Sony Playstation 1 for a CD player ???

Just wanted to report that my PS has been 100% reliable. Despite reports of overheating problems, I have used it out on my deck many times for extended listening in summer temps without a hitch. Also, in totally stock form, I think it sounds excellent (unlike some other hyped "budget wonders"). The $15 I paid for it puts the price/performance ratio in the down right ludicrous zone!

Thats great news Blkadr, you got a nice player for the price.

Made some "white lightning" speaker cables yesterday. I used the walmart cord, Lowes shrink tubing and Nakamichi banana plugs from ebay. Total cost was $19. The bananas were $5 for set of 8 including shipping from China. I had to stretch the 1/4" tubing a little with needle nose pliers to get them to slide onto the bananas, but it worked like a charm.
They seem to do the job. I think I will find some rca plugs and an other cord and make a few ICs.

You'll be surprised at how good the RCA interconnects made from the Wood's Patio cord from Walmart will sound. I made my first pair as described in Jeff Day's Six Moons article. The Switchcraft 3502A RCA connectors are very good and the Switchcraft 3502AAU Gold-plated, long body connectors are even better. Instead of using cheap Brass, Switchcraft uses a Copper-Sn alloy that's almost as good as Copper itself. They're very reasonably priced as Switchcraft mass produces them here in the U.S. They're designed for pro audio use and maintain a very strong grip. The Canare F-10 male RCA connectors are very good too.

The second pair I made, I stripped the white Vinyl jacket off the three AWG 16 conductors and made a tri-braided cable using the Switchcraft 3502A RCA connectors (similar to the Kimber PBJ). I used one conductor for the signal (+), and two for the ground (-). I was very careful to evenly braid the individual wires. I later compared these to more expensive cables I borrowed from friends including Kimber PBJ's, AudioQuest Diamondback's and Kimber KCAG's. The Kimber KCAG's won out as expected, but the tri-braided White Lightning Moonshine sounded as good as the Kimber PBJ's and trounced the more expensive AudioQuest Diamondback's. Compared to the original White Lightning Moonshine design, the tri-btraided cable was more extended and transparent.

I recommend that you put the interconnects through a long burn-in period before you make any judgments. Sending 2V or less line-level signals through these cables will not break these cables in quickly. However, once your interconnects are burned in, you'll be surprised just how balanced and detailed they sound from top to bottom.

As for the Walmart speaker cables, the best bargain dual banana plugs that work really well with the Walmart cable are the Neutrik NYS508. There's no soldering involved, as you only have to crimp on the connectors with set screws using a small screwdriver. Another good banana connector are the Homegrown Audio LOK Suregrip BFA connectors. These are similar to the Multicontact LS-4 connectors that Jeff Day recommends, but they don't require soldering.

I encourage you to check out Mick Feuerstein's Web pages on modiying the Playstation. Modding the Playstation really takes Red Book CD playback to another level. You'll really be able to take advantage of the Walmart cables then.

You can get PS1 for $5-$10, direct DAC -> RCA output parts $5-$10 plus a little soldering. For the price the sound can't be beat. The cost of mods should not exceed the cost of the player. Modifying $10 player with $500 parts and $200 "audiophile" power cords is just silly. If you are ready to spend $300-$500 buy yourself a MHZS CD player and do $10 modifications there.