Yes you are right. It's a really easy device to modify, and a lot of information.
For me, it is valuable because it is very sensitive to any kind of change (even to replacing one capacitor, one centimeter of wire, one connector) and good upgradable.
I listened to many sources that did not respond at all to cables that cost more than 100 money. Well, that is, this did not add any quality to their sound. But playstation 1 responds perfectly to cables in the any price range of 500 to 1000 and above, which I consider a very good sign and indicator of potential.
I would characterize it as a very solid hi-fi above average. In addition, this is a very reliable device that can spin disks for years without turning off.
In the format of a compact device, I have not been able to find an alternative to it to this day.
Direct output after DAC is definitely the best improvement.
The second thing I think is the power supply upgrade.
But I do not agree with the statement that the original power supply is bad (at least there are many devices costing 10k or more that use a switching power supply). They handle dynamics better.
I don't see any problems with it if it is updated with good suitable components. At least to me it sounds very clean and dynamic. As soon as you upgrade the components to suitable ones, the cloudiness immediately goes away, dynamics, volume and clarity appear.
An important point, the power supply greatly affects the purity, dynamics and tonal balance.
So it is very important to choose the component model for your task.
There is also the other side of the coin. If you use budget wires, then you will not get the result you are counting on.
An attempt to suppress noise and distortion from the network using LC filter or linear power supplies is a road to nowhere. Of course, there is some sense in this, but it gives rise to other problems. (endless research, investments and unpredictable results). Therefore, it is worth starting with the original power supply.
p.s. to understand what I mean, I use not very expensive power cables and distributors (probably about several grand), and I am absolutely sure that such a combination cleans noise from the power network well (at least I am satisfied), and I am very not sure that just a linear power supply will replace this connection just as well.
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There is another good example regarding power delivery (and this is why I don’t want to get into this story).
If you replace the factory power capacitor with a very large capacitance (x6-10 or more), then the player will no longer be sensitive to wires and the power network (although there will be another problem, too much current, which will blow the fuse, but this can be solved). That is, you will create an alternative power buffer for it.
Many manufacturers do this, and it has a right to life.
I'm counting this is a hack that raises the level of the device to a certain level, compensating for cheap wires, but which becomes a stopper when you try to improve the quality with good wiring/distributors and nothing happens.
But this is a problem, since there are no ideal capacitors. You will no longer be able to control the dynamics, clarity or own signature of the system. This capacitor is your entire system. The same applies to bypassing this capacitor. Too much influence.
I once read that users do not see the need to replace the power inlet. This is really funny to me, since even one centimeter of wire from the inlet to the board can change everything in this case. I will not say anything about the quality of the ears, I will just assume that their systems are so low in information that it is difficult to hear the difference.
If you replace the factory power capacitor with a very large capacitance (x6-10 or more), then the player will no longer be sensitive to wires and the power network (although there will be another problem, too much current, which will blow the fuse, but this can be solved). That is, you will create an alternative power buffer for it.
Many manufacturers do this, and it has a right to life.
I'm counting this is a hack that raises the level of the device to a certain level, compensating for cheap wires, but which becomes a stopper when you try to improve the quality with good wiring/distributors and nothing happens.
But this is a problem, since there are no ideal capacitors. You will no longer be able to control the dynamics, clarity or own signature of the system. This capacitor is your entire system. The same applies to bypassing this capacitor. Too much influence.
I once read that users do not see the need to replace the power inlet. This is really funny to me, since even one centimeter of wire from the inlet to the board can change everything in this case. I will not say anything about the quality of the ears, I will just assume that their systems are so low in information that it is difficult to hear the difference.
To summarize the above, the beauty of this player is that it is very sensitive to any modifications.
If you initially have a fairly good system with good resolution and clean power, then this is exactly the player with which you can achieve good sound.
This is truly a player of a confident hi-fi level.
If you initially have a fairly good system with good resolution and clean power, then this is exactly the player with which you can achieve good sound.
This is truly a player of a confident hi-fi level.
Certainly. An expensive Mercedes should not require service to run well. for that kind of money it should fly
My system consists of several power distributors, a shunyata power cable system (also oyaide, duelund, kimber power cables), an electrocompaniet amplifier and a playstation as source. Also I use chord signature/duelund silver/neotech copper/straight wire/kimber tc etc.
Nowadays it’s no difficult to find many alternatives, but at that time I needed to spend at least one and a half grand on something decent to replace my source (on the aftermarket, at an initial RRP 2.5-3.5k). And it’s not a fact that I would be completely satisfied.
So I'm still with it for now.
Nowadays it’s no difficult to find many alternatives, but at that time I needed to spend at least one and a half grand on something decent to replace my source (on the aftermarket, at an initial RRP 2.5-3.5k). And it’s not a fact that I would be completely satisfied.
So I'm still with it for now.
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And if we’re talking about how to get high-quality sound inexpensively, then I’ll tell you what.
No matter how expensive your system is, it will play as the weakest link in it.
That's why I moved away from the transport-dac-preamp-power concept. It is very expensive. It’s not as expensive to buy all these devices as it is to make them work in synergy and connect them with decent switching.
I don’t think that the owners of serious expensive systems are reading us, but you can ask any of them a question, what will happen if in their system, for example, they replace a good digital wire from the transport to the dac with a cheap one. They will tell you that all the magic will fall apart.
Of course, having many devices, different sources, they will all play differently depending on their level and level of cabling. But making them sound at a high level will be really difficult (and expensive)
So another plus of the PlayStation is that it is a full CD player. And there aren't many full CD players that sound good.
That's why I use a full cd player and a full amplifier - it's cheaper. Because I can hear very clearly when the system plays worse due to cheap wires.
So I’m trying to save money on the wire, shortening the path from the CD to what I hear in the speakers.
No matter how expensive your system is, it will play as the weakest link in it.
That's why I moved away from the transport-dac-preamp-power concept. It is very expensive. It’s not as expensive to buy all these devices as it is to make them work in synergy and connect them with decent switching.
I don’t think that the owners of serious expensive systems are reading us, but you can ask any of them a question, what will happen if in their system, for example, they replace a good digital wire from the transport to the dac with a cheap one. They will tell you that all the magic will fall apart.
Of course, having many devices, different sources, they will all play differently depending on their level and level of cabling. But making them sound at a high level will be really difficult (and expensive)
So another plus of the PlayStation is that it is a full CD player. And there aren't many full CD players that sound good.
That's why I use a full cd player and a full amplifier - it's cheaper. Because I can hear very clearly when the system plays worse due to cheap wires.
So I’m trying to save money on the wire, shortening the path from the CD to what I hear in the speakers.
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I have 2 PS1s that I modded years ago that started to not read discs prpoerly and have been left on the shelf. The unofficial manual suggests that you use soap and water and a toothbrush to clean the sleds and cogs etc. Wouldn't that be a really bad idea and would it be best to use ISO P to clean them?
No water and no soap either.
This is an absolute taboo. Only use isopropanol to and then use fresh fat afterwards to remove remaining junk.
The problem with the PS1 not reading discs isn't dirty fat, it's because the motor and lense get stiff after a while. The motor itself has two small holes at the bottom (around 1mm), that should need WD-40 and also under the lense.
This is an absolute taboo. Only use isopropanol to and then use fresh fat afterwards to remove remaining junk.
The problem with the PS1 not reading discs isn't dirty fat, it's because the motor and lense get stiff after a while. The motor itself has two small holes at the bottom (around 1mm), that should need WD-40 and also under the lense.
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I have found that the drives are almost impossible to break, and even non-working drives will start working after servicing. I restored several this way.
All you need is:
1. alcohol like IPA, or wd40 spray. Pour the motor liberally through the holes until it drips from all the holes.
2. 1 ml syringe with a needle (small). Pour any oil, like car oil, inside. turn them upside down for an hour, then return them back.
The engine will run quieter and better. If it doesn't help, repeat 1.2.
No any water or soap.
All you need is:
1. alcohol like IPA, or wd40 spray. Pour the motor liberally through the holes until it drips from all the holes.
2. 1 ml syringe with a needle (small). Pour any oil, like car oil, inside. turn them upside down for an hour, then return them back.
The engine will run quieter and better. If it doesn't help, repeat 1.2.
No any water or soap.
As for me, they are almost identical. Same chip/direct out. But I use old fashioned 1002.
I was reading Mick Feuerbacher’s site yet again today. And noticed that one of his links is not loading any photos.
Just wondering if anyone else has the same issue, thanks
Removal of "the chip" in a Sony Playstation SCPH1002
https://www.dogbreath.de/PS1/ChipRemoval/Chip.html
Just wondering if anyone else has the same issue, thanks
Removal of "the chip" in a Sony Playstation SCPH1002
https://www.dogbreath.de/PS1/ChipRemoval/Chip.html
Alright then. It's time to do a little review. So many years have passed, yet the first PlayStation still stirs the hearts of audiophiles. Much has been said and written over these years. Many battles have been fought between the camps of numbers lovers and live music enthusiasts. I will try not to introduce any contradictions and be objective, because everything that has been said and tested over many years is true. The only question is how you perceive and accept it, or not.
Around 2013, I first heard how the PlayStation sounds at one of the audiophile gatherings, where several good devices of that time, which had undergone serious modifications, were compared using A/B testing. Someone brought a PlayStation, connecting a Fadel Art Coherence One power cable (RRP €1.399,00 for 3ft) and a stock multi-out cable to it, and the music started to flow. That guy definitely knew what he wanted to surprise us with. Later, I listened to my own version of the PlayStation in his system, and it sounded simply wonderful, but, alas, at that time it was outperformed by another source in his system.
The beginning isn't too optimistic, but you need to know why that happened. It was a system based on the Meridian 598 DVD transport and 561 processor, Quad 99 power amplifier, and Rogers LS3/5A speakers. But that was just the tip of the iceberg. The devil was in the details. And the details included the entire range of connections based on Chord Indigo Digital for digital and analog interconnects (yes, the digital cable played better than its analogue brother), Chord Signature speaker cables, the top range of Fadel Art power cables, and a dedicated power line for audio in the house. I'm afraid to estimate the cost of the connections, but it was no less than $10K, so even at that time, the connections exceeded the cost of the system itself.
Many years have passed, and I've had various systems based on Class A single-ended tube amps, Electrocompaniet transistor amps, floor-standing and bookshelf speakers, but the PlayStation has always been a constant participant. It was then, listening to his system, that I clearly realised that although a combination of transport-DAC-preamp-power amp might surpass a full CD player and amplifier, but the cost of such a carefully selected system would be much higher. Much higher.
So, I came to a simple formula – full CD player + full amplifier. Minimum components, maximum quality. That was my recipe.
As I accumulated cables and held a soldering iron in one hand, I remembered that testing, and I had a strong desire to repeat it. So, I acquired a couple of wonderful Meridian devices: the 561 and 565 processors and the 596 DVD as a transport. Don't ask why. My rack just suited them well.
I think it's worth describing some details of my system, as it is built in the spirit of DIY, and there are practically no stock components left. All components have undergone serious modifications in one way or another.
So, the power supply system:
Mains Extension Block 1 - Chang Lightspeed (modified: digital filtering and fuse removed, Furutech IEC(R))
*Shunyata Copperhead
*Shunyata Copperhead
*Shunyata Sidewinder
Mains Extension Block 2 - Solid Ash (audiograde sockets, Duelund wiring, Furutech IEC(G))
*Oyaide 2.0
*R.A. Kimber Kable PK14
*Duelund power cable
Interconnect cables:
*Chord Signature Digital
*Straightwire Rhapsody analogue
*Duelund pure silver analogue
*Duelund pure silver analogue
*Kimber Kable 8TC speaker cables
*Cyrus Two (modified: Nichicon Muse, Clarity cap recapped, unpowered phono stage)
*Castle Avon (modified: new crossover with Mundorf Oil, MOX/Clarity cap, neotech 3004 wiring)
Sources:
*Playstation 1 CD Player Studio
*Playstation 1 as CD Digital transport
*Meridian 596 DVD Player as CD Digital transport
I use a standard, slightly modified rack, which is set on spikes and sand pre-filled. I’ve had good racks before, but I just liked this one. I also use marble sandwich plates, granite plates and sand for speakers, and dedicated audio cable tower v2 for cables.
Well then, in a nutshell, did I manage to replicate the same test and its results that we did over 10 years ago? Both YES and NO.
Here, I need to make another digression for the sake of completeness. Not long ago, I moved, and I had to set up a new system in a new place. So everything is in process and going its own way. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take everything with me, but I took the most important thing - the cable system.
When I first connected the components with the standard cables, it sounded, well... awful. It was even worse than the radio. It was a thin, dry sound, dominated by the midrange, the bass was weak and unconvincing, and the highs just fell off without any informativeness. It was like a portable speaker.
I shed a tear but firmly understood that I just needed to wait for the delivery of my cable system. And when it arrived, I quickly connected it, and NOTHING happened. Well, not exactly nothing. Yes, it became much better, but it was not at all what I expected to hear. I had to connect the distributors to a regular British socket with whatever I had at hand. After all, my cables were of a completely different standard.
I started looking for the problem and firmly realised that I needed a new good wall socket. So, I replaced the socket in the wall with the correct one and connected the distributor with my Shunyata Copperhead power cable. And my sound CAME BACK to me! Exactly the one I remembered and loved.
Remember one thing. Problems always need to be solved from the top. There are no unimportant things. Everything is important. And one of the most significant in your system is the power supply. And it starts from the socket. There is no more important component in your power system than the first socket and the first cable!
Electricity is the science of contacts, and this is the first contact in your system, on which you can lose everything so that there is nothing else to look for.
This could have been a major battle:
Playstation CD Player vs Meridian 596 DVD Player
Playstation CD Player vs Meridian 596 as Transport + Meridian 561/565
Playstation CD as Transport vs Meridian 596 as Transport on Meridian 561/565
But it has limited practical use. Why? Because it's a presentation of devices in a specific system with specific cables under certain conditions.
Should you rely on it? I don't think so, unless you want to replicate it exactly.
However, you need to take something useful from this testing. In my opinion, the key takeaway is that it's not all straightforward.
Sometimes a simple device can outperform a higher-end one, but at the same time, a good device has undeniable potential.
The truth is, this potential can be very difficult or very expensive to unlock. And I have realised this.
I'm not a master at describing the emotional state from listening, and English is not my native language, so I'll do my best.
Playstation CD Player
The sound is focused, rounded, well-separated, slightly grainy, dynamic, with very impressive high frequencies and a full-bodied low end. Sweet middle rich in overtones. Very, very convincing. The resolution is lower, but it feels entirely different. Beautiful, rich in overtones, very musical. The soundstage is spherical. An incredible sense of 3D. It makes you want to lean in closer, immerse yourself in the process, and listen, listen. Beautiful black background and powerful rich sound.
Playstation CD as Transport
The Playstation presentation is preserved. It’s the same style. The soundstage becomes wider, softer, more elliptical, and the depth decreases. The midrange is a bit bland. The sound is more analytical and slightly dry. Despite greater smoothness, lower dynamics, and higher resolution compared to the Playstation CD player, the sound flows and feels natural, as if everything is as it should be. Even though the resolution has increased, the sound hasn’t become more beautiful; in fact, it hasn’t added anything. Let’s say it’s more informative, dull, comfortable, and smooth. There’s no such black background (even gray).
Meridian 596 as Transport
Smooth, flowing presentation, much better overtones, significantly more informative, slightly livelier, not as analytical as the Playstation transport. The best information saturation across the entire range. Very good highs, calm and clean. Undoubtedly, this is the best transport and sound with this DAC.
Meridian 596 as CD Player
Worse than the Playstation transport with Meridian 561. The soundstage has become smaller, more rounded. Tonally poorer. The highs aren’t as clean. Much grainier. The sound still smooth but tonally poorer. The resolution drops. Dynamics are lower. Detached and analytical, grainier in the upper midrange.
Alright then. Let's break down some details of the testing and try to understand why these results were obtained.
The first significant difference is the DAC. These are two incredibly contrasting sounds, neither of which can be rated as better. They are just fundamentally different.
I'll try to provide an analogy. Imagine two pianos.
One is an expensive, luxurious piano, well-tuned and in the right premises. The musician played it excellently, though not too emotionally or convincingly, simply because it was his third concert of the day, and the 25th in the season. But he did his job, and did it well as always. You just listened to this recording, sitting at home, reclining in your chair. That was the Meridian.
The other piano was simply good. Of course, it's not a Steinway, but it was all the local private art school could afford. It was played by the best student, and it was his exam performance today. And yes, you had the best seats in the hall. It happened live, before your eyes and ears! That was the PlayStation.
It's simply incredible! The first and biggest difference in the sound of the Sony and Meridian DACs is the focus of the images in space. The PlayStation phenomenally creates a 3D space, placing and focusing the instruments within it. It discards all the excess. Despite having noticeably less information, it floors you with its realism, breath, and the feeling of live instruments. It's like perfect circles on water from a thrown stone. They ripple in your ears, head, and chest.
You could point your finger at an empty space the size of a coin, from which overtones ripple throughout your body. And say, yes, right there! At this point. A very correct spherical soundstage, with proper placement and layering in space. It sounds too realistic, even frighteningly so.
What does the Meridian offer?
When paired with its own transport, it’s an incredible set. It’s worth noting that at the time of its announcement, this combination was nearing the $10K, which was insanely expensive back then. It literally envelops and saturates your brain with overtones, tonal richness, and details. But... in Meridian’s own manner, it does this smoothly and unobtrusively. The sound is even, quite dynamic.
But its analytical nature and relaxation don’t give a sense of weightiness to what’s happening. Especially in the lower register. I wouldn't say it's unemotional, but it's definitely not bold; it doesn’t punch you in the chest or make your heart beat faster than usual.
In a way, the abundance of detail and a flatter soundstage mix everything into a solid wall of music. You relax and stop catching the images.
No, these are no longer separate instruments on a deeply tiered stage. It’s a pleasant surround that plays here and there, everywhere. Lean back and enjoy.
Is that how the Meridian sounds? Well... not exactly. In my opinion, this setup doesn’t pull its level. The level of the cables simply can't process and separate this into proper images in a 3D soundstage. It’s soappy.
It’s easy to get a voluminous, analogue, but weakly informative sound. Just as it’s easy to get a clear, focused, and detailed sound, but it will be dry and flat like a wall. These are two opposites.
But try getting both at the same time. And you will find yourself on a long and thorny path of cheap compromises and high price tags.
The PlayStation is a unicorn that managed to sit on two chairs at once, hitting a niche where it shouldn’t have been, but it ended up there by chance.
I tried different combinations of power cables for the transport and DAC, and my opinion remains unchanged. To achieve an adequate level of sound, the bar needs to be raised higher.
I stick to the Shunyata range, and I was morally ready to spend more on something inexpensive like the Venom or Taipan, but after conducting some tests, I realise this probably won’t satisfy me. My budget Sidewinder failed this test and needs to be replaced. Even good manufacturers have budget offerings, but we mustn’t forget why they are budget options.
So if I choose this path, I’ll likely have to part with at least another half a grand to find another good cable on the secondary market. But wait...
I need two cables... so means a grand... damn, that hurts...
I tested three budget cables on the DAC and transport, and here’s my brief assessment.
Kimber Kable PK14 – wide soundstage, excellent dynamics and decays, a bit dry and overall boring, but with good focus. An excellent budget cable, but nothing more. For live performance, 5 out of 10.
Shunyata Sidewinder – an excellent analogue and musical cable, with a great spherical soundstage, and most importantly, it has soul! The downside – it simply can’t convey the full beauty of overtones and decays. For live performance, 8 out of 10. decent focus of images and a big minus for simplifying the presentation. And it's not fast.
Duelund power cable– something one can put up with for a while. A wonderful cable with an analogue presentation and voluminous sound. And it’s generous with warm overtones, decays, and high frequencies. All in the spirit of Duelund. The downside as always is dynamics. Yes, this is something you’ll have to accept. It physically can't knock the wind out of you with such volume and abundance of overtones. On complex music, it will likely turn into a mess... 7 out of 10 for live performance. The best of the three.
I also tried an inexpensive digital cable (RRP £175), and it was two steps back on the path to realism. It played detailed, flat, and unnatural.
What about connecting the 596 directly without the media processor? After all, it’s also a full analogue stereo player with a modern 24-bit DAC on board. A competitor to the PlayStation.
I’ll repeat what I said before. The soundstage is a bit narrower, but more rounded, correct, tonally much poorer than with the media processor. The highs aren’t as clean, more grainy and softer. Overall, the resolution drops significantly. Dynamics are even lower. Detached and analytical, grainier in the upper midrange. In direct comparison with the PS1, it sounds completely uninteresting. And the additional advantages of smoothness and details don’t add more realism. It’s just another decent but unremarkable player.
So what makes the PlayStation a worthwhile purchase? The same as before. A high level of sound at a relatively low cost. Especially as a deeply reworked device, made wisely, and with a decent audiophile component base. It’s still the same reliable machine with which you’ll have no problems. It will never break. There are still millions of them, and replacing the drive is not difficult. Now think about vintage CDM0/1/4 drives and Philips lasers. Where are they all?
Is this right from the perspective of accurate sound? Oh, come on. When your 16/44 bits from the disc get into the mill of multiple upsampling to 24/96 and multiple processing by processors... what accurate sound are we talking about? Everyone does the same thing – they try to please the listener, bringing them as close as possible to the reality of what’s happening.
They just do it in different ways and for different money.
Conclusion
So, what do we have in the end? Let’s try to sort it out.
A good full player is not easy to find, just like a full amplifier by the way. There will always be compromises. Or it will be expensive. The simple example with the Meridian 596 confirms this. Perhaps it’s not the best example, but you get the main idea.
But if you’re lucky – don’t let it go.
At one time, I used a combo of the PlayStation and Electrocompaniet ECI-3, and it satisfied me for a long time.
Even now, a similar combo with the Cyrus 2 sounds very decent, and I’m not ready to part with it.
There’s a long path. It’s thornier, more painful, and more expensive. Will you be rewarded? Yes, if you put in enough effort, time, and money.
A combination of dedicated transport, DAC, preamp, and amplifier can do more, much more. But... you’ll have to go into loans and debts. I’m not joking.
You’ll just find that you need additional power, analogue, and digital cables, and some current ones will need to be upgraded because now they can’t match the level of components or the overall presentation and delivery. They’re just different, and now you’ll have to harmonise it all.
What does the PlayStation give me in this case? A ready-to-use system. Just connect it to the amplifier and enjoy the music with an incredible degree of realism and live performance. The Meridian is a good way to get more, much more. But for different money. For now, it’s an excellent set for listening to good recordings, with ease and accuracy, rich with information, in the typical Meridian manner. I’m not ready to part with either of them.
As an epilogue.
A bit about observations. Despite the PlayStation being very sensitive to cables, it is still more forgiving to budget models. And what sounds good on it is still not enough for the Meridian. This doesn’t mean that expensive cables don’t give Playstation an advantage. Not at all, and this is easy to hear. It’s just that the return starts faster with budget cables.
I might be a bit confused with the numbers, as it’s been a long time since I bought cables, and it was the US market (oh yes, the UK market is just awful), but when I talk about budget cables, I mean a figure starting at $250(£200) per cable. That’s where the music starts. In my humble opinion, something good can be found within $500-1000(£350-800) retail. This is the corridor where you can buy a good cable (not without flaws, but bearable ones). And yes, these figures don’t make me optimistic either. It’s just a fact.
On the after market, you can always fight for the price. But good things rarely sell often and cheaply.
So if we return to the question of what I would change in the system to completely switch from the PlayStation to the Meridian, I probably lack at least a couple of power cables, and it would be nice to change the interconnect... the amplifier... the speakers... In general, as always.
It’s like buying a ten-year-old Mercedes S-class. You bought it for 10% of the cost, and then you find out that maintenance costs as much as a new Golf. Buying an expensive box and expecting it to solve all your questions? Don’t deceive yourself. Miracles don’t happen.
So, is the PlayStation a Golf? Oh no. It’s also a Mercedes, but from the 80s. There’s nothing to break in it. It’s analogue.
Thank you all.
Around 2013, I first heard how the PlayStation sounds at one of the audiophile gatherings, where several good devices of that time, which had undergone serious modifications, were compared using A/B testing. Someone brought a PlayStation, connecting a Fadel Art Coherence One power cable (RRP €1.399,00 for 3ft) and a stock multi-out cable to it, and the music started to flow. That guy definitely knew what he wanted to surprise us with. Later, I listened to my own version of the PlayStation in his system, and it sounded simply wonderful, but, alas, at that time it was outperformed by another source in his system.
The beginning isn't too optimistic, but you need to know why that happened. It was a system based on the Meridian 598 DVD transport and 561 processor, Quad 99 power amplifier, and Rogers LS3/5A speakers. But that was just the tip of the iceberg. The devil was in the details. And the details included the entire range of connections based on Chord Indigo Digital for digital and analog interconnects (yes, the digital cable played better than its analogue brother), Chord Signature speaker cables, the top range of Fadel Art power cables, and a dedicated power line for audio in the house. I'm afraid to estimate the cost of the connections, but it was no less than $10K, so even at that time, the connections exceeded the cost of the system itself.
Many years have passed, and I've had various systems based on Class A single-ended tube amps, Electrocompaniet transistor amps, floor-standing and bookshelf speakers, but the PlayStation has always been a constant participant. It was then, listening to his system, that I clearly realised that although a combination of transport-DAC-preamp-power amp might surpass a full CD player and amplifier, but the cost of such a carefully selected system would be much higher. Much higher.
So, I came to a simple formula – full CD player + full amplifier. Minimum components, maximum quality. That was my recipe.
As I accumulated cables and held a soldering iron in one hand, I remembered that testing, and I had a strong desire to repeat it. So, I acquired a couple of wonderful Meridian devices: the 561 and 565 processors and the 596 DVD as a transport. Don't ask why. My rack just suited them well.
I think it's worth describing some details of my system, as it is built in the spirit of DIY, and there are practically no stock components left. All components have undergone serious modifications in one way or another.
So, the power supply system:
Mains Extension Block 1 - Chang Lightspeed (modified: digital filtering and fuse removed, Furutech IEC(R))
*Shunyata Copperhead
*Shunyata Copperhead
*Shunyata Sidewinder
Mains Extension Block 2 - Solid Ash (audiograde sockets, Duelund wiring, Furutech IEC(G))
*Oyaide 2.0
*R.A. Kimber Kable PK14
*Duelund power cable
Interconnect cables:
*Chord Signature Digital
*Straightwire Rhapsody analogue
*Duelund pure silver analogue
*Duelund pure silver analogue
*Kimber Kable 8TC speaker cables
*Cyrus Two (modified: Nichicon Muse, Clarity cap recapped, unpowered phono stage)
*Castle Avon (modified: new crossover with Mundorf Oil, MOX/Clarity cap, neotech 3004 wiring)
Sources:
*Playstation 1 CD Player Studio
*Playstation 1 as CD Digital transport
*Meridian 596 DVD Player as CD Digital transport
I use a standard, slightly modified rack, which is set on spikes and sand pre-filled. I’ve had good racks before, but I just liked this one. I also use marble sandwich plates, granite plates and sand for speakers, and dedicated audio cable tower v2 for cables.
Well then, in a nutshell, did I manage to replicate the same test and its results that we did over 10 years ago? Both YES and NO.
Here, I need to make another digression for the sake of completeness. Not long ago, I moved, and I had to set up a new system in a new place. So everything is in process and going its own way. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take everything with me, but I took the most important thing - the cable system.
When I first connected the components with the standard cables, it sounded, well... awful. It was even worse than the radio. It was a thin, dry sound, dominated by the midrange, the bass was weak and unconvincing, and the highs just fell off without any informativeness. It was like a portable speaker.
I shed a tear but firmly understood that I just needed to wait for the delivery of my cable system. And when it arrived, I quickly connected it, and NOTHING happened. Well, not exactly nothing. Yes, it became much better, but it was not at all what I expected to hear. I had to connect the distributors to a regular British socket with whatever I had at hand. After all, my cables were of a completely different standard.
I started looking for the problem and firmly realised that I needed a new good wall socket. So, I replaced the socket in the wall with the correct one and connected the distributor with my Shunyata Copperhead power cable. And my sound CAME BACK to me! Exactly the one I remembered and loved.
Remember one thing. Problems always need to be solved from the top. There are no unimportant things. Everything is important. And one of the most significant in your system is the power supply. And it starts from the socket. There is no more important component in your power system than the first socket and the first cable!
Electricity is the science of contacts, and this is the first contact in your system, on which you can lose everything so that there is nothing else to look for.
This could have been a major battle:
Playstation CD Player vs Meridian 596 DVD Player
Playstation CD Player vs Meridian 596 as Transport + Meridian 561/565
Playstation CD as Transport vs Meridian 596 as Transport on Meridian 561/565
But it has limited practical use. Why? Because it's a presentation of devices in a specific system with specific cables under certain conditions.
Should you rely on it? I don't think so, unless you want to replicate it exactly.
However, you need to take something useful from this testing. In my opinion, the key takeaway is that it's not all straightforward.
Sometimes a simple device can outperform a higher-end one, but at the same time, a good device has undeniable potential.
The truth is, this potential can be very difficult or very expensive to unlock. And I have realised this.
I'm not a master at describing the emotional state from listening, and English is not my native language, so I'll do my best.
Playstation CD Player
The sound is focused, rounded, well-separated, slightly grainy, dynamic, with very impressive high frequencies and a full-bodied low end. Sweet middle rich in overtones. Very, very convincing. The resolution is lower, but it feels entirely different. Beautiful, rich in overtones, very musical. The soundstage is spherical. An incredible sense of 3D. It makes you want to lean in closer, immerse yourself in the process, and listen, listen. Beautiful black background and powerful rich sound.
Playstation CD as Transport
The Playstation presentation is preserved. It’s the same style. The soundstage becomes wider, softer, more elliptical, and the depth decreases. The midrange is a bit bland. The sound is more analytical and slightly dry. Despite greater smoothness, lower dynamics, and higher resolution compared to the Playstation CD player, the sound flows and feels natural, as if everything is as it should be. Even though the resolution has increased, the sound hasn’t become more beautiful; in fact, it hasn’t added anything. Let’s say it’s more informative, dull, comfortable, and smooth. There’s no such black background (even gray).
Meridian 596 as Transport
Smooth, flowing presentation, much better overtones, significantly more informative, slightly livelier, not as analytical as the Playstation transport. The best information saturation across the entire range. Very good highs, calm and clean. Undoubtedly, this is the best transport and sound with this DAC.
Meridian 596 as CD Player
Worse than the Playstation transport with Meridian 561. The soundstage has become smaller, more rounded. Tonally poorer. The highs aren’t as clean. Much grainier. The sound still smooth but tonally poorer. The resolution drops. Dynamics are lower. Detached and analytical, grainier in the upper midrange.
Alright then. Let's break down some details of the testing and try to understand why these results were obtained.
The first significant difference is the DAC. These are two incredibly contrasting sounds, neither of which can be rated as better. They are just fundamentally different.
I'll try to provide an analogy. Imagine two pianos.
One is an expensive, luxurious piano, well-tuned and in the right premises. The musician played it excellently, though not too emotionally or convincingly, simply because it was his third concert of the day, and the 25th in the season. But he did his job, and did it well as always. You just listened to this recording, sitting at home, reclining in your chair. That was the Meridian.
The other piano was simply good. Of course, it's not a Steinway, but it was all the local private art school could afford. It was played by the best student, and it was his exam performance today. And yes, you had the best seats in the hall. It happened live, before your eyes and ears! That was the PlayStation.
It's simply incredible! The first and biggest difference in the sound of the Sony and Meridian DACs is the focus of the images in space. The PlayStation phenomenally creates a 3D space, placing and focusing the instruments within it. It discards all the excess. Despite having noticeably less information, it floors you with its realism, breath, and the feeling of live instruments. It's like perfect circles on water from a thrown stone. They ripple in your ears, head, and chest.
You could point your finger at an empty space the size of a coin, from which overtones ripple throughout your body. And say, yes, right there! At this point. A very correct spherical soundstage, with proper placement and layering in space. It sounds too realistic, even frighteningly so.
What does the Meridian offer?
When paired with its own transport, it’s an incredible set. It’s worth noting that at the time of its announcement, this combination was nearing the $10K, which was insanely expensive back then. It literally envelops and saturates your brain with overtones, tonal richness, and details. But... in Meridian’s own manner, it does this smoothly and unobtrusively. The sound is even, quite dynamic.
But its analytical nature and relaxation don’t give a sense of weightiness to what’s happening. Especially in the lower register. I wouldn't say it's unemotional, but it's definitely not bold; it doesn’t punch you in the chest or make your heart beat faster than usual.
In a way, the abundance of detail and a flatter soundstage mix everything into a solid wall of music. You relax and stop catching the images.
No, these are no longer separate instruments on a deeply tiered stage. It’s a pleasant surround that plays here and there, everywhere. Lean back and enjoy.
Is that how the Meridian sounds? Well... not exactly. In my opinion, this setup doesn’t pull its level. The level of the cables simply can't process and separate this into proper images in a 3D soundstage. It’s soappy.
It’s easy to get a voluminous, analogue, but weakly informative sound. Just as it’s easy to get a clear, focused, and detailed sound, but it will be dry and flat like a wall. These are two opposites.
But try getting both at the same time. And you will find yourself on a long and thorny path of cheap compromises and high price tags.
The PlayStation is a unicorn that managed to sit on two chairs at once, hitting a niche where it shouldn’t have been, but it ended up there by chance.
I tried different combinations of power cables for the transport and DAC, and my opinion remains unchanged. To achieve an adequate level of sound, the bar needs to be raised higher.
I stick to the Shunyata range, and I was morally ready to spend more on something inexpensive like the Venom or Taipan, but after conducting some tests, I realise this probably won’t satisfy me. My budget Sidewinder failed this test and needs to be replaced. Even good manufacturers have budget offerings, but we mustn’t forget why they are budget options.
So if I choose this path, I’ll likely have to part with at least another half a grand to find another good cable on the secondary market. But wait...
I need two cables... so means a grand... damn, that hurts...
I tested three budget cables on the DAC and transport, and here’s my brief assessment.
Kimber Kable PK14 – wide soundstage, excellent dynamics and decays, a bit dry and overall boring, but with good focus. An excellent budget cable, but nothing more. For live performance, 5 out of 10.
Shunyata Sidewinder – an excellent analogue and musical cable, with a great spherical soundstage, and most importantly, it has soul! The downside – it simply can’t convey the full beauty of overtones and decays. For live performance, 8 out of 10. decent focus of images and a big minus for simplifying the presentation. And it's not fast.
Duelund power cable– something one can put up with for a while. A wonderful cable with an analogue presentation and voluminous sound. And it’s generous with warm overtones, decays, and high frequencies. All in the spirit of Duelund. The downside as always is dynamics. Yes, this is something you’ll have to accept. It physically can't knock the wind out of you with such volume and abundance of overtones. On complex music, it will likely turn into a mess... 7 out of 10 for live performance. The best of the three.
I also tried an inexpensive digital cable (RRP £175), and it was two steps back on the path to realism. It played detailed, flat, and unnatural.
What about connecting the 596 directly without the media processor? After all, it’s also a full analogue stereo player with a modern 24-bit DAC on board. A competitor to the PlayStation.
I’ll repeat what I said before. The soundstage is a bit narrower, but more rounded, correct, tonally much poorer than with the media processor. The highs aren’t as clean, more grainy and softer. Overall, the resolution drops significantly. Dynamics are even lower. Detached and analytical, grainier in the upper midrange. In direct comparison with the PS1, it sounds completely uninteresting. And the additional advantages of smoothness and details don’t add more realism. It’s just another decent but unremarkable player.
So what makes the PlayStation a worthwhile purchase? The same as before. A high level of sound at a relatively low cost. Especially as a deeply reworked device, made wisely, and with a decent audiophile component base. It’s still the same reliable machine with which you’ll have no problems. It will never break. There are still millions of them, and replacing the drive is not difficult. Now think about vintage CDM0/1/4 drives and Philips lasers. Where are they all?
Is this right from the perspective of accurate sound? Oh, come on. When your 16/44 bits from the disc get into the mill of multiple upsampling to 24/96 and multiple processing by processors... what accurate sound are we talking about? Everyone does the same thing – they try to please the listener, bringing them as close as possible to the reality of what’s happening.
They just do it in different ways and for different money.
Conclusion
So, what do we have in the end? Let’s try to sort it out.
A good full player is not easy to find, just like a full amplifier by the way. There will always be compromises. Or it will be expensive. The simple example with the Meridian 596 confirms this. Perhaps it’s not the best example, but you get the main idea.
But if you’re lucky – don’t let it go.
At one time, I used a combo of the PlayStation and Electrocompaniet ECI-3, and it satisfied me for a long time.
Even now, a similar combo with the Cyrus 2 sounds very decent, and I’m not ready to part with it.
There’s a long path. It’s thornier, more painful, and more expensive. Will you be rewarded? Yes, if you put in enough effort, time, and money.
A combination of dedicated transport, DAC, preamp, and amplifier can do more, much more. But... you’ll have to go into loans and debts. I’m not joking.
You’ll just find that you need additional power, analogue, and digital cables, and some current ones will need to be upgraded because now they can’t match the level of components or the overall presentation and delivery. They’re just different, and now you’ll have to harmonise it all.
What does the PlayStation give me in this case? A ready-to-use system. Just connect it to the amplifier and enjoy the music with an incredible degree of realism and live performance. The Meridian is a good way to get more, much more. But for different money. For now, it’s an excellent set for listening to good recordings, with ease and accuracy, rich with information, in the typical Meridian manner. I’m not ready to part with either of them.
As an epilogue.
A bit about observations. Despite the PlayStation being very sensitive to cables, it is still more forgiving to budget models. And what sounds good on it is still not enough for the Meridian. This doesn’t mean that expensive cables don’t give Playstation an advantage. Not at all, and this is easy to hear. It’s just that the return starts faster with budget cables.
I might be a bit confused with the numbers, as it’s been a long time since I bought cables, and it was the US market (oh yes, the UK market is just awful), but when I talk about budget cables, I mean a figure starting at $250(£200) per cable. That’s where the music starts. In my humble opinion, something good can be found within $500-1000(£350-800) retail. This is the corridor where you can buy a good cable (not without flaws, but bearable ones). And yes, these figures don’t make me optimistic either. It’s just a fact.
On the after market, you can always fight for the price. But good things rarely sell often and cheaply.
So if we return to the question of what I would change in the system to completely switch from the PlayStation to the Meridian, I probably lack at least a couple of power cables, and it would be nice to change the interconnect... the amplifier... the speakers... In general, as always.
It’s like buying a ten-year-old Mercedes S-class. You bought it for 10% of the cost, and then you find out that maintenance costs as much as a new Golf. Buying an expensive box and expecting it to solve all your questions? Don’t deceive yourself. Miracles don’t happen.
So, is the PlayStation a Golf? Oh no. It’s also a Mercedes, but from the 80s. There’s nothing to break in it. It’s analogue.
Thank you all.