Best CD sound ever. Panasonic SL-S120 and Sony D25 portables*

After spending a lot on high end CD players want to share this.
A wonderfull sound, reminding of analogue, ear pleasing, real high end comes from the Panasonic SL-S120 portable CD player from the line out. (0,6 Volt). No opamps for amplifying to 2 Volt line out. Same story for the Sony portable D25. (service manuals on Internet for circuit diagram's)
Being suspicious I measured the frequency output, straight from 20 to 20000 Hz.
You have to hear this for yourself to believe, perhaps it goes for other portable players as well.
Forget about tweaking CD players with valve outputs, expensive opamps, vintage dac's (such as TDA1541A), or expensive dac's. No opamps at all is the solution. In the Panasonic the only opamp is for filtering and the symmetric output of the mash-dac.

Has anybody the same experience ? Further tip's ?

 

lol

 

No, but it does not surprise me. Simplicity is often the key. I was never happy with the high output ftom CD players, unless you used a passive/ power amp.
Maybe I can share a discovery with you.
TNT Audio on the net have a DIY cable section.
Using satellite cable with outer PVC and shield removed .
We are left with the inner copper wire and outer copper shield.
It is covered in heat shrink and rca plugs fitted. This cable is absolutely perfect for cd. Bass goes seriously deep and treble is smooth.
Capitance is low at 30 pf/ half meter.
Will check the Panasonic out .
Thank you.

 

I have an old Sony Car Discman. I personally used to listen to those inexpensive Panasonic portable CD-players because I liked the sound, but I really don't know what I'm doing when it comes to adapting something like that to work with my main system. I hung onto the Car Discman because it was a nice one, but it's easily 20 years or older by now.

I'm DAC shopping at the moment, but I still have a lot of reading up to do. Its time for an upgrade, maybe the $400-$500 range if I can swing it. That alone should make a significant difference, as my DAC is the weakest link right now. But I agree though, about simplicity. I will never buy a tube DAC. I'm already running tubes at the pre AND power sections, so I don't see the need for adding more of them, especially a tube circuit that might be voiced differently. But I AM thinking about going with a DAC/headphone-amp combo, but I would prefer something where the headphone amp circuit can be switched out of the system if I don't want it.

 

Never heard in person either of the ones you mention (unfortunately) but i use for headphone listening (with a Fiio E EO7K DAC/Amp) a wonderful Sony D-335. I actually have two and lost out the other week on an auction for another. Got hipped to it by this blog post awhile back, great site for portables info/opinion:

Marlene's Musings: Review: Sony D-121, Sony D-EJ 250, Sony D-EJ 725 & Sony D-335 »

as the reviewer says, it's a highly musical player without it feeling like it's obscuring anything. Not a reference player, but to hear new things in old things it's a stone cold winner. It's even got an optical out that i'm gonna try to get around to using one day...

Really would like to grab one of those d25's down the road sometime. Heard so many good things about them!

 

PANASONIC TECHNICS SL-S120 SL-S125 Service Manual free download, schematics, eeprom, repair info for electronics »
Thanks for your (serious) reply. Above is a link for downloading free the service manual of the Panasonic.
Of course a 16 bit multibit dac like TDA1541A can omit an opamp for it is not balanced, perhaps worth trying. But I'm happy now and I feel conned with all my expensive high end players. As you see in the circuit diagram the line out omits a n opamp contrary to the headphone out wich uses an opamp.

 

Yes i see what you mean will study it a lot more.
Most of the improvements i have made in the last year on my system have been DIY on cables and other mods to turntables and power amps
People like yourself and many on the tnt audio who share there discoveries have helped me personally a great deal .will get hold of the Panasonic and try it out. Thanks.

 

Omitting opamps is the secret. Easy to do with a portable. But not the kind with shockprotection ! If the line output is +/- 0.6 Volt then there is no opamp booster. No opamp alway's better than any kind of amplifier stage be it valves or whatever. 0.6 volt is more than enough for almost all amplifiers.

 

Wouldn't the portable ones you mentioned have shock protection as well? Not even sure how they do that, besides oversampling or something.

I wouldn't want a tube-driven CDP. The way I figure, leave that sort of thing to your main preamp.

 

I auditioned my tube CD player not because it had a tube but because it was the matching player to my amp. Fell in love with the sound and that was that. To me, it sounded way warmer than my Oppo 105d.

 

Sure ! After almost 60 years of listening to recorded music there is one thing sure for me: never ever a class B design, amplifiers or opamp's will sound natural.
Recently I installed a phono preamp with discrete transistor's, class A, just as good as the valve pre's in my valve amps, even less noise. The one with opamp.s now in the dustbin.

 

No shock protection, see the service manual's.

Shock protection is evil, it backups the signal compressed, I've read in MP3 format. Omit them. I mentioned the Panasonic and Sony because they are in use, but some very cheap chinese players also are fine but I must listen more extensively, but for now my conclusion is that a line-out straight from the DAC is a high end solution.
Only setback is I have to wear spectacles to see the track numbers. Not a problem, most CD's are played entirely. Some visitor's laugh until they hear the music that's why I am so interested if anyone came to the same conclusion or have the same experience and with what players.

 

Thank you, nice article. I guess my players are the right choice, no shock protection. Opamp's measure fabulous but sound crap, class B is awfull, even when not measurable: transient inter modulation distortion, crossover distortion. the evil with all class B design's.

 

Yes, my Leak amps sound wonderful to me , tube, ultra linear, probably not pure class a, but the Naim amp i used at the time which were highly regarded seemed unnatural compared to the Leak.
Have ordered, Panasonic.
Regards Thorensman

 

Thanks for the link--nice reading. Hope it's updated regularly.

 

I had a D25 back in the day with Yamaha headphones. Was a great setup.

 

I can confirm this founding. I own a Sony Discman (which model exactly I don't know by hearth) and it sounds wonderful with my Sennheiser HD555!!! Very good for close evaluation for cd discs quality and also for listening on the move!
You can buy those players for peanuts.

 

Sometimes simple designs sound best. I have a JVC XL-V311 CD player from the 80's, which has very good sonics. I was impressed enough to hunt for their flagship XL-Z1010TN K2 CD player and I finally found one brand new/sealed in the box. I already had screen grabs of the inside...It had two additional circuit boards and much larger caps, but it was very 'busy'. It made the much lighter 311 look barren by comparison.

At first I thought the sound was top notch, but when I started comparing the two players I was surprised that the lowly 311 actually sounded better.

 

So, this is where my journey ends; my old D-ne511 discman. DSD, move over. Atrac3 plus rules!

 

Intrigued by this thread, I hooked up my Philips portable CD player made in 2002 to one of my systems to compare it with my Pioneer DV-563 universal player. I turned off the shock protection. The sound was disappointing however with subdued highs.

 

Mr. Thorensman,
I have the Leak stereo 20, indeed also fabulous. Class AB is virtually Class A, don't worry. Transition from A to B, near to overdrive goes smoothly contrary to solid state amp's.
At normal listening level everything is Class A. My Stereo 20 is running without feedback, signal direct to entrance capacitor of the phase splitter. Very natural. It is a very simple tweak, 10 minutes and reversable in 10 minutes.
Opamp's, class B and heavy feedback are evil things.
Hope you can score a Panasonic sl-s120 in good working order. Happy listening.

 

Not the first time this kind of topic has come up:

Optimus CD-3400 »

I used Panasonics for years in a portable system with a Headroom amp back in the mid to late 90s (can't remember the model right now but I still have one at home) as they had that wonderful "line out" option. They were very good players for the day, but when hooked up to my main system they couldn't stand up to a big-rig player.

John k.

 

The Oppo is not a CD player

 

Nope, I've had the opposite experience.
Portables should be used for firewood.

 

Running on batteries? AA sounded better than AAA in my Panasonic discman (had an adapter for AA) - I **** you not.