Technics SL-P350 CD Player - 'The Search Has Ended'

[drp1003]

Well, that didn't take long. I bought a vintage 1988 Technics CDP on ebay just the other day - the SL-P350 (PHOTOS BELOW) - and after listening to it for about 2 hours, I'm now convinced that I have found THE CD player I've been looking for.

It's funny cuz my aunt has in her possession a PHILCO (made by PHILIPS) CDP with the infamous TDA 1541 DAC inside, made in 1989 I believe. It works and everything. She has no idea what she has, and even if I explained to her the technical things about that wonderful DAC, she still wouldn't really understand any of it or how great sounding the CD player is, but since she's a hoarder, she won't let me have it. It drives me crazy. I'm trying to build my system using a mix of cool vintage components and some new stuff. And this one item - this PHILCO CDP that's so close I could reach out and touch it - is completely out of my grasp. I'm not a hoarder, am I??? Oh God.....

So I went on ebay and found a Technics CDP instead - the SL-P350. I'm sorry, did I already mention the model number just earlier? Well it's worth repeating (TECHNICS SL-P350) because this thing sounds fantastic!

'Very vinyl sounding' comes to mind.

Let's back up here just a bit. My system consists of a WOPL-400 power amp, a Elekit TU-8500 tube preamplifier, a pair of custom-built 3-way speakers (that I build myself) which can resolve quite literally any kind of music you throw at it, a Topping D20 DAC, a Marantz SACD player, and now of course this Technics CDP. And I have a Pioneer PL-518 turntable, too. Oh magnificent Steely Dan records, how you sooth the soul....

The Technics destroys the Topping DAC, and sadly the Marantz SACD as well. What a sad day for Marantz. Thank god I only paid like 50 bucks for that thing, used.

What the H is going on here? How can a CDP from 30 years ago sound better than a newer-ish Marantz SACD player?

My experience with vinyl has always been amazing. Good records sound very detailed, alive, emotional, blah, blah, blah, all that stuff you read about with vinyl. My CDs I always thought sounded cleaner, louder, and fuller, but lacked that aliveness for which vinyl is considered superior.

Ahhhh, but with this Technics CDP, that boundary finally has been breached, my friends!!!

You can find these things on ebay for next to nothing. I got a very clean one. Zero wear and tear, it still looks new. There's got to be thousands of these things out there. Get one today!

 

[Drumolator]

Wow! Good for you, really. It is always nice to find something so satisfying. Peace and goodwill.

 

[BillWojo]

It uses Burr Brown PCM56P DAC chips, two of them. I'm not surprised it sounds good. It's a R2R type DAC and for Red Book CD is probably a lot better than a lot of the newer stuff. Wait till you try a good DAC with BB PCM63P DAC chips in it.

BillWojo

 

[drp1003]

It uses Burr Brown PCM56P DAC chips, two of them. I'm not surprised it sounds good. It's a R2R type DAC and for Red Book CD is probably a lot better than a lot of the newer stuff. Wait till you try a good DAC with BB PCM63P DAC chips in it.

BillWojo

Ha-ha!,

You must have read my mind. Ten years ago I ripped all of my CDs, my family's, my wife's, my friends', everyone I knew who had CDs, to a hard drive using iTUNES and the Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC). I have this collection of 1000s of lossless CD album rips.

iTUNES is gone, so I started using MUSIC BEE instead. It's actually a lot better. A LOT BETTER.

Of course, after hearing this Technics CD player in action, I can never go back to the Topping D20 DAC. Yep, I have it hooked up between a windows PC with MUSIC BEE music app as the file player and the preamp. Works flawlessly.

You may know how these CD players sound. You may know what I'm talking about when this CD sounds a lot like vinyl. The soundstage jumps out at you. Things are very holographic sounding.

BillWojo: What DAC would you recommend? One that sounds like this CD player. One that won't break the bank. Kits are good. I'm pretty handy with a soldering iron.