Sony D-7S portable CD player Sam Tellig on the D-7S

Sam Tellig wrote about the Sony D-7S in 1986 (Vol.9 No.7):

It was Euphonic Technology's Michael Goldfield who put me on to the Sony D-7S Discman. "The sound isn't state-of- the-art," he said, "and it's not a candidate for mods. But you'll love it." He was right.

This is the nicest toy I have had since I got my first English bicycle. One of the greatest pleasures is showing it off in front of teenagers, who turn green with envy. Adults, too. Everyone who sees it, and listens, says they want to go out and buy one. And so far, a dozen of my friends and acquaintances have.

The D-7S is hardly bigger than a CD itself; it is a technological marvel, complete with its built-in rechargeable battery pack. You can listen to CDs on a train or plane. Plug it into your car's cigarette lighter with an optional adapter (from Radio Shack, cheaper than Sony's adapter), or use the AC adapter (supplied) and run the unit through your home system. This thing is incredibly versatile. For instance, I packed the D-7S, an integrated amp, and a small pair of speakers, and had music while on summer vacation. If you drive on business, you could do the same; set up a system in your hotel room in five minutes.

How does it sound? A lot better than you would ever expect! There's not much depth, imaging is just okay, and both bass and dynamics are a little constricted. Still, the sound is reasonably smooth and altogether listenable. Some people are happy using it as their only CD source.

The only problem with the D-7S is that it's very prone to skip when bumped; you can't jog with it, and you have to be careful even when walking. Also, my D-7S fails to track a few discs that my Magnavox can handle. No big deal, though.

When I bought my D-7S, Larry Archibald asked, "What do you want with the thing?" Initially, I wasn't sure myself, I just knew I had to have this marvelous new toy. I think you will find, as I did, uses that you would never have found for a conventional player. I take it to the library, for instance; it blots out the sound of whispering teenagers while I read magazines. 1 use it to listen to CDs I bought in New York while I ride back home on the train. I use it on days when I have to turn on the airconditioning in my music room and don't want to turn on my tube gear.

I took it over to Roy Hall's house (importer of the Revolver turntable) to demonstrate to this friend of Ivor Tiefenbrun how good digital could sound. Roy's wife immediately wanted one. I had a grin a mile wide; the Devil made me do it. I took my D-7S to Russia and amazed my Soviet acquaintances. (There are plans to build a CD player factory and pressing plant in Talinn, Estonia, so I didn't feel so bad showing offthe new technology.) The Russians, who love Western gadgets, went wild over it.

Thanks, Sony. I now forgive you for the dreadful sound of the CDP-101.—Sam Tellig

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San Diego, CA 92127
(858) 942-2400
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COMMENTS
jimtavegia's picture

Still decent sound through my AKG K-271s or my Sennheiser HD-380s. It beats watching Flea Market Flip, Horders, or Walking Dead reruns which my wife is into these days. Chip and Joanna are pretty good at flipping houses. I know...a sad life.

naim00's picture

jimtavegia, which "2 newer" Sonys do you use? Over the last few years I put together a small collection of Discmans but at the end of the day I listen to this little gem. Reading through this review I had a tinny background voice chanting "little did he know"(with nice Brit accent like from the movie "Stranger than Fiction"). Who could have imagined that in a few years even Linn and Naim start making CD players, but by that same time Sony gets into the race of making the cheapest Discmans. Portables like D-5, D-25, D-555 will be forgotten and outbid by digital shock protection and, eventually, by MP3.

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