CD changer: Yamaha CDC-775 or CDC-685 (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Senez]

Hi,
I plan to buy a CD changer this week. Which one should I buy 685 or 775 or something else ? Is the PRO-bit feature on the 775 worth it ?
I have a RXV-1200 receiver. If I go ahead and buy one of these changer, should I hook it up via analog or digital to my receiver ? In other words, which DACs are better, changer or receiver ?
Any other suggestions on a CD changer brand ?
Yamaha CDC-685
Yamaha CDC-775
Thanks a lot !
Pat

 

[Jeff D.]

Patrick;

Ultimately let your ears be the judge. Try and A/B these two machines and see which one you prefer sonically.

As for the DAC question, again let your ears be the judge. With the lower model, you might find the DACs in the receiver better, but the higher model may have better DACs itself. Always a tough call without actually hearing them.

As for other recommendations, I can whole-heartedly recommend two changers from Sony, the CDP-CA70ES and CDP-CA80ES. I own the CA70ES and I must say it is quite a remarkable product from the brand. What I find I like about it best (and just commented on in another thread) is its complete lack of listener fatigue. With a bit of hunting you should be able to find either of these players at a good price, as they have been discontinued in favour of the new SACD changers. Definitely worth a spin, IMHO.

/Jeff

 

[Robert_Dufresne]

Patrick

Yamaha makes great cd changer you cant go wrong.

I prefer the 775 if only for the better remote.

Robert

 

[Patrick Senez]

OK. Here's a status.
The Yamaha CDC-775 is "not available". The CDC-685 is 250 $ (CDN).
I went to the Sony Store and they have one DEMO CA70ES at 280 $.
I'm torn between the Yamaha 685 and the Sony CA70ES.
The Yamaha would go so well with my RXV-1200...
I probably would be stupid to let go the Sony...
HELP !!!

 

[Brad Van Eerden]

I'm pretty sure that the 685 is newer than the 775. I bought the 585 (which is the same unit as the 685 other than the extra front-plate buttons). The 585 was appreciably better sounding than the Sony DVP-C670D I previously owned (which isn't the CA70ES at all). The CA70ES is an older unit. Didn't it come out in the late 90's (and replaced by the 80ES)?

I found the Yamaha to be the fastest changer of all that I tested.

I'm very pleased with the 585.

 

[Brad Van Eerden]

Also...

The way I understand it, Yamaha's newer models start with the x85, which came out last year. They stopped making the high end 7xx (with ProBit etc.) and now only make the 5xx and 6xx. That's why there is no "785."

 

[KeithH]

Bruce,

The 'CA70ES came out a bit later than the 'CA80ES, but did not replace the 'CA80ES.

Jeff,

The 'CA80ES was discontinued quite awhile ago, so finding a new one may not be possible.

 

[Brad Van Eerden]

KeithH,

What year did the CA70ES come out? Is that Sony's last CD only changer (without SACD)?

 

[KeithH]

Brad, I'm going to say the 'CA70ES came out in 1999. It is the newest ES non-SACD changer.

 

[Patrick Senez]

Brad,
Thanks for the info. Yes, last year, Yamaha had the 575, 675 and 775. This year, they have only 585 and 685. But they added a DVD-Changer (DVDC920) which I find quite impressive on paper:
Yamaha DVD-C920
I could get this player and have DVD-Audio + Video at the same time. (If I ever want to go in the high definition audio market, I think I prefer DVD-Audio over SACD, but I'm not sure on which standard to go).
I've tested at the Sony Store the CA70ES with a couple of CDs and it took the changer around 15 sec. to switch between CDs on random play... :frowning: I find that very long... I have an 10 year-old Sony CDP-C515 changer that does it in 9 sec... I've also tried the Sony CDPCE375 and it took 11 sec. How long does it take for the Yamaha's (x85) ??
One of my problem is that I have a nice wooden cabinet for my HT and I don't have space for both a full height CD-changer + a full height DVD player. So I have 2 options:
1- Buy a DVD changer that does everything (like the DVD-C920).
2- Buy a CD-changer + a slim designed DVD player (probably a Panasonic RP62 or RP82).
I'm going to continue the check my options...
Thanks again for your suggestions !

 

[Brad Van Eerden]

Funny you should ask about the changer speed. I bothered to do some informal timing before I bought the Yamaha. The x85 (or at least the 585) normally changes songs in random mode (between discs) at around 8 seconds or so.

I too was surprised at the slowness of the CA70ES. I guess, though, the question is how often you use random mode; if you listen to a whole disc and then switch, the wait isn't quite as painful.

Some of the changers out there play two songs on the same disc in random mode before switching discs. That helps the down-time duty cycle.

I've decided against getting a dual purpose DVD and CD player. One reason is because I play a lot of CDs as background music and it seems that the laser hours add up and I don't want to replace both my DVD player and CD player when the laser fatigues. (At least that's my theory as to why my Sony DVP-C670D had a premature ending [14 months]...).

I'm looking to add a Toshiba SD9200 for DVD play. It has an excellent audio section for closer CD listening, along with DVD-Audio and HDCD--and adequate video, enough for my present TV's capability. (There are some reliability issues that make me shy about it though). But with your cabinet constraints that monster won't fit.

Let us know what you end up with.

 

[Dan_R_M]

Patrick,

Did you end up getting the c920? What are your impressions? I am very interested in this model...how is the cd sound quality? Do you know if it has the chroma bug?