Sony Playstation 1 for a CD player ???

This morning, I decided to cut my Monster Cable Gamelink 300 AV cable down to 1m and solder on some Neutrik gold pin RCA connectors. I used the Cardas quad eutectic Silver solder compound. Using the AV Multi Out port bypasses the op amp buffered output on the RCA audio output jacks. I can't really hear any significant differences between using my Onix Blue interconnect cables through the RCA's and using the Monster Cable GameLink 300 cable through the AV Multi Out port. One thing is for sure, it still sounds good, and I was really enjoying my Jacintha and Bill Evans CD's. Perhaps the PS1 isn't the ultimate CD player, but it let's me enjoy my CD's and hear the interplay between musicians and the emotion of a perforance.

I agree Playstations as Red Book CD players may not be for everyone. The Playstation doesn't sound good if the laser intensity level isn't properly set, or if the signal and power connectors have heavy oxide buildup on them. I can't emphasize maintenance enough with these units. Most used units have been abused, or at least, not very well maintained. When I bought mine, I cleaned the laser lens, all connector contacts and adjusted the laser intensity level as described in Mick Feuerbacher's Web site.

glad this forum is getting some action. my ps power puch arrived but still waiting on my ebay replacements after my ps 1 died upon a week after it arrived. Ill report on the ps audio cord in a week or two

darn cant align a laser, as per above i cant even pop out a fuse....lol

this morning i cleaned the laser and took it out and put it back in to no avail. finally i slammed it against the wall a few times for fun. Viola it now works...

Re preliminary report on the power punch. Definate change in sound, lower bass, more clarity. A bit too much emphasis on the high hats. Overall, has toned down the midrange on this player. This is a preference but thats not what i was looking for. Note this a very prelimnary evaluation....ill update in a few or so....

on the bright sound...players are much more in the room and posses a bit more three d quality....

Update on the modified Monster Cable GameLink 300... After extensive listening and comparing it to my Onix Blue interconnects, I still prefer the Onix interconnects connected to the RCA outs. There's just more transparancy, more detail coming through like sustained piano notes and a much larger and better defined soundstage. In looking at the Monster GameLink cable, 3/4 of the cross-section is cheap mineral-filled PVC plastic. The conductors going to the RCA connects might be AWG 26 or 27 at best (lower gauge = larger diameter). The shielding is a thin foil wrap around each conductor. Compared to high end audio interconnects, these wires are very small. Overall, the sound is good, but I have heard better and I guess that's why we audiophiles pay more for interconnect cables.

I just finished modifying the output stage of my Playstation following Mick Feuerbacher's output stage modifications www.dogbreath.de. I used two 4.7uF/50V Black Gate N electrolytic capacitors, two 22k/0.5W/1% PRP metal film resistors, Mundorf 24 AWG Silver/Gold hook-up wire, and WBT 4% Silver solder. I guess you can say I like boutique passive components. I'm listening to the modded player and it sounds really good. The difference between this and the tweaked stock unit is small, but the modified player sounds more refined in the highs and more detailed. The midrange is warm and there's more punch in the low end. The soundstage is larger and deeper with the modded unit. I suspect that the modded player will sound better with time as the Black Gate N electrolytic capacitors burn in. Overall, the qualities of the Playstation are retained and slightly more enhanced.

The modified Playstation is an improvement over my tweaked stock unit (PS Audio Power Punch C7 AC power cord and Isoclean 2A fuse). I still think the tweaks really enhanced the performance of the stock Playstation and the output stage mod has just taken it to a higher level.

I only started soldering a few months ago watching YouTube instructional videos on soldering. This has been the most challenging project to date since I was working in a very confined area and had to be careful not to damage any Surface Mount Devices (SMDs) on the Playstation's motherboard, but everything came out well. The effort was definitely worth it. If you own a Playstation, I highly recommend the output stage using the Black Gate N capacitors. Get them while they're still available.