It's easy to find old PlayStations. Sony made a ton of the things and they sell for about $20 on eBay and in used game stores. A lot of places have the things stacked up like cordwood, as there just isn't much of a demand for them. So why bother to keep one around? Here's a fact that has been floating around audiophile circles for a while but I just found out about: the original Playstation is a top-quality audio CD player. Crazy, huh?

Before I started my listening tests, Michael had a warning for me: "Plug in the units—turn 'em on—and don’t turn them off." It seems the PlayStations sound best when left on all the time. Michael was right. You shouldn’t even listen for the first three days. Both units need every second of the break-in period. Overall, both of these PlayStation game consoles make really terrific CD component decks. Compared to a Pioneer DVD/CD/SACD player, the Sonys sounded clearer and cleaner. They also held their own against my top-of-the-line, Class A+ rated Sony SACD machine.

The stock systems are good, but you can perform a range of modifications on the systems to ratchet the quality up even higher. You need to have a working knowledge of electronics for some of the mods, but at least if you mess one up you know you can always buy another one. I've been thinking about putting together a high-end sound system to compliment my television; who knew that I already had such an impressive sounding CD player?

Be aware that the article talks about the first-run PlayStation systems, and the pictures show the redesigned PSone, which apparently doesn't have quite as strong audio capabilities. Make sure you're buying the right unit if you're interested in the system as a high-end CD player.