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Little did I know that my original PlayStation (PS1) in the late ’90s could have been an audiophile’s dream CD player.
The PS1 that delivered iconic games like “Gran Turismo,” “Metal Gear Solid,” “Final Fantasy VII,” and many others, was the ultimate backdoor cheat to get high-end audio quality for a fraction of the price.
“If you’re looking for an outstandingly musical digital front end that can play music better than just about every multi-kilobuck digital source, look no further – way recommended,” Jeff Day, former reviewer for audiophile review site 6moons.com, wrote of the PS1 in a 2007 review of high-end speakers called the Merril Zigmahornets.
The $300 PS1 produced such good audio quality that audiophiles would need to spend thousands of dollars to get similar performance. Specifically, it had to be early PS1 units with the model number “SCPH-1001,” which had the dedicated red and white RCA analog audio ports on the back, which allowed audiophiles to use their own audio cables, according to former 6moons writer Michael Levorgna in an NBC News article from 2006.
The back of the “SPCH-1001” model number PlayStation 1 that had the dedicated audio connectors.
Ebay
“I had heard rumors of just how good this particular version of the PS1 is when used as a CD player,” Day wrote in 2007. After giving the PS1 a try, Day said the PS1 “really does have outstanding audio performance. I’m guessing you’d have to spend more than $6,000 on a one-box CD player to equal, let alone better it.”
And audiophiles didn’t even need to spend as much as $300 to get a PS1. In 2007, the PS1 had long given way to the PlayStation 2, and having sold over 100 million units since it launched in 1995, PS1 consoles could be had for as little as $30 in the used market.
Other model numbers of PS1 consoles had single ports for both audio and video, but they still made for “really terrific CD component decks,” Lavorgna said.
Audio tech has advanced so much since the mid-2000s that it’s unlikely the PS1 is the standout CD player it used to be. Still, if you happen to have kept your old CD collection and a SCPH-1001 model PS1 for a “just in case” moment, this might be it. And if you’re interested in using a PS1 as a CD player, you can easily find them in online marketplaces like eBay for between $20 and $50. Just make sure the listing specifically mentions that the PS1 you’re looking at is the “SPCH-1001” model number.
