Hitachi DA-501

[Steelman]

Hello all,
Just picked up a Hitachi DA-501 CD player at a thrift shop for $12.00. Does anyone know anything about this player?
Thanks in advance,
Vincent

 

[BrocLuno]

Nothing about this model, but my other Hitachi gear is quite well done. A bit under the radar, so it may not be the best known stuff, but seems to work well. How does yours perform?

 

[Steelman]

Broc,
Tray would not open...belt turned to dust. Made a new one out of a playtex glove, works like a charm. :thmbsp: Sound quality is surprisingly nice. DOB on the back sticker is September 1985, made in Japan. Heavy too, that's why I took a shot and picked it up. Not bad for $12.00

Vincent

 

[davidk5]

That's pretty cool , i have never even seen a hitachi cd player .... great you got it working!

 

[zenith2134]

Does it have an option for external DAC use? Optical or something else? May be well built but DACs and clock chips have come a long way since 85. But these were built like tanks and make excellent transports. Either way, bet it sounds great.

 

[Steelman]

Zenith,
No option for external, Just left and right RCA outputs in the back. Does have a unswitched outlet on the back though, never seen that before on a CD Player.

 

[hifi_nut]

i have never even seen a hitachi cd player ....

That makes two of us, so I suppose we´re entitled to this:

:worthless

 

[Steelman]

OK OK Ya got me... :yes:
Had to include the pic of the open tray to show off the "Playtex Glove" belt...

 

[zenith2134]

Looks like a nice piece of gear! And the price was certainly right. The display looks bright...which is good since a lot of equipment has weak fluorescent displays after all these years. And the phones jack w/ level is a nice feature. I use mine (on an old Sony) to burn in new headphones with. Puts out about 15mW per side.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

Hi,

One of my friends owned one. It was very reliable for him for years. Sounded quite fine for early hardware. Laser gave up the ghost on him. He now uses an old Magnavox changer with the swing-arm transport (has had that one now for 13 years).

 

[hifi_nut]

Thanks Steelman.

Looks like late 80´s vintage. Bet it sounds nice, too.

 

[RebelKat]

Bought mine at a newmark and lewis in the mid 80's for somewhere around $250, I believe. It sounded great and lasted a very long time until the drawer belt got loose. I took it out of service until I could re-belt it, then found another CD player cheap that took it's place. It was probably one of the more reliable players I've had, and one of the few at the time which had the "repeat a-b" feature, which would repeat a small segment of a song for as long as you wanted. Great for guitarists trying to nail a solo. Didn't "Stereo Review" include this model in one of its' tests? I can't remember, but seem to recall seeing it.