Price Drop on the SCD-C222ES? (1 Viewer)

[James Elvick]

Hello All,

I was at Good Guys yesterday and saw the 222es for 499.95! Was this a mistake or has Sony started dropping prices again? I really want the 555ES but this at < than $500 this might be the ticket!

Thanks

James

 

[JaleelK]

I was at Good Guys yesterday and saw the 222es for 499.95! Was this a mistake or has Sony started dropping prices again? I really want the 555ES but this at < than $500 this might be the ticket!

If you are going to buy any of those players, I suggest you purchase the SCDCE775(now around $200.),save yourself $300-500 by not buying the 222ES or 555ES. Those three player are basically the same players, they sound indistinguisble to me, however that is my sighted listening evaluation. Unless you are in love with the "ES" brand name and all the market mumbjo jumbo Sony throws at consumers about their ES line, in my opinon, you would make a more sensible choice with CE755 and use your savings on software.

 

[Michael_T]

The CE775 is definitely worth spending $200 on, as I used to have one in my system until I upgraded to the XA777ES. But, Jaleel, one point you make misses the mark regarding ES products, aside from the fact that they are generally more well built, is the 5 year warranty on ES products.

It has been said that the 222ES and the CE775 might be closer in overall quality than one might think, even though one is an ES product and the other is not, but I would suspect that the 555ES is a superior player. It has better internal parts, from those things I have read, and is probably closer to the XA777ES in overall quality than either the CE775 or 222ES could ever be.

That said, if I was looking for an inexpensive CD/SACD player you can't go wrong with the CE775.

 

[Rachael B]

James, that's more or less what Oade Brothers has been selling the 222 for, $525 including shipping. So with sales tax I presume that's about how you'd come out.

Jaleel, you can be certain that the 775's analog outputs are mediocre for red book CD's. I bought the 555 and I can put a mixed bag of SACD's and CD's in and push shuffle and everything sounds good out of the analog outputs. Be certain that Captin Keith will land here and offer a well-qualified opinion since he has a bunch of SACD players including the 775. The 775 proably sounds OK for CD's out it's optical output into better DAC's. I'm overjoyed with my 555! Best wishes!

 

[Matt Heebner]

As a side note to Rachael's post, does anyone know about how good the DAC is in a Sony DB930? I own the 775 (which I love!), but was wondering if I should use the players DAC or the 930's DAC via optical cable for regular CD's.

Thanks

Matt

btw... The SACD of Stevie Ray Vaughn's Couldn't Stand The Weather is jaw droppingly awesome. I actually laughed to myself at how great it sounds. One of the better purchases ( the 775) I've made in a while!

 

[JaleelK]

It has better internal parts, from those things I have read, and is probably closer to the XA777ES in overall quality than either the CE775 or 222ES could ever be.

Its not about better internal parts, its sound performance and if you were asked to distinguish between the CE755 and XA777ES, in level matched double listening test, could you? And if you could, how much of a real difference would it be between both players, I suspect very little if any detectable sonic differences between the two. As far a 5 year warranty, thats a positive thing,however you probably wouldn't own that machine any where near five years.

 

[Mike Matheson]

Good thing this isn't the Improvements/Tweaks forum, or them would be fightin' words. . .

 

[Jack Gilvey]

btw... The SACD of Stevie Ray Vaughn's Couldn't Stand The Weather is jaw droppingly awesome. I actually laughed to myself at how great it sounds.

Texas Flood is great also..although I suspect you know that. It's not often we're blessed with such sublime music delivered with such great sound...if I hear another well-recorded cocktail-lounge singer I'll puke.

 

[Evan S]

you probably wouldn't own that machine any where near five years.

That's a VERY tough blanket statement to make Jaleel. I have a Yamaha CDP-91 that I purchased in 1992 that still gets quite a bit of play around my house and I DID purchase my 555ES in December with a lot of weight put into the fact it has a 5 year warranty. I do plan to have this player in some kind of system for that full duration. It may not be my main system, but it will be kicking around here somewhere, so for a lot of people the ES warranty is a huge factor as to which Sony SACD player they purchase.

 

[Yohan Pamudji]

Hey, JaleelK, you figured out how to use the quote feature! Congrats!
But back to the initial topic, Oade Brothers was selling the C222ES much cheaper than most other retailers. So this price slashing could mean that Oade Brothers will follow suit and lower their price on it as well!

 

[JaleelK]

Good thing this isn't the Improvements/Tweaks forum, or them would be fightin' words. . .

Where's that forum? I heard that placing Tarot cards on you CD player will make it sound better.

 

[JaleelK]

That's a VERY tough blanket statement to make Jaleel. I have a Yamaha CDP-91 that I purchased in 1992 that still gets quite a bit of play around my house and I DID purchase my 555ES in December with a lot of weight put into the fact it has a 5 year warranty. I do plan to have this player in some kind of system for that full duration. It may not be my main system, but it will be kicking around here somewhere, so for a lot of people the ES warranty is a huge factor as to which Sony SACD player they purchase.

If that is truly the case, wouldn't you seek that kind of warranty on all the components you purchase?

 

[Evan S]

If that is truly the case, wouldn't you seek that kind of warranty on all the components you purchase?

Of course you would. But how many manufacturers offer 5 year warranties? I am not an expert on this subject so I cannot claim who is good in this area and who isn't, but if I have a choice of two units that are very similar in price and performance and one comes with a warranty that is 2-3 years longer than the other, guess which one I'm going to choose?

 

[DougO]

Where's that forum? I heard that placing Tarot cards on you CD player will make it sound better.

Yes! I've been using Tarot cards for years now with much smoother playback -- it seems to add a mystical quality to the music.

 

[KeithH]

Jaleel said:

If you are going to buy any of those players, I suggest you purchase the SCDCE775(now around $200.),save yourself $300-500 by not buying the 222ES or 555ES. Those three player are basically the same players, they sound indistinguisble to me, however that is my sighted listening evaluation. Unless you are in love with the "ES" brand name and all the market mumbjo jumbo Sony throws at consumers about their ES line, in my opinon, you would make a more sensible choice with CE755 and use your savings on software.

Give me a break. I suppose if you connected a 'CE775 and 'C555ES to a $200 shelf system, you wouldn't hear a difference. However, if you were listening on even a mid-fi system, the difference would be obvious. I have compared the two in Tweeter on moderately priced B&K and Vienna Acoustics gear, and the difference was obvious, both with CDs and SACDs.
I know you feel that audio manufacturers are selling snake oil with different CD and SACD players, but you just don't get it. To say that the 'CE775 and 'C555ES sound the same is ludicrous. To say that the 'CE775 and 'XA777ES sound the same is downright wrong. You really think that people are so stupid that they would spend $2000 on a player if a $200 player sounded just as good? In my main stereo system, the difference in going from a 'C555ES to a '777ES (not 'XA777ES) is noticeable, and the difference between the 'CE775 and 'XA777ES will jump out at you. Of course, you have to be objective about this sort of thing. You can't go in with a predisposition that the players will sound the same and with your ears covered.
Jaleel, if you honestly cannot hear the difference between a 'CE775 and 'C555ES, then you need to use better equipment (i.e., "real" equipment) or have your hearing checked. Your statements are simply ridiculous.
All,
J&R Music World is now selling the 'C222ES for $380. I just bought a 'CE775 from them for my second system for $200, but I am going to exchange it for the 'C222ES. For just $180 more, the better build quality and the five-year warranty offered by the 'C222ES make the switch a no-brainer for me. The 'C222ES to be the better sounding player, especially with CDs.

 

[David Judah]

Keith,
I had the 222ES for a week and just upgraded to the 555ES for the same price, since the price drop(hey, why not, right?).
You will appreciate the better build quality on the 222 over the 775. That'll be one hell of a player for a second system. Hell, IMO, it was one hell of a player for a first system.
DJ

 

[KeithH]

David, I know the 'C222ES will be something else for a second system. I already have a 'C333ES in there, which is a great player. As you may recall, I bought the 'CE775 for the second system because I had a problem playing the Mary Chapin Carpenter multi-channel SACD on the 'C333ES (static). The 'C333ES is known to have occasional problems with certain multi-channel SACDs. One time with the static problem on the 'C333ES was too much for me to deal with, so I bought the 'CE775. However, I really wanted an ES unit for the better performance, build quality, and warranty. I just wasn't going to spend $525+ for the 'C222ES when I already had the 'C333ES. I can swing $380 for the 'C222ES, however. The 'C222ES is a good enough player that I could probably part with the 'C333ES, but I wouldn't get much for it now. I still love the build quality of the 'C333ES anyway (just like the 'C555ES).

 

[Jerry Klawiter]

Having the C222 since Dec 2001,
It's a great unit, just a bit loud
during the cd change,
Now priced at $380.
It's time for a second one in system two.
Thanks for the $380. lead.

 

[ReggieW]

Can anyone pleased comment on the SACD/Redbook CD sound quality on the 222es compared to its more expensive counterpart the 555es? I would like to know if the 555es is now worth twice the money of the 222? I think with the 180.00 price drop on the 222, it will probably be the one to get. If the sonic differences aren't that apparent, then the 222 is a no brainer for 380.00.

Thanks,

Reg

 

[KeithH]

Reggie, I compared the two players at Tweeter awhile back and felt the 'C555ES was the better player, both with CDs and SACDs. As a result, I went with the 'C555ES for multi-channel SACD in my home-theater system and as my CD and stereo SACD changer in my main stereo system. However, the 'C222ES is an excellent value at $380. The 'C555ES is better in my opinion, but the 'C222ES is quite good. Sony's SACD players are all good at their respective price points.