Playstation 1 CD Player Audiophile Review From Stereophile

Filed under: Home Audio > CD Players



Stereophile caught me off guard this month with their in-depth review of the Sony PlayStation SCPH-1001 that has somehow made it into the magazine.

They are a bit behind the times on this (the thread discussing the Sony Playstation as a CD player on DIYAudio.com dates back to 2004) and it just seems out of place with ads on the opposing pages for $4,500 amplifiers and $3,400 speakers. The PS1 does meet their dealer criteria (must have at least five last time I checked) and there has been quite a bit of hype over the years about this cheap little shitbox* of a CD player. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt though as they do perform some tests on the unit that haven't been done before (that I am aware of).

One interesting find from the testing was that "the overall noise floor is up to 15dB higher than that of a good inexpensive CD player". The basic conclusion seemed to be that the sound so many appear to enjoy from the PlayStation 1 is more than likely due to its distortion.

One thing they didn't mention is that there is a $6,000 tube CD player that currently uses the PlayStation as a platform, the DynaStation CD Player. Some food for thought.


Here are some good resources if you feel so inclined to use a PS1 as a CD player:
Modifications and repairs on a Sony Playstation
DIYAudio.com Forum
PlayStation Fidelity


*I'm referring to it as a shitbox because I had multiple units die on me when they were first released. Stereophile didn't have the greatest luck with them either, they had one die from merely shipping the unit.