MP3 fans! Here is a 400-disc CD megachanger that plays MP3 CDs for only $300! (1 Viewer)

[Chris PC]

Cool. I plan to make copies of my own CD's too. I keep buying CD's lately. Wow. So many CD's. I haven't bought lots of CD's for a while and now I'm back at it again. I'm enjoying my "new" old music. Most of the CD's I buy are older. With all these CD's, its hard to arrange things and so I think CDR's would be cool. MP3's are great for portable audio and compilations.

 

[TimG]

Ok, sorry I haven't gotten back about the player. I started to rearrange the rack to try and fit this big bastard in, and low and behold my wife goes into labor. We had our second son on the 15th and things have been a little hectic lately . Keith is right in that there is no coax out, only optical, (which is typical Sony). I don't have any mp3's so I can't test with them, but hopefully I will have time this coming weekend to put it through its paces. If you think waiting for equipment to be delivered is bad, try having it in your house and not having time to use it, man it is killing me.
TimG

 

[Steve K.H.]

*bump*

I'm in the market for the same thing... I'm going to share it with the kids, (into an H/K 520)... and need to separate my rock from their's...

I've toyed with streaming off of the PC, but I think so long as it plays CD-R's I'll be fine.

 

[David Head]

The MP3 feature didn't interest me, so I've decided to get the 'CX355. I wanted the "Delete Bank" feature that is available on the 'CX355, but not on the 'CX455. The 'CX455 has a different Custom File option called "Artist File" which allows up to 200 artist names, with up to 20 characters each, to be entered into memory. I rather be able to exclude all the songs I don't like from all the CDs.

I have more than 400 CDs, so I'm getting two of the 'CX355 and and will connect them together. Does anyone know what type of cable to use to connect the Control A1-II jack of one changer to the other?

David

 

[Steve K.H.]

Re: CDPCX355 & CDPCX455

I'm looking at each of these as well... BTW, both have delete bank according to the Sony Style website.

Other than 100 CD difference, and a suggestion that MP3's may be played on the 455 but not be played optically (Did Anyone Confirm This?), what are the key differences between the two?

 

[Jeff Engel]

The cable is just a simple mono 1/8" patch cable, the mini jack with a jack on each end. It's the same cable I use for my 12v trigger on my amps. I had my two jukeboxes linked like that and it was great, up until I ran out of room and converted them all to mp3 and now run them all from my computer. I don't know why more people are not talking about just putting your mp3's on the computer and hooking the pc up to the receiver. That's how I have mine setup and it's 100 times better than a jukebox, as long as we are talking mp3's here. I got a 120gb hard drive to hold them all(about 150 dollars or so, I've had it a while and don't remeber) then I use stereo mini jacks to connect it to my receiver. These cables cost me about 35 dollars because I had to run them about 75 ft to my receiver. This is the analog solution. To go digital you can get the SoundBlaster Audigy Platinum that has optical output and connect it digitaly to your recevier. My buddy did this and says it's great. I've got all my cds stuck in the closet for now and I run about 10000 mp3's in random mode using winamp. All my mp3's are encoded at 128 or higher and neither my wife nor I can tell the difference from the origianl source. This is the ONLY way I will have music now. I get to listen to some of the more obscure songs more often because of the random play and songs I don't like don't get added to the playlist.

As a side note, if you are concerned about cd quality sound from an mp3 don't rip them as mp3's. Leave them in their orignal wav or .wma file structure from the cd, I forget which it is. But you don't have to compress the file into an mp3. It will mak a larger file but with a big enough hard drive you can fit them all in. This will ensure you retain the exact digital signature of the music and allow you to store a bunch of music on your hard drive. you don't even have to 'rip' the cd, just explore the cd and copy the files off of it.

In addition you can buy the Harmon Cardon bridge for 150 dollars and use the usb port to keep your signal digital if you have to run the cable along ways and don't want to buy a long optical cable. I went the cheap way with the mini jack cable.

 

[David Head]

Steve,

Can you provide a link on the Sony Style site that shows the 'CX455 has Delete Bank? Every description I've read (including those online at Crutchfield and in person at Best Buy) don't list that as a feature.

Can anyone confirm if the 'CX455 has this or not?

Thanks for the info Jeff.

David

 

[KeithH]

David,

I too wonder if the 'CX455 has the Delete Bank feature. My Sony CDP-CX333ES 300-disc megachangers from two years ago don't have it, and other recent models haven't had it either. A 400-disc megachanger would have to have a good memory bank to make the Delete Bank feature useful. Finally, I have found a lot of misinformation on the Sony Style web site in the past. Perhaps they are wrong on the 'CX455 too.

Steve,

As far as I know, the only key differences between the 'CX355 are disc capacity and MP3 playback on the 'CX455.

 

[David Head]

Keith,

The 'CX400 had the Delete Bank feature, so it is possible. I assumed that the feature was dropped when MP3 was added since there could be a LOT more songs.

David

 

[KeithH]

David, I didn't know the 'CX400 had the Delete Bank feature. I guess Sony added it to the 400-disc models, which all came out the year after my 'CX333ES. How many tracks can the 'CX400 remember to delete?

 

[David Head]

Keith,

The detailed info on the 'CX450 at Crutchfield's site has been updated to say that it DOES have Delete Bank. This justs keeps getting more confusing!

I've never read what type of limit the Delete Bank funtion has on any of Sony's jukbox players, but it may not need much memory at all. It would be interesting to find out the details from a Sony rep.

Now that I know that the 'CX455 does seem to have the feature, I'll have to reconsider my plan to buy two 'CX355. I just want the player(s) for casual listening anyway. I'll continue to use the '555ES SACD player for critical listening.

David

 

[KeithH]

David, thanks for the information. If MP3 playback isn't important to you, perhaps the 'CX355 is enough? I use my 'CX333ES megachangers (two 300-disc units daisy-chained) for casual listening and better players, including a 'C555ES, for critical listening. I considered going with non-ES megachangers, but daisy-chaining requires use of the analog outputs, and I wanted to have the better DAC in the ES model. However, it is worth noting that when I bought the 'CX333ES megachangers, they were my best players. Still, I am glad to have the ES models now. They are very good as far as megachangers are concerned, and I like having the five-year ES warranty.

If you are considering daisy-chaining two megachangers, you might consider going with ES models. I know they cost a good bit more than the non-ES models, but it's worth considering. You should be able to get the 'M333ES or 'M555ES at a significant discount through Oade Bros., OneCall, or J&R Music World. I bought the 'CX333ES changers a month apart from J&R Music World for $400 each. The 'CX333ES retailed for $600, the same price as the current 'M333ES.

 

[BarbaraG]

I have a Sony CDP-CX455 which is 1 year plus 1 week old. It's worked perfectly for a year and this week started having a problem. It plays any CD for about 1 minute then stops. The player shows the cd playing, but no sound is heard. The radio and other things work, so it's not the receiver. Any ideas out there?