Latest Price Info on Sony SACD Player SCD-C222ES ? (1 Viewer)

[Jigesh Patel]

I called J&R today and they gave me $499.00 for Sony SCD-C222ES! I knew from this forum that some of us could get it for upto $325.00 shipped. Can you post or PM me who the sales person (or phone extension) at J&R was? Thank you.

Also I will be calling to Oade Brothers tomorrow for price. Does anyone know sales contact at Oades?

It seems my budget constraints won't allow me to go for 555ES right now and probably I won't wait for the new DVD plus SACD models due coming August/Sept.

Please PM me if hesitant to publicly post the price/deal info. I hope it's not against the forum policy. Thank you.

Jigesh

 

[Justin Lane]

Thats odd Jigesh. When I bought my player from them in January, I got a quoted price of under $380 with free shipping from a salesman by the name of Johnathan. I guess it all depends who you talk to, and maybe the amount of commission they are looking for in a sale.

Another possibility is that the demand for the 222ES has gone up with Sony announcing no new ES audio only SACD players. The 555ES is already long gone, and the 222ES was the only option remaining. I am not sure if the 222ES has been discontinued for the new model year, but J and R could simply be pricing based on demand (or maybe not and you just got a grumpy salesperson).

By the way, this is an excellent player, and the 5 disc changer is essential for extended listening sessions.

J

 

[Scott Merryfield]

You may also want to try www.onecall.com to see if they have any 222ES's left. Call their toll free number for their best price. I purchased a Sony 555ES from them several months ago when that model was being closed out by Sony. OneCall is an authorized Sony ES dealer.

 

[Jigesh Patel]

Thanks a lot Justin, I guess I'll try again tomorrow with J&R.

Thanks Scott for your suggestion, too.

Jigesh

 

[Leo]

Also if you have either a Tweeter or HiFi Buys in your area, check with them as they were clearing out the 222ES for $300. I snagged one recently.

 

[KeithH]

Leo, was $300 for a new unit in a sealed box or for a demo unit? If the former, that's a good buy.

 

[Jigesh Patel]

Just an update:

Ordered it today from Oade Brothers for $350.00 shipped. Did call to Jason at OneCall and his price was $390.00. Did not call again to J&R - anyway, being in NY, I could have paid sales tax there and total would not be less than Oade.

Hope SCD222ES does not disappoint me! It should arrive on Friday this week.

Thank you all for your prompt responses and help.

Jigesh

 

[Mark Hedges]

At $499 for the 222ES I would look around for a 555ES. There was an auction of a 555ES on ebay the other day. Buy it now price was like $715. The seller had a picture of a stack of 4 or 5 other 555ES units he said he was going to sell.

It sold quickly but maybe you could get one of the other units if you are interested?

Mark

 

[chung_sotheby]

Buy it now price was like $715.

I can't believe that the price was that high. I bought mine 3 months used for $500 shipped about six months ago, and I heard that Oade for a while was selling their last units for $599 or so shipped. On the other hand, there are not many units ever made that can compete with the 555es in terms of all-around sound and build quality. Mine Came damn near close to my reference X5000 in terms of CD playback, and the X5000 is a near equivalent to the XA7es, which is regarded as the best CD player Sony ever made. I hope that Sony can make their new line of ES comparable to the 555ES, even though Sony tends to crap the bed on 2nd and 3rd generations of new technologies.

But the 222es is a fine machine for SACD playback, and if you can get one for around $350 that is a very good piece to own.

 

[Jigesh Patel]

Thank you Chung and Mark....

In fact I asked for 555ES to Oade and they said it had been discontinued since last 8 months and they didn't have it in stock for last six months or so. Instead he offered me some $100 mods to 222ES (changing OPAMPs, etc. to make it sound less bright or something similar to this effect he told..) I am already getting too possessive about my 222ES and did not want it to get looked/touched inside!! So I did not opt for those mods...

1. Any suggestions on must-have SACD (2-ch and 5.1-ch) non-too-classical, non-hard-rock titles to begin with? I don't have any right now - links to similar previous posts will be appreciated, too.

2. Is there any 5.1 "switcher" available so that I can use my DVD-A player as well as new SACD player with the receiver having only one set of 5.1 external inputs?

Thank you.

Jigesh

 

[chung_sotheby]

1. Not exactly sure, since I myself only have about 12 disks. If you are looking for non-hard rock, then you could always go for the classics, like Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, James Taylor, Keb Mo, and Marvin Gaye, or more contemporary stuff like Lauryn Hill, James Taylor, and Indigo Girls. I myself would suggest the Lauryn Hill and James Taylor SACD's, as they are recorded very well and the acoustic ambience really shows off the strengths of the format. You could also pick up the Diana Krall SACD, which does a really nice job as well.

2. The best thing that I could think of would be the Sony TAP-9000ES (i think that is what it is named). I think that these are also discontinued, but they are easier to find than the 555es. It is a multi-channel analog preamp, and it does a great job of staying transparent. The cost is between $400-500, so it is somewhat pricey. If you are looking only for a "switcher," then I thought that someone made a 5.1 switcher out of a bunch of Radio Shack input switchers to decent effect. Try running a search here, and I am sure that you can find the thread. Good Luck

 

[Leo]

The unit I got was new.

 

[Craig Robertson]

Any suggestions on must-have SACD (2-ch and 5.1-ch) non-too-classical, non-hard-rock titles to begin with? I don't have any right now

I'd recommend Norah Jones Come Away With Me as a must have, it's $14 at Best Buy. if you are a Police fan you can get all their studio albums, their live album and their Greatest Hits album on SACD. i've got Ghost In The Machine and Zenyatta Mondatta and both are very good, i'll be picking up the other titles as i can.
Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon is amazing in surround, if it's not too much "hard rock" for you, but check out the thread about defective discs in the HTF Music area, the US made DSOTM's are prone to cracking. you'll want to make sure the disc you buy was mfr'd outside the US, the thread will let you know how to tell.
there are some great SACD threads in the Music area, i would point you there.
i've recently picked up a used 222, it's helped me fall back in love with music!

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Is there any 5.1 "switcher" available so that I can use my DVD-A player as well as new SACD player with the receiver having only one set of 5.1 external inputs?

Radio Shack makes an audio/video switch box (part #15-1952) that works well for this application. You will need two switch boxes and three sets of 6 analog audio cables. I use these to switch between DVD-Audio and SACD in my system, and do not notice any degradation in sound quality.

 

[Jigesh Patel]

Radio Shack makes an audio/video switch box (part #15-1952) that works well for this application. You will need two switch boxes and three sets of 6 analog audio cables.

Thank you. In fact I ran a search on this forum and saw that many use this part. (By the way, the search also lead me to those remorse-bringing threads saying CE775 and 222ES are almost the same!! I hope not quite!)


Thanks a lot Chung and Craig for your great suggestions on titles...

Jigesh

 

[KeithH]

Leo,

Well done.


Jigesh,

Glad to hear that you scored a 'C222ES. Hope you enjoy it! It's a great player for $350. As for SACDs, I second the recommendation of Norah Jones Come Away With Me. Also check out Diana Krall When I look in your eyes. If you like classic jazz, Sony has put out loads -- Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Charles Mingus, Weather Report, etc., etc. There is loads of great stuff there.

Others I recommend:

* The Police Every Breath You Take -- The Classics
* Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon
* James Taylor Hourglass
* James Taylor JT
* Rebecca Pidgeon The Raven

This is just a sampling. There's some great stuff out there on SACD. Head to a Best Buy in your area, and also check out www.circuitcity.com , www.acousticsounds.com , www.amusicdirect.com , and www.elusivedisc.com for SACDs.

By the way, I use the Radio Shack switch boxes for DVD-Audio and SACD, and they are an excellent buy.


Chung,

I am not so surprised that the 'C555ES is selling for more than $600 on the secondary market now. Remember, you can no longer get a new one for $600 by mail or through local dealers. I remember seeing the Panasonic DVD-RP82 DVD-Audio player selling for more than retail on eBay after it was discontinued. Perhaps it still does. It's a supply and demand thing. I'm sure there are people who will gladly pay $715 for a 'C555ES since it is a wonderful machine, it is no longer in production, and Sony has not issued a replacement for it. When you consider that some early adopters (April 2001) paid the full $1700 for the 'C555ES, $715 looks pretty good.

 

[Jigesh Patel]

....but check out the thread about defective discs in the HTF Music area, the US made DSOTM's are prone to cracking. you'll want to make sure the disc you buy was mfr'd outside the US, the thread will let you know how to tell.

Thanks a lot for your useful tip and suggestions..

And thank you Keith once again for your help.

Jigesh

 

[Jigesh Patel]

Just an update.....

The SCD-C222ES arrived today (double box packed - thanks Oade). Stellar SACD performance and very impressive CD playback, very good build, and easy to set up. Did not find tray movements noisy or awkward as many had observed on this forum - may be my previous CD player (Sony CDP CE375) had a much noisier tray movements so I don't find any such problem with the 222ES. It came with a free SACD sampler - haven't tried it yet. Played Diana Krall and Pink Floyd so far - no words to describe musical performance. Thank you all for your great advice and suggestions...

Jigesh

PS: By the way, J&R still has 555ES left if anyone is interested. They quoted me today $595.00 (probably can throw in shipping, too). This was out of my budget and I already had ordered 222ES from Oade Borthers - so I guess I "missed" an opportunity here.

 

[Craig Robertson]

Jigesh, what did you pay for the 222es at Oade?

 

[Jigesh Patel]

Craig,

$350.00 shipped (includes $25.00 fedex shipping - double boxed). I did not find any sales receipt in the box - may be I will call them today. Also, the warranty card says 3-year warranty (I intially thought it had 5 years waranty). The unit is made in Malayasia and the remote is made in China.

Jigesh