hope you will like it as much as I do.

Well then, I'm sure the 7001 will hold it's ground against many other good CD-players, but the difference between the 7001 and the earlier models, is significant, so if you can find one, I suggest you grab it as fast as you can, because if you like the 7001, you will absolutely love a 5001 or 5501.
Although the 1001 sounds even better, it has a few things that makes it less than ideal. One being drop outs which can be difficult to adjust manually.

BR
Roland