Using the PS3 as a CD player!?

[Soundman]

I was wondering if anyone has had good results using the PS3 as a CD player. I plan on getting a PS3 this summer. Currently, I was looking to get a new CD player, but if the PS3 does a good job maybe I should just wait on it, unless of course, I'm better off getting a dedicated CD player for music. I was looking at the OPPO DV970-HD because of the good reviews and great price. I also like that it plays DVD-A as well as SACD's. Just looking to get some opinions on this and really curious about the PS3's preformance with music. I know the BR performance on the PS3 is good, but what about music CD's?

 

[GlocksRock]

I've used it briefly as a cd player, and it works great. I have it connected to my receiver via HDMI, and if you have it connected to the internet it automatically connects to the CDDB or something similar to obtain artist/track info.

 

[BG3]

I've used it briefly as a cd player, and it works great. I have it connected to my receiver via HDMI, and if you have it connected to the internet it automatically connects to the CDDB or something similar to obtain artist/track info.

I second this. It's capable of playing SACD's. So, standard CD's shouldn't be an issue. I've only had a few CD's that it can't seem to find info for. Nice automatic lookup feature.

 

[Soundman]

Sounds good, but does anyone know how it compares to other dedicated CD players? Does it have the same processing capability? Also, I've read that people have had problems using it as a SACD player. Has anyone tried playing SACD's?

 

[j_garcia]

SACDs worked fine on mine, stereo only though since I don't have HDMI capable receiver. I know one other has as well - Seth=L I believe has. 40G will not play SACDs. For Redbook CDs, I couldn't hear much difference between it and my other players. I don't generally use this guy as a music player however. I did find one thing I couldn't get it to play via optical - DTS CDs.

 

[Seth=L]

I get noise when using the analog audio cable, but it might be a crappy cable (it's an aftermarket that is for the 360, Wii, and PS3). If you use the optical out it will not have any affect on the SQ, the receiver will be responcible for decoding. I don't know exactly how that works with HDMI, but I am pretty sure it would be the same as optical (relying on the receiver to convert the PCM to output.

 

[GlocksRock]

I only have a 40 gig PS3, so I can't comment on SACD, but I would assume since I'm using an HDMI connection, that it's outputting the audio as PCM and my receiver is doing the decoding.

 

[rded]

I only have a 40 gig PS3, so I can't comment on SACD, but I would assume since I'm using an HDMI connection, that it's outputting the audio as PCM and my receiver is doing the decoding.

I have a 60GB PS3 connected via hdmi to an Onkyo 605. 5.1 SACDs sound good. I dont have a dedicated CD/SACD player so I cant compare

 

[rded]

Oh BTW I forgot! My PS3 sounds significantly better than My HD-a20(HD DVD player) and Bd-UP5000(dual Player). It has better bass extention and better mid-range.

 

[Soundman]

Oh BTW I forgot! My PS3 sounds significantly better than My HD-a20(HD DVD player) and Bd-UP5000(dual Player). It has better bass extention and better mid-range.

Wow! That sounds promising, but I wonder how it compares to a dedicated CD player versus a universal type player, such as the PS3. Either way, I want to replace my current CD player. I don't think it's doing a very good job. Actually, sometimes, it pauses and I miss a few seconds of the track. Plus, I'd like to get something that can play SACD's. That would be a nice bonus. Any other suggestions?

 

[Vitellus]

I am thinking of bying a new receiver/HD-TV/PS3 setup. I was planning on using the PS3 as the CD-player too. I have found alot of usefull info on these forums and in this topic, BUT:

I only have one question that I cannot find anywhere :

Do you need to have your TV switched on to control the PS3 for audioplayback?
Or can I just put in the CD and will it autoplay? And are there any options available through the remote or the PS3 itself? (eg shuffle, pause, etc)?

 

[BG3]

I am thinking of bying a new receiver/HD-TV/PS3 setup. I was planning on using the PS3 as the CD-player too. I have found alot of usefull info on these forums and in this topic, BUT:

I only have one question that I cannot find anywhere :

Do you need to have your TV switched on to control the PS3 for audioplayback?
Or can I just put in the CD and will it autoplay? And are there any options available through the remote or the PS3 itself? (eg shuffle, pause, etc)?

You can set the PS3 to "auto-play". But, it would be much easier to control with the TV Display. There are other features like CDDB lookup and on-screen menus along with the ease if setting shuffle & repeat function via the display. Normal functions like play, stop, FF, RW, skip, etc are all available via the remote. That is, unless it's nightime and/or low light. The PS3 Bluetooth remote is not backlit.

 

[dobyblue]

Wow! That sounds promising, but I wonder how it compares to a dedicated CD player versus a universal type player, such as the PS3. Either way, I want to replace my current CD player. I don't think it's doing a very good job. Actually, sometimes, it pauses and I miss a few seconds of the track. Plus, I'd like to get something that can play SACD's. That would be a nice bonus. Any other suggestions?

I have compared it to an Elite DV-45a Universal player and was very impressed by the PS3's SACD playback on a TX-SR605.
Set to output PCM at 24/176.4 I found listening to a few different SACD's that it was very full sounding and I was quite surprised to hear what I thought was a better response than my Elite player, which I've used for DVD-A's and SACD's for years.

However the PS3 doesn't play DVD-A discs, so if you want a good audio player for CD's, SACD's and DVD-A discs the $169 Oppo 980H would be a good choice.

I've used only a few CD's with the PS3, upsampling to 176.4, and I thought they all sounded good, but that's compared to a Universal Elite player, not a dedicated CD player.

 

[Cruise Missile]

If you have a PSP you can now use the remote play feature to control music/video playback from the PS3. Very cool to be able to look through the list on the PSP and select something and it plays.
Also as far as sound is concerned, I have mine hooked up via HDMI. The PS3 does the decoding onboard for all formats exept DTS Master, and then sends it to my reciever via PCM.
This leaves my reciever to do the digital to analog conversion, the quality is first rate. So, the recievers' DAC is going to have the biggest effect on the sound quality when run through HDMI. If your reciever has a great DAC the sound will also be great.
Also, I have never tried the PS3 on the analog outputs. So no help there.

 

[Soundman]

If you have a PSP you can now use the remote play feature to control music/video playback from the PS3. Very cool to be able to look through the list on the PSP and select something and it plays.
Also as far as sound is concerned, I have mine hooked up via HDMI. The PS3 does the decoding onboard for all formats exept DTS Master, and then sends it to my reciever via PCM.
This leaves my reciever to do the digital to analog conversion, the quality is first rate. So, the recievers' DAC is going to have the biggest effect on the sound quality when run through HDMI. If your reciever has a great DAC the sound will also be great.
Also, I have never tried the PS3 on the analog outputs. So no help there.

Sounds like a winner, especially with the latest PS3 update!