Sharp DX-620 CD-player Review

The Sharp DX-620 is a front-loading CD player whose operating features include programmed playback of up to nine selections in any desired order, quick access to any track on a disc, and scanning in either direction at low or high speed with audible sound. The DX-620 comes with a wireless remote control that duplicates all of its front-panel operating controls. There is a headphone jack on the front panel but no means of adjusting the headphone volume.

The DX-620 is unusual among home CD players in using a liquid-crystal display (LCD) with internal lighting. The numerals and other indications are large and clearly visible. After a disc is loaded and the drawer is closed, the display initially shows the total number of tracks on the disc. In a couple of seconds it changes to “01,” and the machine is ready to play the first track on the disc. During play, the number of the current track and its elapsed time are shown in minutes and seconds (total time on the disc is not displayed).

Unlike most CD players, which have one pair of buttons for stepping through a disc one track at a time and another pair for the fast-search modes, the DX-620 uses a single pair of buttons for both functions. With the front-panel controls, the only way to select a specific track, or to program several in random order, is by successive operations of the track-search buttons. Accessing high-numbered tracks can be a slow process, since it is necessary to pause almost a full second between successive operations of the buttons. The remote control offers a more convenient method of selecting tracks, since it has a numeric keypad that allows any number (up to 99) to be entered in a single operation.

When a programmed sequence of tracks has been entered into the player’s memory, the CALL button can be used to display the programmed track numbers in their correct sequence. If call is used during playback, it causes the number of the next track to be displayed for two seconds. The Sharp DX-620, which is finished in black, measures 17 inches wide, 11-3/4 inches deep, and 3-1/8 inches high. It weighs about 9 pounds. Price: $299.

Lab Tests

With an EIA standard load of 10,000 ohms in parallel with 1,000 picofarads (pF), the DX-620 produced identical outputs of 1.87 volts in both channels from the 0-dB (maximum-level) bands of our test discs. Into a high-impedance load (Sharp recommends a load impedance of at least 10,000 ohms) the output was 2.2 volts. The head-phone volume with medium-impedance phones was good.

The frequency response, though not quite as “ruler-flat” as some we have seen, was a very respectable + 0.1, -0.6 dB from 20 to 20,000 Hz for both channels. Although the specifications for the DX-620 state that it uses a combination of digital and analog lowpass filtering in its outputs, its square-wave response was typical of analog filters, lacking the symmetry associated with digital filters. The interchannel phase shift increased from 2 to 4 degrees at low frequencies to 44.5 degrees at 20.000 Hz, indicating the probable use of a single multiplexed filter for both channels in combination with double oversampling.

The total harmonic distortion (excluding noise) was 0.0032 to 0.0038 percent for recorded levels of 0 to -10 dB at 1,000 Hz. The A-weighted noise level was —91.8 dB referred to a 0-dB signal level. Channel separation (which was not specified by the manufacturer) was somewhat less than we have measured from most CD players, though still far in excess of any practical needs. From about 83 dB at low and middle frequencies, it decreased to 66 dB at 10,000 Hz and 61 dB at 20.000 Hz.

The DX-620 played all of the calibrated errors on the Philips TS5A test disc without difficulty. It also made the transition from Track 17 to Track 18 of the TS4 test disc (which have no silent interval between them) without clipping any of the opening syllable of Track 18. The player’s slew time from Track 1 to Track 15 of that disc was a relatively slow 5.3 seconds. The DX-620’s resistance to shock was outstanding—rather hard slaps on its top or sides had no audible effect on the playback.

Comments

The Sharp DX-620 proved to be an excellent CD player, demonstrating once again the genuine improvements in each new “generation” of these machines. While some people might wish for some of the extra features found on some other players, most users should find this one completely satisfactory.

To us, the special appeal of the DX-620 lies in how effectively it does its basic job of playing CD’s, instead of providing a multitude of special features that will rarely, if ever, be used but usually make a machine more difficult to operate as well as more expensive. Rather than being concerned about minute (and usually insignificant) sonic differences, we appreciate a player that will not be overwhelmed by the playback errors in some CD’s (some of the CD’s broadcast on FM stations demonstrate this problem vividly with their chattering and “hang-ups”). It is also good to have a player that does not have to be handled with kid gloves to avoid loss of tracking. The Sharp DX-620 is about as good a CD player as any we have seen in that respect, and it’s a lot less expensive than most. It is a nice job all around.

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