Best Sounding Portable CD Players???

I think it's contagious!

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Thanks for the advice, guys. I think I will stay away from the used, discontinued stuff like Optimus CD3400s, especially when I can get a new Panasonic SLSX460 player for well under $100. What I am looking for here is other current portable CD player comparisons so I can narrow down the choices of what to listen to before I buy. Are there any other portables out there that sound as good or better than the Panasonic SLSX460 in your opinion that I should be listening to? Also - Jeffloistarca, can you expand on the sound of your setup? Did you audition any other portables and notice any differences? Thanks.

For the best sound, I would think a current portable cd player, such as what Headroom recommends would be the best. The Radio Shack 3400 is a good sounding player but is a few years old and may not be repairable. It does have a coaxial digital output, which few (if any) other portables have. It is a competent, but not great, cd transport and needs some form of jitter reduction device to work its best. There are a few current Sony portables that have toslink digital outputs but I do not know how they sound. My experience is only with the Radio Shack and I will not sell mine.

I think I saw this Sony CD player for $199 and up that has digital outs, of course they are COAX type. Some places to check them out would be jandr.com

I used to have an slp1a, and I thought it sounded much better than most portables. I currently have a panasonic sl-870SW (I can actually jog with this player !). It's just OK sonically. I also have the sony d-335, and 465. The 465 does have a digital output. The 335 is the best sounding followed closely by the 465.

panasonic slp1a is nice for a portable, but these are no longer made, & i'd imagine they're pretty beat by now. not familiar w/the later replacement models... the optimus 3400 offered digital outs, which is why they were so sought-after, but, again, good luck finding one that still operates well. anyone know of another portable w/digital outs? i could never find one... doug

The Panasonic works well with my Headroom amp and Senn 600's

Try and find an Optimus 3400 on e-bay

The portable you probably heard of is the Optimus CD-3400. The other only superior CD portables soundwise are the ironclad Denon DCP-100 and DCP-150. Do note that all of these are discontinued, but you might have luck looking around for some.