Turntable Reviews

The value for wow and flutter, ±0.25%, seems a little high for a turntable in this price range -- the cheaper Pro-Ject Debut III comes in at about half that. And there is no S/N ratio spec.

Thanks for reviewing this turntable. When Sony announced the PS-HX500 turntable at CES 2016, I was intrigued by its ability to record DSD and PCM digital signals. I would like to convert some of my vinyl to FLAC 24/96 and transfer the songs to my Sony HAP-S1 player.

Sound and Vision:

- What is the physical size of the wall-wart power supply?
- Does the turntable stay powered at all times? No power "Off" switch?
- Are the four squishy rubber damping feet adjustable for leveling the turntable?
- What is the real difference between "On" and "Standby" settings?
- What is the phono preamp output? 2.5mV?
- What is the line output? 150 mV?
- I am under the impression the generic cartridge is supplied by Audio Technica. I cannot find any cartridge in the Audio Technica line-up that has a 2.5 mV output. Do you know the specific cartridge that is supplied with this turntable?
- The generic cartridge appears to be an Audio Technica CN5625AL or some variant because this is the only cartridge in their lineup that tracks between 1.5-3.0 grams (but it has an output of 4.2mV at 1kHz). Can I replace the supplied cartridge with an Audio Technica AT440MLb? (The AT440MLb tracks between 1-1.8 grams and has an output of 4.0mV at 1kHz).
- Does Sony supply an overhand gauge? If not, how does one adjust the
overhang on this turntable? Does Sony provide instructions for this?
- Does Sony's Hi-Res Audio Recorder Software work with Windows 8.1 and Windows 10?
- Do you know why the turntable's digital output is designed to only interface with Sony's Hi-Res Audio Recorder Software (besides obvious
vendor lock-in)?
- Do you know why the Hi-Res Audio Recorder Software does not employ noise reduction or a way to adjust volume for PCM? (Seems odd that you can't perform basic stuff using one software package).
- Did you measure the quietness of the turntable? If so, what the signal-to-noise ratio?
- Is the measured wow and flutter acceptable? Can it be adjusted?
- If you used this turntable to digitize records, what bit rate/sampling size would you recommend? 16/44? 24/48? 24/96?

I look forward to your responses.

Sony:

Based on my understanding of this review, I offer the following suggestions for strengthening this product offering:

- After product launch, immediately release an updated version of the Hi-Res Audio Recorder software with native playback and noise reduction capabilities, and/or
- Update Sound Forge Audio Studio to interface with the turntable, thus reducing the chance of an orphaned product in the near future, and/or
- Allow third party software to interface with the USB digital output (again reducing the chance of an orphaned product in the near future).
- Provide suggestions for other cartridges that are compatible with this turntable. Please be specific with vendor names and model numbers.

All you need to do is attach the platter straight from the box, encircling the motor arborist hamilton pulley with the rubber drive belt, and cover it with the thick rubber mat.