Anyone compared the 555es to the 7es/8es yet? (1 Viewer)

[Shane Martin]

I'm thinking of upgrading my Cd changer from the Sony 7es to a 555es SACD player. There aren't that many SACD's for me to buy so I hold alot of value in just plain ole' redbook playback.

Has anyone compared the 2?

How much are the 555es's going for nowadays?

 

[KeithH]

Shane, Sony dropped the retail price of the 'C555ES in March from $1200 to $800. J&R Music World (1-800-221-8180) quotes $600 for it, but I got one from them recently (the second one in my house) for $550. It's a great player with both CDs and SACDs, plus the build quality is excellent. I bought the first 'C555ES for my main stereo system last November, and it replaced a Sony CDP-CA80ES carousel CD changer, which succeeded the 'CA8ES. The 'C555ES is a much, much better CD player than the 'CA80ES.

 

[Mike Matheson]

Oade is also offering the 555ES for under $600, I believe.
Shane, if you're really looking for great redbook playback using the analog outs of a relatively inexpensive CDP/SACDP, then maybe consider purchasing a player and getting it modded.
Examples of where to get something modded:
www.tweakaudio.com
www.sacdmods.com
www.audiomod.com
www.modwright.com
If you have further interest, searching here at HTF or particularly at Audio Asylum should turn up a quite a bit of info.
If you're happy with your existing CDP from a utility standpoint but would like to get better redbook playback then exploring external DACs may also be worthwhile. The Perpetual Technologies P-3a is popular though lots of other options exist as well. Something like this though would probably give you a DISTINCT improvement, assuming the remainder of the signal path is up to snuff. Again, searches on HTF and AA could turn up further info.
Regards,
Mike

 

[KeithH]

Mike, fair points. I agree that Shane has a number of options to improve upon redbook CD performance of an older Sony ES carousel changer. I have experience with such players, and while they were good for changers in their day, one can easily do better for little money now. Regarding mods, it's just me, but I would really only consider having the 'CE775 modded. I don't like the idea of losing the five-year ES warranty, but a one-year warranty on a $200 player isn't such a big deal to me. Also, I love the ES player out of the box. In that same vein, I feel the stock 'CE775 can really benefit from mods with little investment. That said, I'd still go with a stock 'C555ES.
The best of both worlds for me could be addition of the P-3A DAC to my ES SACD players. I like SACD playback on the '777ES and 'C555ES in my main system, but I am considering experimenting with the P-3A. Do you know how many digital inputs, preferably coaxial digital inputs, it has? Hopefully more than one.

 

[Doug_B]

Generally, I think similarly to Keith that I'm more comfortable with the idea of modding an inexpensive CDP with a short warranty period vs a more expensive player with a longer warranty. However, I'm still uncomfortable with the issue of repair. If a modded unit (out of warranty)breaks, even if one is paying for the repair, there are still issues to consider, such as:

- What is broken? Is it a portion of the player that was modded or something else? Can an owner even tell?

- Who do I trust to repair the unit? Will the repair person tinker with the mods, whether or not the fault is within the mods?

It seems that unless the owner 1) understands very well what mods were performed on the unit, 2) can perform trouble isolation to determine that a mod is not impacted, and 3) can ascertain what a repair person did and didn't touch in the unit, it would be wise for the owner to have the unit looked at by the one who modded the unit, after the repair work is done. Other scenarios can be just as complicated if not more so. Of course, one is usually at the mercy of a repair facility anyway, but you're more likely to run into trouble when the repair facility is looking at innards of unknown origin.

Doug

 

[Jerry Klawiter]

I would have to agree with KeithH,

I bought the first 'C555ES for my main stereo system last November, and it replaced a Sony CDP-CA80ES carousel CD changer, which succeeded the 'CA8ES. The 'C555ES is a much, much better CD player than the 'CA80ES.

I also have the CA80ES, and my 222ES is even better with Redbook,
Now with my purchase of the Sony DVP-NS900v DVD/SACD
player for my second system, I'm lost.
The playback is better then the 222ES, but I needed a new
progressive scan dvd in our second setup.
I can't see pulling both my R91 dvd and the 222es from the main system.
Well it looks like I may have to find a new deal for a third SACD player, The master bed could always use my 222ES.
Come-on stock market!!

 

[KeithH]

Jerry, consider buying the 'C555ES to replace the 'C222ES in your main system. That way, you would have the 'RP91 for movies, which gives you excellent picture quality and DVD-Audio, and the 'C555ES for CD and SACD. I bought my second 'C555ES for $550 from J&R. It's an outstanding player for the money.
You said:

Come-on stock market!!

Sorry, but after today's performance, :rolleyes.