Hallo, meine Süßen! It´s that time again, the time for more vintage portable CD players! What? You are bored? Oh well... then go away and google for cute kittens; come back when you´ve cooled off ;). My last article about vintage portables was written on April 1st, since then I´ve acquired several new portables: the Sony D-335, Sony DE-J 725, Sony D-202, Sony D-121 and the Sony D-EJ 250. I also did something incredibly stupid to some of them and to others from my collection... you may remember that I talked about prolonging their life for as much as possible; in order to achieve that I cleaned their drives and their mainboards (when necessary). Cleaning of the CD drive proved to be the crucial part because that´s where I failed: instead of using my specially bought silicone based fat for relubricating moving parts I used oil intended for sewing machines. Why? One reason is that my silicone based fat has a viscosity too high for some drives (-> Sony D-465); the other reason is that one can read all over the net that sewing machine oil is equally well suited. From all the comments I´ve read this oil is truly wondrous to behold: it has the perfect mixture of viscosity, doesn´t affect plastic or metal and it has an extremely high creep capability... BANG! - and that´s what´s problematic: it doesn´t stay where it´s supposed to be, it creeps everywhere. From the cogwheel and the splined shaft (called "sled assy" by Sony) it creeps into the laser block and from there into the optics, the laser and the photocells, subsequently destroying them. Have a look:
 |
| Sony D-335 drive |
The picture above shows the CD drive of the Sony D-335, look at the darkened spot on the right side of the drive. Directly under the barely visible square-like hole sits one of two cogwheels vital for the laser sled. After I lubricated it with sewing machine oil - just one tiny drop on its bearings - the oil was hurled by the turning cogwheel towards the bottom of the CD player, to the left (onto the sled assy), to the right (the sled motor) and to the top of the drives' body. When I discovered this during the photo-post I swiftly went into panic mode and tried to save what could be saved... but I was too late, the CD player had already changed its sonic signature into muffled combined with confused staging. I had to buy a new drive, the much used KSM-331CAN, costing just 14,- Euros and luckily I didn´t even need to re-calibrate the CD player. But what about the other players I´ve treated with the oil? Yes, they still play everything except CD-R but they have changed their sound signature as well. So far I´ve deduced that I destroyed my Sony D-465, the Sony D-NE1 and the Sony D-EJ 250. If you read my blog regularly you will remember that I was baffled why the D-NE1 sounded so different with my E-MU 0202 USB and my FIIO E6 during my last review. The reason is clear to me now: after I cleaned and lubricated it I auditionend it with my E-MU first and afterwards (an hour later) I heard it with my FIIO; by then the oil had crept into the laser/optics (partly blinding them), hence the different sound. Needless to say that I´m genuinely embarrased - in an effort to preserve my little darlings I achieved the idiotic opposite by destroying their most vital part. Has something as dumb as this this ever happened to you?
And furthermore: what to do? During the last three weeks I have been searching for replacement drives that were in decent condition. Thankfully I have been the successful bidder for a Sony D-EJ 100, it shares its laser and sled motor with the D-NE1 and during the last week I was able to restore it back to full function again. I´m not surprised that it doesn´t change sonic character anymore, regardless if its been used with the E-MU or the FIIO. I could have used that laser for the D-EJ 250 too but the D-NE1 was a bit more important to me. The D-EJ 250 was repaired too a bit later; I´ve purchased a Sony D-EJ 361 and used its parts to replenish the D-EJ 250. The drive for the D-465 however is something else since there aren´t many portable CD players around using the same laser (DAX-11E). But I still had a second, fully functioning D-465 laying around which has been used only for spare parts - I´ve used its laser (now destroyed with the oil) for my first D-465, the one I subsequently tested and photographed for this blog because it seemed to be in better condition and able to read more CD-Rs reliably. So today I put the laser from the first D-465 back into its old CD drive during a three hour long operation which I also used thoroughly to clean it. I don´t know how many Q-Tips and Isopropylic alcohol I had to use but it was awful... and after all was said and done I lubricated all moving parts again - this time with just a tiny little bit of my silicone fat though. I was successful: it now works like a charm, to my surprise even the old laser does its job well. It seems that the last time I repaired the drive I used too much fat, leading to unreliable reading I then got rid of with additional drops of sewing machine oil (Boy, was I stupid!). During the last two hours I´ve been listening to a lot of CDs and they play without skipping - the player now sounds again like I´ve described in my first article. Just in case however I´ve acquired a used Sony D-E 441 since it uses the same drive as my D-465 and I plan to exchange its drive again should it be in better condition. But now on the reviews, shall we? Oh, before I forget... the reviews up ahead are going to use my new ratings for the first time, I hope you´ll like them.
And furthermore: what to do? During the last three weeks I have been searching for replacement drives that were in decent condition. Thankfully I have been the successful bidder for a Sony D-EJ 100, it shares its laser and sled motor with the D-NE1 and during the last week I was able to restore it back to full function again. I´m not surprised that it doesn´t change sonic character anymore, regardless if its been used with the E-MU or the FIIO. I could have used that laser for the D-EJ 250 too but the D-NE1 was a bit more important to me. The D-EJ 250 was repaired too a bit later; I´ve purchased a Sony D-EJ 361 and used its parts to replenish the D-EJ 250. The drive for the D-465 however is something else since there aren´t many portable CD players around using the same laser (DAX-11E). But I still had a second, fully functioning D-465 laying around which has been used only for spare parts - I´ve used its laser (now destroyed with the oil) for my first D-465, the one I subsequently tested and photographed for this blog because it seemed to be in better condition and able to read more CD-Rs reliably. So today I put the laser from the first D-465 back into its old CD drive during a three hour long operation which I also used thoroughly to clean it. I don´t know how many Q-Tips and Isopropylic alcohol I had to use but it was awful... and after all was said and done I lubricated all moving parts again - this time with just a tiny little bit of my silicone fat though. I was successful: it now works like a charm, to my surprise even the old laser does its job well. It seems that the last time I repaired the drive I used too much fat, leading to unreliable reading I then got rid of with additional drops of sewing machine oil (Boy, was I stupid!). During the last two hours I´ve been listening to a lot of CDs and they play without skipping - the player now sounds again like I´ve described in my first article. Just in case however I´ve acquired a used Sony D-E 441 since it uses the same drive as my D-465 and I plan to exchange its drive again should it be in better condition. But now on the reviews, shall we? Oh, before I forget... the reviews up ahead are going to use my new ratings for the first time, I hope you´ll like them.
 |
| Sony D-465 - fully functional again (don´t you just love its blue display?) |
--------------- Sony D-121 ---------------
 |
| Sony D-121 |
The Sony D-121 was an inexpensive portable player released by Sony in 1993 if I´m correct. You can find one on eBay for little money, most of them are however in an extremely bad state, you have to be lucky to find one that looks as pristine as the one above. Don´t be fooled by its outer appearance though: some parts apparently have been suffering over the years, probably because of long exposure to heat (which will quickly age the condensers / SMD parts on the mainboard), they are likely responsible for the player not accepting any CD-Rs. Which means that I cannot measure it, I can only describe its sound. EDIT: Since writing this article I have received another Sony D-121 that is fully functional and can also play CD-R. Know what that means? yes, Measurments!
I doubt that the amount of jitter will be audible. The more interesting thing are the results from several RMAA runs (I picked to be displayed here). This player shows rather extreme distortions - and none of them are apparent in the music! The diagrams looked very strange too, I´ve never seen such "jumpy" curves. I repeated the test several times and I always had the same result: strong distortions but no effect on sound. The testsignal even sounded like it does all the time from different players. I have no idea what happened here; it could either be that the player does something that confuses RMAA or that I did a severe error I´ve never done before.
 |
| Sony D-121 measurments |
 |
| Sony D-121 Jitter |
I doubt that the amount of jitter will be audible. The more interesting thing are the results from several RMAA runs (I picked to be displayed here). This player shows rather extreme distortions - and none of them are apparent in the music! The diagrams looked very strange too, I´ve never seen such "jumpy" curves. I repeated the test several times and I always had the same result: strong distortions but no effect on sound. The testsignal even sounded like it does all the time from different players. I have no idea what happened here; it could either be that the player does something that confuses RMAA or that I did a severe error I´ve never done before.
 |
| Sony D-121 front |
Its build quality reveals its price range because the used plastic feels rather cheap, it also makes funny noises when I open the lid. It isn´t very feature heavy, not even the display is illuminated. But boy, the headphone output is powerful, it´s in fact the most powerful headphone output I´ve ever encountered. I don´t talk about headphone outputs often because in 95% of all cases I use the FIIO E6 connected to the Line-Outputs of my portable CD players. In this case I will make an exception though - the sound of it comes very close to the sound of its Line-Out. But don´t you dare turning on the Mega Bass for it will immediately distort everything, even on lower volume levels.
 |
| Sony D-121 |
How does it sound with its line-out? Compared to my reference files it misses crispness, timing and dynamics. The timing is interesting because while it´s slower, especially at bass frequencies, it never seems to miss a hit, everything is presented neatly packed inside a wide and spacious sphere with lots of ambience. Amount of bass is almost on par with the reference files but much less tight and controlled, effectively sounding a bit bloated. The whole frequency band misses attack - but without sounding boring or uninteresting. All in all a rather dark but engagingly lush sounding player, not the original but very characteristic. Be sure to grab one in good condition, it´s a hidden gem. I still stand by my recommendation. However, in view of the measurments and the fact that the first unit didn´t play any CD-R you might want to reconsider acquiring a D-121, it might be a very unreliable player. The two units I own both have problems and I can only guess their reasons: A) these players were cheap and were most likely treated accordingly (without respect - people seem to work that way) B) these players had a severe design flaw. If you would happen to purchase a used D-121 you just have to expect everything, good or bad.
Sonic Balance:
Dynamics:
Resolution:
Stage / Ambiance:
Character:
--------------- Sony D-EJ 250 ---------------
 |
| Sony D-EJ 250 - not very beautiful |
The Sony D-EJ 250 was released in 2003 if I´m not mistaken and if my assumption is true it would be the most recent portable CD player I own. I stumbled upon it when I was searching for other players on eBay and when I saw it I became curious because of the metal parts. Yes, give me metal and I´ll buy it! Whatever, it´s one of the last players equipped with a line-out (shared with the headphone output, configuration can be changed via the menu). It´s also one of the few players unable to play mp3-CDs - that doesn´t disturb me since I have a Sansa Clip+ for playing lossy stuff in high quality. The build quality of the D-EJ 250 is quite decent considering its price range (it cost just 100,- €), the used plastic feels sturdy enough. And yes, it indeed has metal parts on and inside its body. The display sitting on the lid is encapsulated inside a metal shell, the big round button in the middle is made out of metal too. The mainboard doesn´t contain any parts from Sony (different to every other player in this review) and is quite small which actually bothers me: the engineers could have easily designed a smaller body, it´s fairly huge considering its young age. Its headphone output is useless because it doesn´t have enough power for almost any headphone - but that doesn´t disturb me either since I always use my FIIO E6 connected to the line-outs.
 |
| Sony D-EJ 250 measurments (+ 8.3 dB amplitude) |
 |
| Sony D-EJ 250 jitter |
As you can see measurments are decent throughout: jitter is almost absent and RMAA doesn´t show anything out of the ordinary. What you cannot see however is the ripple in its frequency response, I have never seen anything like this with a player from Sony. THD and IM distortions are ok but not too good either, both players below measure better. The total harmonic distortions could be an explanation for its slightly coloured sound but I´m not sure. I always enjoy reading through the service manuals of my players but sadly I´ve been unable to find one for this player; it either doesn´t exist or isn´t very popular. I suspect however that it was released in Europe only, I cannot find it in the U.S. or Canada.
 |
| Sony D-EJ 250 - the drive that was broken but now is fully repaired |
The sound of this player is surprisingly good. Why surprisingly? Because more recent portable CD players from Sony (since 2000 or so) aren´t particularly highly regarded when it comes to their sound. This is something I´ve never understood: why should a more modern player be any worse than a player 15 years older? It´s very likely that it is the other way round; a more recent player should sound better because of technical advances or developments. Sure, it´s headphone output sucks sonically but when used as a line-out the player transforms into a very tasty beast. It indeed comes quite close to my digital originals, it even manages to convincingly change the sound by adding some euphonic colour. Dynamics and balance aren´t on par with my references; music seems a bit slower, it also adds a bit of bass and diminishes treble beyond 10 kHz ever so slightly. But oh... how lovely the stage is... I´ve rarely heard a stage as precise as this, it seems to turn any recording into one that has been closely miked. Sure, this diminishes the overall impression of reverb tails, combine this with the ever so slightly recessed high frequencies and you have a player being the polar opposite of my Sony D-NE1. But all of this doesn´t disturb me when the overall sound is presented that well and convincingly. If you own this player you can count yourself lucky, if not I advise you to purchase it.
Sonic Balance:
Dynamics:
Resolution:
Stage / Ambiance:
Character:
 |
| Sony D-EJ 250 |
--------------- Sony D-EJ 725 ---------------
 |
| Sony D-EJ 725 |
Released in 2000, this player features the newer G-Protection (ESP with switchable lossy compression), a handy optical output, CD Text (for special MD-Recorders or the remote from my D-NE1). The "CD Walkman" moniker still in use with the series from the year before (my D-EJ 915 for example) has disappeared, here it says only "Walkman" instead. The D-EJ 725 is a middle-range player judging by its build quality; it´s made out of relatively durable plastic and also looks & feels decent enough. The display isn´t illuminated which is a disappointment, on the other hand it reads every CD I´ve given it to play so far. One major advantage compared to other, thinner players is that you´re able to use normal batteries instead of gumstick batteries that became so typical for Sony since 1995. If that wouldn´t be enough the D-EJ 725 also was equipped with a cable remote control (3.5 mm plug) and an attachable external battery case.
 |
| Sony D-EJ 725 from behind |
Measurments don´t reveal anything out of the ordinary. Jitter is equally low as are distortions (except IMD), the frequency response however shows a bass dropoff which should be audible. Aliasing rejection works as it should, imaging artifacts are almost absent too - the converters' 8x oversampling is working. The amount of quantization noise is relatively high at frequencies beyond 20 kHz but it couldn´t be any different since the player uses a noise-shaping 1-Bit converter. BTW, I´ve reviewed the European model here; the version for the States will probably be and sound a bit different. For one it uses a whopping 16 MB RAM for the G-Protection (Europe: 4 MB), secondly it has an additional IC - an RF-Amp - on its mainboard, used for the audio output perhaps. The European model uses the amp already built into the D/A-converter.
 |
| Sony D-EJ 725 measurments |
 |
| Sony D-EJ 725 jitter peformance: very good |
 |
| Sony D-EJ 725 CD drive |
The sound? Disappointing because it always sounds bored and uninterested yet a bit grungy (IM distortions maybe?). Stage is wide but constricted, flat and not very airy. While it sounds very much in control with tight bass and excellent timing bass and transients are missing impact and attack. Overall dynamics are decent (except bass and treble) while decay suffers, due to its constricted stage. At the first listen it appears relatively balanced, after longer exposure however I realized that it misses a bit brilliance and a bit more bass, the latter probably responsible for its precision. Most disappointing is its lack of sonic colour; while the originals show a perfect sense of colour (as in 'sonic colour', engineered into the music itself) this player almost sounds 'grey'. I´ve never heard a player until now lacking so much sonic colour or stage depth, it´s almost like it turns a colourful painting into one that is black & white. Granted, it really is 'dead', it´s just a machine playing back digital media but with this one I once again was painfully aware that HiFi components cannot interpret music (as people like me sometimes believe).
Sonic Balance:
Dynamics:
Resolution:
Stage / Ambiance:
Character:
--------------- Sony D-335 ---------------
 |
| Sony D-335 |
I admit, it´s not very beautiful but I can´t help it finding it wonderful to look at. It feels very good to the touch too, the lid is made out of metal while the rest of its body is fashioned out of thick and durable plastic. There´s one drawback: the hinge holding up the lid seems a bit fragile, it´s not very sturdy. The D-335 I got from eBay also has a crack on its display cover; while this doesn´t hinder it to function perfectly it doesn´t look very nice. But that´s the only blemish I can find because everything else is in perfect condition. BTW, the pictures reflect its true, slightly purple colour and depending on the light it looks either grey or slightly violet. Even the 'Discman' moniker is tinted accordingly, in my opinion it shows the care with which the Sony engineers designed it in 1994. Trust the Japanese to come up with a player like this, combining the best of two worlds: in Japan the colour violet is associated with wealth & power, in our Western culture a dark grey has the same meaning. I don´t know if it was top-of-the-line back then but it surely was one of the more expensive players 18 years ago while I myself got it for surprisingly little money (13,- €), surprising because I´ve never seen it before on eBay. There may be several reasons for this: A) it could be a very rare player (likely the case in Europe or the U.S.) or B) it´s so good that people hold on to it for a long time (also very likely as you will read soon).
 |
| Sony D-335 closeup |
For a player of its time it has many features: ESP (10 seconds), optical digital output, cabled remote control with display and a lovely carrying case made out of faux leather. Even though the ESP holds ten seconds of data it still skips when the player is moved quickly for a relatively short amount of time, the reason possibly being the very soft rubber dampers holding the drive in place. On later ESP-equipped models (for example my D-465) they became harder (until they disappeared in 2002) and in effect more stable. These soft dampers may also be a reason for its considerably weaker sound quality when ESP is switched on, it´s in fact the only player behaving like that. Measurments are decent, again not something worthy to pay attention to. BTW, nothing changed after I replaced its drive, it now measures exactly like it did when I just had received it (perhaps less distortions - but I can´t be sure since I only did one initial test).
 |
| Sony D-335 measurments |
 |
| Sony D-335 jitter |
 |
| What a beautiful, violet bum, don´t you think? |
You probably guessed already that it sounds incredible, didn´t you? In fact, I´ve never heard a portable player like this before. While crispness and precision could be a bit better - treble appears to be slightly rounded - it doesn´t loose details or definition, with this player I´ve heard things in a recording I´ve never heard before. I don´t know how it achieves this; most CD players showing this level of resolution sound a bit edgy or even strident - not this one, it stays pleasant all the time. Attack, pace and dynamics are a bit faster and slightly more forward throughout all frequency bands compared to the reference, resulting on the other hand in a slight loss of control. But never too much, it´s always very balanced out. The most wonderful thing however is its stage impression; while not very wide it´s incredibly layered showing a mindboggling depth. You can literally see the instruments and how they are placed right in front of you; another sonic trait differentiating it from the reference. Even the height of the virtual stage (yes, that is possible too) is better. Reverb tails are incorporated very well, I´m even able to follow them jumping around, this player shows without much fuss how microphones are placed.
 |
| Sony D-335 front |
Does this player show the truth? No, because a reference like the one I use stays a reference - always. Magazines nonetheless will tell you that it is possible, with a statement like that they are confessing that they aren´t interested in the truth but in a pleasant lie instead. Although this might sound bad it isn´t, yet if you as their reader haven´t been made aware of it you´re easily fooled with some possible disappointment following later. My reference is THE perfect copy, unchanged from its source on CD while a CD player, regardless of its talents, can either transport this truth or disregard it in favor of its own colourization. Does this player has disadvantages? Yes. It sometimes glosses over the timbre of instruments ever so slightly, their own character is reduced in favor of the D-335's character. Deepest bass is diminished too, music makes the impression of 'running around on light feet'. The stage can at times be too compact and a bit instable, on CDs sounding overly bright, the sound gets too aggressive. Why is it still sounding so well then, you might ask? Because it is the only player I own that deceives so well without myself recognizing it. Key to its sound is its musicality, every colourization or change is so perfectly balanced out with other things that you simply won´t notice its flaws. I hate to say it but it´s the only player I´ve ever known that comes close to being described as interpretative, it somehow seems to say "Hey, I´m alive". Of course, it still is one thing and one thing only: a machine. For heavens sake, grab it while you can!
Sonic Balance:
Dynamics:
Resolution:
Stage / Ambiance:
Character:
Last updated: 25.06.2012
