Sony D-321 acquired...

Hi Discman fans,

I just bought myself a Discman D-321 from Yahoo Auctions Japan. I paid about $70 US dollars for this:



Everything's present and accounted for, and in great condition, but it needs to be recapped. An easy afternoon job.

So, I couldn't find any info on this player on the internet, nor even on this forum. Based on the eBay sales history in the US, this thing seems to be highly regarded for some reason...

So I need some info, is this unit any good, why is it so expensive, and any other perspective you Discman experts can give me!

 

You must have paid a few extra bucks for the remote and for the original headphones, by Googling D-321 I see this model discussed as a Good-Buy for $25-49 fifteen years ago. You can check D-321 specs and internals and compare those to The King and Unobtaniums at square-2.com
I do not notice anything special about this model, 'evident suspect' of a 1-bit DAC and then 4mW into 16-Ohm headphones is as anemic as you can imagine (but this pumps up the battery life)

Interesting Question about the price: Optimus CD-3400 by Radio Shack (re-badged Akai PD-X73 // Grundig CDP 100) got reviewed by Stereophile's guru Sam Tellig in 1994 and thanks to that half-baked review CD-3400 is totally UNOBTANIUM nowadays... I have my own opinion about Sam Tellig 'critical listening' skills which I cannot post because profane language is not acceptable at this fine forum... but I am hunting for this CD-3400 model, to put it against my favorite Discmans

Second Tought: to answer your own Q just play D-321 against any decent Discman in your collection (I use Sony D-250 and D-555, Denon DCP100 and Technics SL-XP5 as the reference for The Best Ever achieved in Discmans Sound Quality) and share your thoughts. (((This reminds me to finish my own review of Amadana CD player, but for the headphone listening of that model there was no need to go to The Top, even cheap Sony D-90 outperformed it with no 'critical listening' involved )))

 

Well the original remote/headphones being present is important for two reasons... first off, it adds value like you stated, and second, it means the unit was most likely taken very good care of by the owner. Original accessories included after 25 years means the owner obviously wasn't careless to lose them. And if the owner wasn't careless to lose the accessories, he/she/they may not have been careless to leave batteries in, or drop/scratch the unit.

As far as the price goes, you have to be careful about using community pricing info from 15 years ago. That was before the YouTube tech/online vintage revolution. I remember in 2006, you could get Mega Man 7 for SNES for like 25 bucks. I paid $150 for a copy a year ago and that is considered a good deal by modern retro game collector forums. I mean, it's truly a shame that the YouTubers/forums/discord servers have given so much press to anything old/vintage to where it is lusted after by zoomers and priced as such.

Good advice about the listening test! I will definitely do that. I mainly just wanted this unit because it has an excellent design, seems to be worthy of collecting/fussing over, and it typically sells for much more than I paid for it, and that's not even counting those aforementioned headphones or remote.

As far as the opinions on Sam, DM me to vent haha!

 

+1 to what you said! just this last month I paid over $300 for a white Sony D-150, and then another $300 for a boxed-Minty one! And D-150 is not even my favorite Discman!! Both Discmans are DEAD but as long as COVID-19 shuts my job down I have to keep my 'idle hands' busy somehow...

 

Now that sounds cool, and it's not at all a bad price for a minty one! I would love to get some more 80s model Discmans, but the high-end 90s ones are calling to me... must be the curves!

 

@Recaptcha - if I may ask: is it plastic-fantastic or a metal shell?? After getting myself into a few ungodly arguments with S2G-oers about 1-bit Discmans being Bad I am now revisiting my old preconceptions: bought three Sony D-99 (D-90 with 1-bit DAC) for revival and ‘critical listening’
Curvaceous Discmans... Oh Man! For when you have to pretend this thingy moves you (as is my case) you Know that you are getting OLD

 

Plastic-fantasic?!? I laughed so hard at this when I read it! Well, to answer your question, the top is metal with rubber buttons (super premium), and the rest... plastic-fantasic! I'm kinda mad because shipping on it ended up being WAY more than I expected since FedEX is having issues in Japan...

To give my input on the D-99 1-bit DAC thing. I got a D-99 awhile back broken for like $60 and repaired it... I compared it carefully alongside the D-9 (old 16-bit DAC brother) and It didn't sound BAD, just a little less exciting compared to the 16-bit D-9. I don't know, I try to focus more on the design and the whole unit instead of critiquing the DAC. If I want the best sound, I won't be using any Discman... (unless I had a D-555 which, bad news, I don't ).

Well, I normally hate the 90s curvy plastic-fantastic Sony offerings, but this one just seems to rise above the crowd for me. With that said, you can be sure of one thing, I will post a FULL review when It is in my possession and recapped.

 

My Man! It is so easy, and at the same time so difficult - disregard looks, specs and techno-bull and just sit back and Listen! Once done, you do not need years of training for 'critical listening', it is as simple as being in front of you!

I have D-555 and bad news for any Discman - if you are going for the best SQ, you can get it for less from Rega/Naim CD player


- this is where I contracted this plastic-fantastic phrase! One of the tunes I use for my morning workouts... at my age if you do nothing you just go stiff and get Totally OLD! push-ups are easy but with the pull-ups I need all the help I can get... I had a few awesome Workout CDs but once lost I do not remember what they were, so have to stick nowadays to Aqua, Boney M, Ace of Base and $hit like that to keep myself in shape

 

O yeah! I remember this song! Haha, Can't get it out of my head now... Yeah, I use those songs too to get motivated. With COVID, I try to do a lot of outdoor walking to boost my mood. Sadly, the only Discman you can go mobile with and actually not have skipping is one of those cheap plastic "CD Walkmans" with really good esp.

If you really want the full effect, try listening to THAT song on:



Just look at those earbuds!

I've never had the opportunity to own or listen to the D-555, but thanks for the insight on it. I'll probably end up buying one when I find it cheap enough...

 

I love it, but its been stuck in my head ALL day... send help....

 

Maybe you need a visit from Doctor Jones

 

No indication for this model to be special aside of optical digital output if the internal 1-bit DAC is not good for some reason. I have the 307, which, judging by photos of the inside and the back, uses the same "platform" and the same mechanism. I got mine for $20 with an AC adapter. It has analog line output, but no digital output.

 

If it's the same d-307ck I'm thinking of, there are a lot of differences between them, and besides the mech like you mentioned, I do not see any similarities.

The special aspect of this unit is most likely in the fact it was an exclusive model. Semi-metal in the mid 90s, D-line, optical out, backlight, and it was the first with ESP. Now whether any of that holds up when it's in my hands is the question...

 

3-second ESP is quite pitiful though. The 307 has 10s ESP. I am worried mostly about the mech, will it continue working for the next 10-20 years.

 

O totally. 3 sec esp is basically useless, but it was a first. Your D-e307 is totally better from a technology standpoint for sure. It probably is more reliable, and has better battery-life, usability, and all of those perks that come with technology iterations and refinements.
Now about the mechanism and the functionality state... the unit is not reading discs right now, although I'd be willing to bet this is due to the capacitors, and not the mech. The mech consists of an easily replaceable spindle motor, tracking motor, and the actual laser. All of these parts are pretty easy to find, but go back a few years to the D-9/D-303/D-350/D555 and you get into rare parts land.

 

I don't know much about electronics, cannot figure out which capacitor to replace or if it needed, and cannot even solder a headphone socket properly. So, I prefer one that works to repairing an iconic model In fact, there are some issues with the D307 which I am not happy with, for example if I program the tracks in exactly the same order as they are recorded on CD, the player would make pauses between them, it is not smart enough. A Panasonic player on the other hand, plays them seamlessly. Although there is an opinion that a CD should be listened from the beginning to the end Nah, not for me. And this is where CDs are better than cassettes.

As for comparing DACs and audio quality, I don't think that it is productive unless there are serious problems with the player.

Congrats with your player, and hopefully you'll make it work! It is nice that it has all the accessories.

 

Yeah, I mean the whole thing needs to be recapped, it's not one bad capacitor, but more like the whole batch. I generally do have better luck with functionality on the cheaper units, and when I need a player that is rock-solid dependable, I do usually break out something in the vein of the 307.

I've heard a lot of complaints lately from members that different models of CD players can't program tracks well. Funny thing, I've never once had the need to use the program function on any CD player. When I want to listen to a CD album, I just pop it in and navigate through the tracks I want. When I need to record from CD to tape, I just let the CD player play all the way through the album whilst the tape deck is recording. I never liked program or had the need for it, and I never liked shuffle either... shuffle is supposed to be all about the surprise and wonder of which song could possibly come next... but if an album only has 10 tracks, this is pointless. I have used repeat moderately though.

As far as actually listening to a CD from beginning to end without skipping around, I've only done that on a few discs. My mood generally governs which track comes next on the album for me. I'll listen to one track, and then I'll think, "now, this one", and then I just keep skipping around...