SMSL PL100 Review (CD Player)

[Jcrow]

PL150 looks nicer

PL150 looks nicer

Yeah, that's a lot nicer. It's pretty cheap too, at least in Aus.

 

[neRok]

This seems good for what it is in the current era. I wonder if it can be used as a PC disc drive via USB? That would be handy!

An optical disc player that only plays cd's? Seriously?

My discman from 20 years ago had games built in. SMSL need to get good lol

 

[Tell]

I was interested in this one, but the design of the thing really put me off. If SMSL had just made it a silver face plate it, I think it would've been a no brainer. Looks like a cheapo product from 2005 as is. Hard to argue with the value of the thing, I suppose.

Yeah that's why I'm curious if the front is somehow removable so it car be diy-fixed, because it really do look like crap.

 

[NTTY]

This seems good for what it is in the current era. I wonder if it can be used as a PC disc drive via USB? That would be handy!

It can’t, no.

My discman from 20 years ago had games built in. SMSL need to get good lol

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I’ll test one of these some day.

 

[NTTY]

That crossed through my mind as I felt sorry for him, looking for his daughter.

Again, thanks for the feedback, I planned it to be 3 short books. Maybe the president managed to somehow survive, and will be back in the final book

 

[VientoB]

I was interested in this one, but the design of the thing really put me off. If SMSL had just made it a silver face plate it, I think it would've been a no brainer. Looks like a cheapo product from 2005 as is. Hard to argue with the value of the thing, I suppose.

The PL150 looks much better

 

[musicservertips]

That’s a really nice review, and it’s good to see that manufacturers haven’t completely given up on CD players. I recently picked up the SMSL PL200 top-loading model mainly for nostalgia (I used to own an old Sony CDP-338 ESD which started to show serious signs of aging). Objectively, my old DVD-ROM drive feeding the Eversolo DMP-A8 sounds just as transparent, but I still enjoy the ritual of putting on a disc and listening with full attention

 

[DavidM1]

it really do look like crap

Yep. Some people hate it. I actually like it. By comparison the black PL150 looks kinda anonymous, like the cheap Sony Blu-ray I replaced. The 150 also misses out on the milled aluminium of the PL100 which happens to match my other components.

Anyhoo, in Australia the 150 costs 50% more than the 100. Perhaps that’s how they set the price. Lol. Both are good value but the 100 is a very easy buy.

 

[Tell]

Yep. Some people hate it. I actually like it. By comparison the PL150 looks kinda anonymous, like the cheap Sony Blu-ray I replaced. The 150 also misses out on the milled aluminium of the PL100 which happens to match my other components.

Anyhoo, in Australia the 150 costs 50% more than the 100. Perhaps that’s how they set the price. Lol. Both are good value but the 100 is a very easy buy.

I don't need my CD player to stand out in any way whatsoever, and if it should stand out I don't want it to have any cheap graphics from the early 2000s. But yeah each to their own of course, would be nice to be able to pick from two coloured options just like the PL150.
I've actually been eyeing the PL100 ever since it got first announced, but it's the graphics in the front alone that made me not buy it yet. Well also because I'm not sure how much CDs I'll actually listen too, my collection ain't that big (yet?) since I started downloading music in my early teens and never really looked back at CDs until rather recently.

 

[Fletcher Munson]

Can't buy one anywhere for a decent price

 

[Robbo99999]

I suppose these CD players can feel quite cool & retro, but they're not very practical and are expensive for what they do given you can spend £10-20 on a USB DVD drive and use it to rip all your CD's to a PC or something similar - then you get perfect playback every time once you've ripped them. I suppose it's an item worth testing though for people that want to play their music directly from CD's each time.

 

[Mart68]

I suppose it's an item worth testing though for people that want to play their music directly from CD's each time.

There's quite a few of us. (I also like to browse a physical library to select something to play, I don't like selecting from a screen).

I don't really think these SMSL players are expensive CD players - I paid £2K for mine but it's not slot loading and doesn't have those nasty circles on the front...

 

[Robbo99999]

There's quite a few of us. (I also like to browse a physical library to select something to play, I don't like selecting from a screen).

I don't really think these SMSL players are expensive CD players - I paid £2K for mine but it's not slot loading and doesn't have those nasty circles on the front...

Yeah, fair enough. Ha, £2K for a CD Player - that is insane!

 

[Jcrow]

That’s a really nice review, and it’s good to see that manufacturers haven’t completely given up on CD players. I recently picked up the SMSL PL200 top-loading model mainly for nostalgia (I used to own an old Sony CDP-338 ESD which started to show serious signs of aging). Objectively, my old DVD-ROM drive feeding the Eversolo DMP-A8 sounds just as transparent, but I still enjoy the ritual of putting on a disc and listening with full attention

I'm getting back into playing CDs for similar reasons. I realised I wasn't actively listening to my music as much, and I missed the ritual of handling phsyical media and not having so much choice. I'll keep my streaming subscriptions, but on a Friday night while sipping on some fine booze, it's nice to put a CD on.

 

[Mart68]

Yeah, fair enough. Ha, £2K for a CD Player - that is insane!

It is a bit, but it's my only source, it gets used every day, and I wanted one that looks good (to me) and feels good to use.

 

[Jcrow]

I suppose these CD players can feel quite cool & retro, but they're not very practical and are expensive for what they do given you can spend £10-20 on a USB DVD drive and use it to rip all your CD's to a PC or something similar - then you get perfect playback every time once you've ripped them. I suppose it's an item worth testing though for people that want to play their music directly from CD's each time.

Yeah it's true, they're impractical and relatively expensive (for an antiquated function). But that's part of the point, at least for me.

 

[Droid_chinchilla]

I have a fresh update from my supplier...I ordered one PL100 on Saturday but he called me today and said that he will remove it from the website because he recently had several returns due to the fact that it had scrathed CDs. He advised me not to buy it, he will not sell it any more. He was ordering the units from a supplier in Germany. So I guess I am stuck now :|

 

[Robbo99999]

It is a bit, but it's my only source, it gets used every day, and I wanted one that looks good (to me) and feels good to use.

Yeah it's true, they're impractical and relatively expensive (for an antiquated function). But that's part of the point, at least for me.

Yes, I suppose it's part of the ritual and the approach to choosing your music you'll listen to for that day & you put in that CD then you listen to the whole albumn more likely rather than flitting around in playlists. I can understand that, albeit I'm a bit more on the fence re a £2K purchase for a CD Player, ha, albeit of course you can do same thing with ripped CD's re not flitting around & instead listening to whole albumn, but I get the ritual & tactile side of having the physical medium and perhaps getting up & looking through your shelf of CD's, so it's a way of doing it.

 

[Mart68]

I can understand that, albeit I'm a bit more on the fence re a £2K purchase for a CD Player

Actually it's just a transport...

I hear you and you're right, it was an indulgence. I was working long hours and had plenty of money and no time to spend it, so it was a reward of sorts.

It doesn't sound any different to the much cheaper one it replaced, nor did I expect it to.

 

[Robbo99999]

Actually it's just a transport...

I hear you and you're right, it was an indulgence. I was working long hours and had plenty of money and no time to spend it, so it was a reward of sorts.

It doesn't sound any different to the much cheaper one it replaced, nor did I expect it to.

Ha, makes sense!