Does Anyone Use a Portable CD Player as Their Source?


Just curious to know if anyone has tried using a portable CD player running off AA batteries as their source? I’m doing this right now along with a remote controlled stepped attenuator preamp going into a 400 W/ch amp and I’ve got to say I’m pretty blown away by how natural everything is sounding. Listening fatigue is virtually non-existent, instruments and voices sound natural, and piano notes don’t jump around the room. Obviously it has some weaknesses as you can only expect so much out of a cheap consumer device that wasn’t designed specifically for audiophiles, but it’s impressive nonetheless. 
I think it really boils down to it’s simplistic circuitry and having everything on a single board. For example, there is no:
-grid connection
-transformer
-AC-DC power supply
-power cables
-electrical system noise 
-Etc.

If you haven’t tried this, I encourage you to give it a shot and see what you hear. It has been a fun experience for me.
128x128mkgus
The late (and missing?) Geoffkait used a Sony Discman as his playback device for CDs!  Certainly such a minimalist layout with battery supply has its merits! Plus a lack of snob appeal! 
I’m using line out with a 3.5 mm to RCA cable plugged directly into my passive preamp. I keep the lines as short as possible so I don’t lose signal. There’s not a lot of signal to go around but that really depends on the portable CD player specs. An active preamp would solve low signal issues but that sort of gets away from the simplistic concept. Right now I’m using a Panasonic SL-S160 series portable CD player. 
I also use a Playstation 1 (SCPH-1001 is the good one). I’ve modded it to run off 12V car-style batteries (sealed, not vented) with DC-DC regulators. This setup also sounds good and I go back to it quite often. The simplicity of the portable CD player setup sounds a bit more organic, but perhaps not as lively.