{"id":6818,"date":"2017-02-12T12:42:49","date_gmt":"2017-02-11T23:42:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/?p=6818"},"modified":"2017-02-12T12:42:49","modified_gmt":"2017-02-11T23:42:49","slug":"sony-ps-hx500-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/sony-ps-hx500-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Sony PS-HX500 Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Want to rip vinyl to hi-res? This entertaining turntable has that unique ability&#8230; <\/em><\/p>\n<p>Reviewed on 17th May 2016 by What Hi*Fi?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Our Verdict <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>An entertaining turntable unique in its ability to rip vinyl to hi-res files<\/p>\n<p><strong>For&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Rips vinyl to hi-res WAV or DSD file<\/p>\n<p>Simple set-up<\/p>\n<p>Lively and transparent sound<\/p>\n<p>Big, spacious soundstage<\/p>\n<p><strong>Against<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Doesn\u2019t look all that special<\/p>\n<p>No one loves the vinyl revival more than us \u2013 well, perhaps other than Sainsbury\u2019s, which is probably raking it in after recently becoming the biggest vinyl retailer on the high street.<\/p>\n<p>But the good ol\u2019 record wasn\u2019t brought back from the dead through discovery of a newfound convenience. An afternoon vinyl session still requires you to get up from your seat more than a 10-year-old who\u2019s made the final round of musical chairs.<\/p>\n<p>And of course you have to be in the same room as your turntable to enjoy it. There\u2019s no way round that \u2013 or is there? What if vinyl could be pocketable?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Video preview<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pFeUsx2B5aw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Features<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony_ps-hx500_01.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-6824 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony_ps-hx500_01-300x163.jpg\" alt=\"sony_ps-hx500_01\" width=\"300\" height=\"163\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony_ps-hx500_01-300x163.jpg 300w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony_ps-hx500_01-500x272.jpg 500w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony_ps-hx500_01.jpg 790w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>No, we aren\u2019t talking about a portable turntable of sorts \u2013 even the physical burden of a personal CD player would be sneered at nowadays \u2013 but how about one that can rip your records to digital files so you can carry them around in your pocket?<\/p>\n<p>Record-ripping turntables have been around for a while, but the Sony PS-HX500 can record up to DSD 5.6. Ergo, Sony calls it a \u2018hi-res turntable\u2019, so it\u2019s not surprising that one of the first things we notice when lifting the Sony from its box is the hi-res audio logo sitting loud and proud on the plinth\u2019s front-facing edge.<\/p>\n<p>While the ripping feature hardly seems necessary to keep the resurgence in full swing, it does mean that those buying their favourite LPs won\u2019t also have to head to a download site to get it in glorious high-resolution for their smartphone or portable music player.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony_ps-hx500_08.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-6825 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony_ps-hx500_08-300x163.jpg\" alt=\"sony_ps-hx500_08\" width=\"300\" height=\"163\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony_ps-hx500_08-300x163.jpg 300w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony_ps-hx500_08-500x272.jpg 500w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony_ps-hx500_08.jpg 790w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>So how does it work? Equipped with an internal analogue-to-digital converter and USB type-B output, the PS-HX500 simply hooks up to your laptop or computer\u2019s USB input and, via Sony\u2019s Mac- and Windows-friendly High Res Audio Recorder software, records the vinyl either as a WAV (up to 24-bit\/192kHz) or DSD (5.6MHz) file.<\/p>\n<p>The process is simple enough too: just choose your desired format, hit \u2018record\u2019 when the vinyl starts playing, \u2018stop\u2019 when it\u2019s finished and hey presto! You have a hi-res song. And of course, you can split recordings into individual tracks too.<\/p>\n<p>Invariably, some will jump at the chance to digitise their collection while others will be less bothered. If you belong to the second group, you\u2019ll be interested to know that elsewhere the PS-HX500 behaves and looks very much like a typical turntable.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Build<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony_ps-hx500_06.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-6826 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony_ps-hx500_06-300x163.jpg\" alt=\"sony_ps-hx500_06\" width=\"300\" height=\"163\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony_ps-hx500_06-300x163.jpg 300w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony_ps-hx500_06-500x272.jpg 500w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony_ps-hx500_06.jpg 790w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>On the design front, this turntable hasn\u2019t followed in the fashionable footsteps of Sony\u2019s colourful Walkmans, instead apeing the minimalist approach of rival decks around this price. The straight-edged, angle-cornered rectangular plinth is an understated, all-black affair that leaves nothing to the designer-in-you\u2019s imagination.<\/p>\n<p>The plinth is largely unadorned, save for a dial tucked in the bottom left-hand corner where you can switch speed from 33 1\/3rpm to 45rpm, and the low-sitting platter adds to that simplistic aesthetic. While we prefer the more substantial, towering construction of the Audio Technica AT-LP5 (\u00a3330), the quality of Sony\u2019s slender, vertically challenged build is fine.<\/p>\n<p>It means you have to bend down a little further to put on a record than you do with the Audio Technica, but the four feet, which are fixed to the plinth, can be screwed to raise the overall height.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony_ps-hx500_09.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-6827 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony_ps-hx500_09-300x163.jpg\" alt=\"sony_ps-hx500_09\" width=\"300\" height=\"163\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony_ps-hx500_09-300x163.jpg 300w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony_ps-hx500_09-500x272.jpg 500w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony_ps-hx500_09.jpg 790w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Assembling a turntable can be finicky business, but all the Sony asks of you is to plonk (with care) the die-cast aluminium platter and 5mm-thick rubber mat onto the 30mm-thick MDF plinth, hook up the belt drive, and balance the tonearm using the counter and anti-skating weights.<\/p>\n<p>Sony is shouting about its new one-piece tonearm with an integrated head shell, claiming that by locating the stylus point in the centre of its axis and limiting rotational movement it can produce a more precise, stable trace.<\/p>\n<p>To save you flicking through the supplied literature, the recommended tracking weight for the Sony\u2019s moving-magnet cartridge is 3g, although we recommend any newcomers to turntables take guidance from the manual, which is thankfully as intuitive as instructions for the average piece of flat-pack furniture are complex.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sound<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony-ps-hx500-6.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-6828 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony-ps-hx500-6-300x213.jpg\" alt=\"sony-ps-hx500-6\" width=\"300\" height=\"213\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony-ps-hx500-6-300x213.jpg 300w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony-ps-hx500-6-423x300.jpg 423w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony-ps-hx500-6.jpg 790w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Of course, there\u2019s little advantage in ripping your vinyl to hi-res \u2013 or even playing it straight off the deck \u2013 if the PS-HX500\u2019s sound quality is poor. But we aren\u2019t about to rain on its so far promising parade. In fact, we are full of compliments for the Sony deck.<\/p>\n<p>We settle Dire Straits\u2019 Brothers In Arms down on the spindle and there\u2019s no mistaking the Sony\u2019s penchant for detail as the synthesized pan flute and African-influenced drums in Ride Across the River come through with clarity and texture.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s articulate with the track\u2019s offbeat rhythmic pattern, tying the multiple strands together for a coherent and layered delivery, and has the dynamic dexterity to bring fairly tenuous sonic shifts to our attention.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony-ps-hx500-7.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-6829 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony-ps-hx500-7-300x213.jpg\" alt=\"sony-ps-hx500-7\" width=\"300\" height=\"213\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony-ps-hx500-7-300x213.jpg 300w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony-ps-hx500-7-423x300.jpg 423w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony-ps-hx500-7.jpg 790w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The sprightly Sony is quick off the bench too, springing into action with the upbeat opening of One World. It thrusts the drumbeat forward and, with a real sense of gusto and agility, puts its foot through the melodic guitar riffs that cut through the track.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s with the more sanguine tunes that the PS-HX500\u2019s slight tonal inclination to the light side of neutral reveals itself, the presentation favouring a crisp consistency over the full-bodied solidity of some of its rivals. It\u2019s not something to penalise the Sony for, but is noticeable when listening to it next to the Audio Technica AT-LP5, and perhaps something to bear in mind when it comes to system pairing.<\/p>\n<p>Elsewhere, The Sony\u2019s big, open sound lends itself to the lamenting guitar lines and aching organs in the album\u2019s eponymous finale too, and there\u2019s the space and insight to keep a hand on both as they weave around each other.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony_ps-hx500_11.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-6830 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony_ps-hx500_11-300x163.jpg\" alt=\"sony_ps-hx500_11\" width=\"300\" height=\"163\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony_ps-hx500_11-300x163.jpg 300w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony_ps-hx500_11-500x272.jpg 500w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sony_ps-hx500_11.jpg 790w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a delicate naturalness to Knopfler\u2019s pensive vocals too, which are confidently presented in the soundstage and demonstrate the Sony\u2019s pleasing midrange insight. Furthermore, the sundry piano notes in Miles Davis\u2019s So What and the trumpet-playing that wheels over the top, are both engaging, informative and staged with convincing stereo imaging.<\/p>\n<p>We feel confident bestowing praise on the treble too; the intricate cymbal-brushing that fills the right-hand channel is clear and subtle, the Sony balancing detail with refinement admirably.<\/p>\n<p>As expected, big gains in clarity and detail are made when we switch to our reference Cyrus Phono Signature phono stage (\u00a31200); vocals are fleshed out and instruments are subtler and more sure-footed. Within its own price-bracket, though, the Sony\u2019s own is very capable indeed.<\/p>\n<p>And, if you plan to use it, the phono stage would pair well with a quality midrange amp such as the Cambridge CXA60 (\u00a3500) and a pair of speakers such as the Dynaudio Emit 10s (\u00a3500).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Verdict<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Anything that keeps vinyl fresh and appealing is gold in our eyes, and the PS-HX500 is a good example of that. It&#8217;s a best-of-both turntable that caters for record spinning and hi-res ripping, and to anyone torn between their affection for the nostalgia and tangibility of vinyl, and the convenience and practicality of digital.<\/p>\n<p>As always, performance is king, though, and in this instance that only furthers the Sony\u2019s likeability; while it\u2019s not the classiest-looking turntable on the market, it has all the class in the sound suite instead. A very good buy.<\/p>\n<p>Read more at http:\/\/www.whathifi.com\/sony\/ps-hx500\/review#B4yY8QlTaKPQ5vkF.99<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Want to rip vinyl to hi-res? This entertaining turntable has that unique ability&#8230; Reviewed on 17th May 2016 by What Hi*Fi? Our Verdict An entertaining turntable unique in its ability to rip vinyl to hi-res files For&#8230; Rips vinyl to hi-res WAV or DSD file Simple set-up Lively and transparent sound Big, spacious soundstage Against [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6818"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6818"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7001,"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6818\/revisions\/7001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}