Sony Playstation 1 for a CD player ???

The problem might be with the power supply. Depending on your unit's history, some components like the caps can go bad from prolonged exposure to heat inside the enclosure.

Thanks Rhing. So is this not a normal issue for these units? I do have another one that I'm using now, working but it's only been a couple weeks. Leaving it on 24/7 as recommended. I'm still considering having you mod the unit -- but not if it will likely break down like this as a matter of course. What's your experience?

I just modded a PS 1 after reading all this unreal stuff about them being amazing.
I read a German gentlemans site that's dedicated to the tweaks. Found a guy who buys em cheap at boot sales and bought two off him for £ 20 !
I modded the output stage of one of the PS 1's with 2 new caps and 2 resistors, completely bypassing the on board output stage and removing the bits as per the instructions in around 20 minutes ( I'm a novice fiddler that's improving -not a tech'y )
I did an A/B test against the std one and it was night and day better.
I also have an absolutely maxed out and modded Arcam Alpha 5 plus CD player which I consider decent but of course it’s not top - top draw, per se........ as Wadia, Krell.. etc
However, the PS 1 is nicer in the overall easy listen department but not as dramatic and alive as the Arcam – neither of which are criticisms incidentally, they just do their jobs differently.
I have read the feedback of the audiophiles ( I tend to cringe at their descriptions sometimes ! ) but agree with the majority that say there is no tiring of the sound where some players can exhaust you with the action.
The detail is all there, bass, slam, vocals and treble but it’s just... different but also astonishing.
When this crazy hobby got hold of me in the late 80’s I bought a British ( Scottish ) Linn LP 12 as an upgrade to my Rega 3. My distant memory of the lushness of that sound combined with the detail of a clean new LP is coming back to me the more I listen to this $ 15 games machine. It’s crazy, almost a contradiction in terms ( am I going mad or just going deaf as I approach 50 years old! )
The power supply will now get some serious attention - apparently there’s even more to be had from it - I can hardly believe it..
There’s nothing like the thrill of switching something on for the first time that you’ve messed around with for hours....
I certainly don’t need Hi Fi Retailers PLC here in the UK to make my music sound great – I make it sound great at a 20th of the cost myself plus I learn something along the way..... by either loud explosions or electrocution.. 

Like a good scotch, the PS1 goes down smooth...

My observation is that it's a little flat on the soundstage, but you have to love the 'analog' sound. Haven't yet tried a modded one. Currently it's not in the rig, replaced by another little giant, the EE minimax. But for lack of any resale value, it's worth just keeping to and to throw in every once in a while. I should get the thing modded.

Was at an auction today and picked up a Playstation 1 model SCPH-101 for $12.50 to see just how one sounds. I hooked it up to the aux. on my Classe preamp, and was able to compare it with my Jolida JD100A which has level one mods. Without warming it up, the Playstation sounded just as good as the Jolida! I haven't gone any further than playing the opening song from one CD because it's getting late, but I sure am impressed with this little box!

I recently modded a couple Playstation 1 Model SCPH-5501 units. In comparison to stock Model SCPH-1001, stock Model SCPH-5501 does not have the built-in RCA jacks--only the AV Multi-Out port. It does share the same AKM DAC and clocking system, and a much improved laser unit that is optimally positioned away from the power supply circuit board. In essence, the digital half of the playback circuitries are identical between both models. In modding this unit, I removed the DC blocking capacitors and muting transistors and installed the identical output stage as I did with modding Model SCPH-1001. For audio output connectors, I used Vampire CM1F RCA connectors. I also upgraded the power supply caps as I have done in previous Playstation mods.

So how does it sound? It sounds a bit better than my modded Model SCPH-1001, which I really like. I think the added detail, clarity and soundstage improvements come from using the Vampire RCA connectors. The laser unit operates more smoothly. In fact, the laser unit is self-calibrating, so it tracks much better than the laser units used in Model SCPH-1001. Better yet, these models are more readily available and at lower resale prices than Model SCPH-1001. In the world of Playstations as hi-fi CD players, this is the real sleeper.