775 vs 55es SACD players (1 Viewer)

[Mike Loiterman]

Just got my 555es a few hours ago. I replaced a 775 with this beast and so far am extremely happy. I've only had it about 4 hours, but here are my thoughts.



Here are my inital impressions about unimportant things:

[*]Build quality is impressive. The extra weight is noticable.[*]I like the style of this unit better than the 775. It feels more like a high end player.[*]Gold RCA connectors are nice.[*]Included two SACDS: Sony Sampler and a Choir type CD which I haven't looked at yet.[/list]In terms of sound quality:

[*]It is much more detailed than the 775. You can feel the pick on the guitar strings. Cymbols are amazing.[*]Bigger sound stage. Can feel the "air" around the vocalists.[/list]Overall, I'm pretty happy. I paid an extra $400 bucks to upgrade from the 775 and feel that the trade was worthwhile. I will post more when I get some time to listen more closely.



*MODS*

Just noticed that I titled this 775 vs 55es SACD players. It should be 555es. Thanks for changing it.

 

[Doug_B]

In terms of sound quality:

It is much more detailed than the 775. You can feel the pick on the guitar strings. Cymbols are amazing.

Bigger sound stage. Can feel the "air" around the vocalists.

Mike,

It would be very helpful to me if you could provide some more info associated with your quality evaluation/comparison, such as was this comparison with SACD, redbook, or both? My guess is you are referring to SACD. What selections did you use thus far in your comparison?

My interest is largely from a SACD perspective, as I have a decent redbook player at the moment.

Thanks,

Doug

 

[Mike Loiterman]

Yeah, so far I haevnt' compared any redbook cds. All have been SACDs.

In heavy rotation:

Billy Joel: The Stranger

Dave Brubeck: Time Out

James Taylor: Hourglass

Stevie Ray Vaugh: Texas Flood

Keb Mo: The Door

 

[John Tompkins]

Hmm, I didnt notice much of a difference between the two on sacd playback, having owned both. Redbook playback was different but sacd playback on the 775 was close to the 555es in my opinion.

 

[Doug_B]

Mike,

Thanks. Interesting to know that you heard the difference between players with SACD. I'm curious, was there a noticeable difference with the Billy Joel disc? I ask because I have read a couple of opinions on this forum that this disc isn't as good as most others and/or that it is not a big improvement over the redbook version. I would think that it would be harder to tell the difference between two SACD players if the material wasn't as good (but what do I know; never listened to SACD).

I will be taking a couple of SACD discs (and a DVD-A) to my favorite dealer in a couple of weeks. He carries Sony, among others. Don't know if he has the 775 out, but the 555 should be there, and he said he has the Pioneer 47A (and I've demoed redbook and DVDs on his 9000ES). Can't wait (but I have to).

Doug

 

[Eujin]

I own a 775 and have spent some quality time with the 555. IMHO, the 775 is not slouch when it comes to detail, but loses out to the 555 in terms of the smoothness of the sound. This is especially apparent on the Sinfonia Concertante (Mozart) SACD in multi-channel mode. It's a pure DSD recording and contains amazing detail. Both the 555 and 775 were able to place the instruments very precisely in the soundstage--at one point on the first track, you can clearly hear that there is a violin and viola playing off each other, with one of them consistently placed to the right of the other. The 555 just seems to fulfill that extra little bit promised from the SACD format. Also, playback of redbook CD is pretty unspectacular on the 775, but certainly not terrible considering its sub-$200 pricing these days (can't think of a dedicated CD player under $200 that would provide better sound, not counting used decks).

 

[KeithH]

Mike, glad to hear you are liking the 'C555ES. It is an excellent machine. Build quality is superb, and the sound quality with both CDs and SACDs easily beats the 'CE775 in my experience (in-store comparisons). The 'CE775 simply doesn't compare, however, it is a much cheaper player. I've had a 'C555ES in my main system since last October and have another one coming for my second system on Monday. I already have a 'C333ES in the second system and am looking forward to comparing the two players with both CDs and SACDs. As you may recall, I bought a 'CE775 for that system a few weeks ago. For the money, the 'CE775 is a very nice player. I only played SACDs on it, and I thought the sound quality was comparable to the 'C333ES. My comparisons were not extensive, however. I then returned the 'CE775 and got the 'C222ES after the price of the latter dropped and found the 'C222ES to be better than the 'C333ES with SACDs. I was happy with the sound of the 'C222ES, but the drawer started to act funny after about a week, so I exchanged it for the 'C555ES. I'll report my findings of the 'C555ES vs. 'C333ES next week.

 

[Howard Halligan]

I recently had my 775 modified by SACDmods.com. Since 775s are now sellling all over for $199. you can have a very high quality SACD player for around $500. I think the modified version while not as heavy as the 555 sounds better.

 

[Doug_B]

Howard,

Very interesting. I like the concept of modding an inexpensive unit, as the warranty issues become essentially irrelevant. Does the modded unit sound better to you for both SACD and redbook? What equipment do you have, if you don't mind me asking?

One more item: how do you perceive the quality of the tray / tray mechanism of the 775 vs the 555ES?

Thanks.

Doug

 

[Mike Broadman]

Sinfonia Concertante (Mozart) SACD

That is a wonderful disc.
I also had the 775 and upgraded to a 222ES. The difference in SACD between them was slightly noticeable, but not too big of a deal. The redbook, however, was a world of difference, and made me get that player. IMO, there is no contest.
I ended up scrapping the whole Sony SACD player thing anyway for an Elite all-format player, but I whole-heartedly recommend the Sony ES line. I feel it's worth the money.

 

[David Judah]

Doug,

I've popped the hoods on both models and the 555's tray is much sturdier and is isolated much better, as expected for the price difference.

DJ

 

[Doug_B]

Thanks, David. I didn't see any info on sacdmods.com about a tray mod, so this info is useful. Actually, I'd have less apprehension about many of these Sony SACD players if they had single disc trays; seems like a quality trade-off to me at each model's price point.

Doug

 

[KeithH]

Doug, I have yet to see any of the people modding SACD players offers mods to the carousel trays. I don't think that's too easy to pull off.

I owned the 'CE775 for a couple of weeks and have two 'C555ES changers, and although I haven't popped the top on any Sony players like David has, I feel the carousel mechanism on the 'C555ES is better. I also had a 'C222ES for a week and have played with it in stores, and again, I feel the 'C555ES is better. The drawer on the 'C555ES is faster and quieter.

 

[Howard Halligan]

Doug -
The tray is not heavy duty but works well although it is a tad noisy. The mod improves the CD playback greatly - however I process my CDs through Perprtual Technologies P1A & moded P3A - which makes CDs sound close to SACDs.
Here's my systems:
http://cgi.audioasylum.com/scripts/mail.pl?user_ID=8526

 

[Matthew Anker]

Would anyone care to enlighten me on what a mod to the changer tray should be.

 

[Doug_B]

Matthew,

Nice of you to drop in.

My comments concerning tray mechanism mods were out of thin air and not based on any such mod I had seen before. I was not aware that apparently this is not a mod that is performed. I was just thinking that this is a potential area for improvement. Thus, I have no concept of what would be involved.

Doug

 

[Mike Matheson]

The 555 mods I'm familiar with are almost all to the two channel analog signal path.

 

[Matthew Anker]

I can't think of anything I could do with a tray. There seems to be no room for any improvement. It simply moves the discs into position for the laser mechanism to grab them. The mechanism is shock-mounted with some kind of synthetic rubber (blue-green color) that seems to be extremely stable.
My theory is that as long as the data gets to the RF board with no (or very few) errors, then that system is doing it's job.
The 555ES undoubtedly has a heavier tray, but the one on the CE775 is fully functional. Like I said, as long as it gets the job done.
The main thing I do to the players is install the LClock XO2. It has the most "bang for your buck." The elimination of digital jitter is the key to unlocking the hidden potential of any CD player. As long as the DACs use the same frequency as the master clock, then the improvement will be there. This clock signal also operates all the DSPs and even the motor controller, so the benefits often filter down to the subsystems. All other component changes just unlocks the potential further.
Also, the reason I offer a Multi-Channel mod is because Sony uses substandard coupling caps in the multichannel outputs. I have seen 4 different types of capacitors in the units I've modified ranging from Rubicon, Nichicon, Elna, and someone else. Its a wonder the subwoofer output could put out anything close to tight bass. They tend to use whatever they have lying around.
Matthew Anker
www.SACDmods.com

 

[KeithH]

Matthew, a complaint people often register about carousel changers, including the Sony SACD changers ('CE775 and ES models), is that the tray mechanisms are clumsy and noisy in their movement. The Sony changers fall into this category to varying degrees. I would have liked to see Sony use quieter mechanisms. These players make a thunk sound when you turn them on, and the trays make other noises as they open, close, and rotate. In my opinion, the carousel on the 'CE775 is more flimsy and noisy than the one on the 'C555ES, but the 'C555ES carousel is still a bit noisy. I once owned two Sony CDP-CA80ES carousel CD changers, and the carousel mechanism on this model was very quiet. I don't know why Sony went to a noisier mechanism.

 

[Matthew Anker]

Sony drops a heavy magnetic clamp onto the disc to attach it to the spindle. The clunk you hear when it starts is an actuator lifting the magnetic clamp (the top bearing) off of the spindle. It takes some force to break the magnetic bond, then it "CLUNKs" when it reaches the fully up position. I can't think of any way to make it quieter other than to line the case with dampning material.

I can live with it, personally.