Looking for high-quality portable CD player

[Mike Rivera]

I tried to search (with no avail) as I thought this must have been discussed many times before.

I'm looking for a recomendation for a high-quality (with high power for good quality aftermarket headphones) portable CD player.

I'll be using Sennheiser PX100 phones.

Any recomendations?

[romanotrax]

I got my wife a really nice RIO player. It plays cds-mp3-wma-and has FM/AM too. Sturdy and nice power. I play it through my Sony headphones and it rocks! If I remember correctly too it has a 40 second buffer and it can be recharged. A really nice unit. I don't really remember what I paid but it wasn't on of those 29.00 jobs. I think it was more in the $129 range,

[fjhuerta]

Romano, players with buffers usually sacrifice playback quality in order to deliver the goods. I think the buffer never stores the whole 44.1/16 signal.

I don't really know the answer to your question, Mike. But I know where you can find it. Head over to www.headphone.com and look for their recommendations on portable sources. Better yet, send an e-mail to Todd. He's always friendly and willing to help. You might end up buying an Airhead, too! :D

[Casino]

Panasonic SW950 is a nice unit. Very happy with mine. Easy on batteries, too.

[Metralla]

There's a nice review of vintage portable CD players on Enjoy The Music. Steven Rochlin is a member here, but doesn't post very often. He's very enthusiastic about some of these classic portables, and rates them well above the current players.

I like the older Panasonics with a Total Airhead - a headphone amp makes a big difference if you have good headphones. Make sure you don't use the anti-shock buffering.

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0703/midmonth/bestportable.htm

Regards,
Geoff

[peterC]

Originally posted by Metralla
Make sure you don't use the anti-shock buffering.
Regards,
Geoff

I have a recent Panasonic top of the range model. The annoying thing is that the anti-shock can't be switched off completely.

[michael w]

I'm with Geoff and Steve R on portables.

Most of the new portable CD players suck and MP3/ iplod etc would be unbearable for more than 10 minutes so it's a classic portable CDP.

In my case it has to be an early Sony D150 ( I think this was called the D15 in the US).

Despite a dodgy disc clamp it still sounds pretty good through the teeny weeny Stax SRM-001's.

Too bad going portable means pockets full of CDP, Stax power supply and disc wallet. It all starts to weigh you down.


cheerio

[fjhuerta]

Michael, that's the reason why I went the MD route! A top of the line player (with ATRAC Type R), my Etymotic ER-4S canalphones, a Total Airhead, and a bunch of discs fit inside a very small bag, which I can wear in my belt.

[Mike Rivera]

Thanks for eveybody's help.

After spending hours on the Headroom web-site searching through the archives, it seems everybody is in agreement that the new CD players don't compare to the vintage models for sound quality. The problem is I wanted a new unit.

One CDP that has got a lot of praise "for a new unit" is the Sony D-EJ2000. It their new top model and retails for about $250, but you can find them for $160-$180 via the net.

I ordered one along with a portable headphone amp and a new set of "portable" Senn. cans. I'll also test it with my Senn. 580's. I hope the new amp can run them.

Thanks again.

Mike

[fjhuerta]

Mike, enjoy! I'm sure you *won't* be disappointed with Headroom.

[-=Rudy=-]

Originally posted by fjhuerta
Romano, players with buffers usually sacrifice playback quality in order to deliver the goods. I think the buffer never stores the whole 44.1/16 signal.

That's pathetic if you think about it: one minute of CD-quality audio fits in about 10MB of memory. As cheap as memory is these days, a 4MB or 8MB buffer at 44.1/16 would be a no-brainer. Thing is, do any of the manufacturers care about a niche market like this?

I have a Panasonic that plays MP3 discs. I rarely use headphones though--I use this as a portable source to plug in wherever I'm at. I'm almost afraid to hear how it sounds through headphones now! ;) I believe it has two levels of shock protection, and I know they did warn that the lengthier setting would degrade the sound.