I know this is really, really old news but I hadn't had a chance to check out the alleged sonic capabilities of an original PlayStation 1 (actually a scph 5552) until I picked up one from a charity store today.
OK, well using the admittedly probably sonically challenged av connector (this version has the same dac but has no phonos) I have say it sounded pretty good to my jaded ears. You can place instruments in a soundstage, and it didn't fall into either the trap of sounding either boring or strident. I really liked what it did with a recording of Bruckner 4 on Arte Nova (Dennis Russell Davies, Bruckner Orchestra Linz) and anything else I gave it (including Debussy and John Zorn). Interesting.
OK, well using the admittedly probably sonically challenged av connector (this version has the same dac but has no phonos) I have say it sounded pretty good to my jaded ears. You can place instruments in a soundstage, and it didn't fall into either the trap of sounding either boring or strident. I really liked what it did with a recording of Bruckner 4 on Arte Nova (Dennis Russell Davies, Bruckner Orchestra Linz) and anything else I gave it (including Debussy and John Zorn). Interesting.