PSX SCPH-1002 used as high-end CD player??

[chaoticjelly]

I came across this auction on eBay: (in German)

http://tinyurl.com/n6xla

Its a Sony PSX SCPH-1002, one of the first playstations, the one with the serial port thingy (parallel port?)

Anyway I think the general gist of the auction is its been modded a bit, tuned up a bit, and apparently these units are great CD players? as good as high end hi-fi units?

Is this true?

I know where I can get two of these, probably really cheap! I mean, look at that price![/url]

[cityside75]

I did a little googling on this and found this very lengthy discussion: http://tinyurl.com/ko5gr

Interesting stuff from what I've read so far.

[Jibbajaba]

That's just too much to read. 88 pages for one thread? Someone over there should write up a FAQ.

Chris

[cityside75]

That's just too much to read. 88 pages for one thread? Someone over there should write up a FAQ.

Chris

Agreed, I made it about three pages in, and found this link which was interesting too.
http://dogbreath.de/PS1/index.html

Funny that one of the tips on that page is how to REMOVE a modchip :)

Who knew that the old PS1 was capable of so much?

This kind of reminds me of a story I heard around the launch of the PS2, where they said it would be the best DVD player on the market because of its superior graphic processors compared to standard DVD players. That one never really panned out though.

[Haoie]

I found out some time back many people don't even know their PS BIOS contains a music CD visualiser system.

Just press select.

[Tan]

I found out some time back many people don't even know their PS BIOS contains a music CD visualiser system.

Just press select.

not every model has this feature though, and since the earlier models didn't have it, most people wouldn't think to look for any new features on their second purchase.

[smokehouse]

How did I miss this? I have a first generation PS1 SCPH-1001 and hooked it up via the multi out to my Sunfire proc. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! This thing sounds much better than my $600 Marantz player. I kept going back and forth between the two and the SP1 is simply better. It had better bass response, a large soundstage and much more detail. To me it sounds more analog for some reason. Wow, I need to get a few more 1001 units now!

[cityside75]

How did I miss this? I have a first generation PS1 SCPH-1001 and hooked it up via the multi out to my Sunfire proc. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! This thing sounds much better than my $600 Marantz player. I kept going back and forth between the two and the SP1 is simply better. It had better bass response, a large soundstage and much more detail. To me it sounds more analog for some reason. Wow, I need to get a few more 1001 units now!

According to the info in the above links, you might find even better performance using the RCA outputs that the 1001 has on the back. I'd be interested to see if you notice any difference there.

[kedawa]

I've heard similar story's about certain DVD players that could be modded to high-end CD player specs.
I think it was a Toshiba with a Yamaha DSP or something.

[davidleeroth]

I tested my SCPH-1002 via the RCA output and indeed, it sounds pretty darn good.
I did a *very* brief comparison against my CD-player (Sony CDP-XA20ES) and I found it to be very close. I'm not an expert in hi-fi vocabulary but IMO the treble wasn't as clean and as whole I felt it had more of a loudness type of sound to it.
I also tested my SCPH-5502, too, and you could tell right away it was very different. The sound was all mushy and messy, on Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You and it sounded like Jimmy Page was playing in a damp cave or something.

It would be interesting to see (hear) if the mods for the 1000-series had any major effect but I don't wanna butcher my launch-day unit.

[chaoticjelly]

Cool link, well, I might try some of that, as I did win the two SCPH-1002's for £16 for the two!

They will no doubt be both non-working, so I'll have to play with them anyway LOL

[anagrama]

Hot damn! Just when I'm thinking I need a new CD player too... Think I'll just keep an eye out for one of these once the car-boot season properly gets underway (only got a 5502 & 7502 at the moment) :)

Man, my AV-geek flatmate will be pissed off if it sounds better than his £300 Marantz LOL

[nik]

cool stuff... maybe I'll check this out with my surround sound!

[chaoticjelly]

Picked up another SCPH-1002 today for the princely sum of ONE of our queens english pounds LOL

[Nez]

So my Scph 5501 doesn't do squat then?

[InsaneDavid]

I just spent some time with my 1001 (I have a pair, one I refurbed to 99% and is chipped, the other is the most mint 1001 I've found so it's in storage) and I'm impressed. The quality of sound is full and rich. I played the following (nice wide sweep) and got excellent clean performance...

Brand New Cadillac - Brian Setzer Orchestra
Cantina Band 2 - John Williams
Lonely Summer Nights - Brian Setzer
Moving in Stereo - The Cars
Overture to "William Tell" - Gioachino Rossini
Peter Gunn Theme - Henry Mancini

[Gemini-Phoenix]

Before I could afford a decent stereo and Cd Player, I used to hook up my PlayStation to my amp and use that as my main Cd Player. Worked as good as any other Cd Player. Only problem was, you had to have the Tv on to use the thing (Unless you memorised where the cursor would actually be on screen)


What exactly does this tuned up PlayStation do that' is different than it's normal operation? I see it has a remote, and that is one hell of a beefy power supply going into the unit!

[InsaneDavid]

What exactly does this tuned up PlayStation do that' is different than it's normal operation? I see it has a remote, and that is one hell of a beefy power supply going into the unit!

Lots of information here...


Agreed, I made it about three pages in, and found this link which was interesting too.
http://dogbreath.de/PS1/index.html

[theoakwoody]

Yeah but can it mute vocals so you can rock some kareoke? I'm surprised there hasn't been any sega fanboys talking about how great the Saturn is as a CD player. Honestly, I use my dreamcast alot because I don't have a stereo.

[secretvampire]

This has got to be one of the strangest threads I've ever seen. I would never have thought a console would beat a dedicated CD player, mainly due to how absolutely pathetic the current gen systems are at playing DVDs compared to even a $50 dedicated DVD player!

[smokehouse]

This has got to be one of the strangest threads I've ever seen. I would never have thought a console would beat a dedicated CD player, mainly due to how absolutely pathetic the current gen systems are at playing DVDs compared to even a $50 dedicated DVD player!



My thoughts exactly. I would have never guessed. I did notice that the output is more attenuated than on my Marantz and I had to raise the volume on my processor but other than that, it’s really a decent player for the $$.

I’m going to try my Duo R and gen 1 Sega CD this weekend, I’m curious how they’ll sound. I already tried my PS ONE and it sounded like crap.

[ProgrammingAce]

I only have a quick second here, but i popped out the opamp on a SCPH-1001, i've done a blind test with 3 people and they all say the modded ps1 sounds "clearer".