[bluesaint]

Or rather, if you can hear the difference with the next model up on your system, get it. If you dont' hear any difference, step down. I guess that would be the simplest analogy.

 

[meech]

understood.

knowing myself,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I'd rather wait until I could afford the used nites. I hate to buy something and then have to live with the fact that if I had just saved up a few more pennies I could have had the best. That's why I ended up getting the RS1/RA-1 combo. I was dead set on the 225s but I decided to wait an extra month and I'm glad I did. Regarding the PCs, I'll worry about hearing the difference later. At least I know that I have the best. Not to mention, who's to say that the hot-rod will be the last source for me.

According to what I've read,,,,,,,,,,,many people have said that the Nites were the Final PC for them.

I gotta tell you Markl, your review of the hot-rod was incredible. You completely sold me on this player. I've been looking around my apt for the last 4 days thinking "hmm,,,,,,,,,what can I sell to get the money for this cd player".
I'm guessing that you're still enjoying it.

 

[ZimBlabim]

I've been enjoying this thread a lot. markl, you're one heck of an audiophile journalist. Due to this discussion, I ended up getting a 222ES (my max budget), and hope to get it modded one of these days. Really enjoying it now. Much better than using my computer as a source. Plus the extra added bonus of actually getting away from the comp more often. Thanks

 

[markl]

Thanks meech and ZimBlabim for the kind words. I only go to this extreme with the stuff that really excites me (R10, Virtual Dynamics, Emmeline, etc.).
Quote:

I'm guessing that you're still enjoying it.

That's an understatement. I've been burning it in non-stop with a lot of SACDs and the player just keeps getting better.

I've finally exhausted most of my multi-tracked rock 'n roll (which I feel is the hardest material in my collection to "get right"), and I've been listening to a lot more mellow, less produced stuff.

Yesterday, for example, I treated myself to Joni Mitchell's "Blue", and I have to confess, I teared up, I was so unbelievably moved.

I was also surprised at how much new information the 555ES revealed about this recording I know so well. I was able to discern multi-tracking of her guitar which previously I had always pictured as a single guitar playing (it may actually be James Taylor's guitar as he plays on this album). I could literally "see" Joni singing privately for *me*, so intimate and close it was spooky. Her exsquisite guitar playing was even more moving than ever, and easier to "hear" in all it's subtle shadings. I was just so emotionally wiped out by that I had to take a break for the rest of the day.

I disagree with people who say that revealing, detailed, hi-rez systems are somehow automatically not "musical". I reject the idea that being close to the master tape, and wanting to hear the recording in its entirety, is somehow "analytical" and not "musical". What's "musical" about being unable to tell what the heck the singer is singing? What's "musical" about a collapsed soundstage. 2-D imaging, and flat cardboard cut-out sound? What's "musical" about losing all those tracks, sounds, instuments and voices that have been carefully layered into the recording for your musical enjoyment? You're *supposed* to be able to hear them, that's why they were recorded, that's how it is supposed to be heard by you the listener with everything intact. The 555ES is gifted in that it provides true resolution, it doesn't just jack up low-level detail to compete with the main musical flow, it keeps soft sounds soft, loud sounds loud, but it presents EVERYTHING effortlessly, coherently, and blah blah blah. Detail and pure resolution of the Hot Rod are amazing, but I mostly left those sort of words out of my review because of the negative connatations they carry for some.

Do you want the TRUTH? You can't HANDLE the truth!

That concludes my sermon for this evening.

Mark

 

[dd3mon]

This may be of some interest to those of you with CE775's or 222ES's - I was browsing sacdmods.com and I was comparing the mods done on the 222es, ce775 and 555es. The mods to the 222es and ce775 appear identical (except the optional power supply upgrade for the ce775 that brings up to the 222es level). The 555es mods however, have one major difference: the zap filter output stage. This is a very expensive part (in fact, all of the parts used in his mods are very costly, he charges far less for labor than I had previously assumed) - and I just wrote him an e-mail asking about the possibility of putting this output stage on a ce775 (the player I recently bought and will most likely have modded). I realize the other components in the 555es are most likely vastly superior to the ce775, but I also know there are similarities, and I was just wondering if doing a mod this extensive to the ce775 may yield results closer to the modded 555es.

I'll let you guys know what Matt says when he writes me back - I don't even know if he's experimented with this. It does seem a little bit crazy to put a zap filter in, when the part itself costs more than the whole stock unit (even at non-hugely discounted prices) - but it would be nice to know what the results would be.

-dd3mon

 

[sacd lover]

He has done this before; he told me about it. However, it wont all fit in the 775s case. He puts part of the circuitry in another case and connects it with an umbilical type cord to the power supply.

 

[dd3mon]

Quote:

Originally posted by sacd lover He has done this before; he told me about it. However, it wont all fit in the 775s case. He puts part of the circuitry in another case and connects it with an umbilical type cord to the power supply.

Wow - any word on the sound? As good as the 555? or not quite? It seems like the zap filter bypasses quite a bit of stock circuitry, I would not be surprised if it was nearly equal to a modded 555es.

Unfortunately it would still look like a 775 on the outside

-dd3mon

 

[sacd lover]

I would say not quite is most accurate. He didnt say much about this special 775 vs the 555, just that it was very good. He was obviously pleased with how well it did turn out though. Matt just did a rectifier mod on my monarchy sm 70 pro amp and its amazing the improvements he gets with his mods. He has a great ear for getting the sound right. Maybe its his exposure to his dads great analog rig through his formative years, but he knows good sound and how to get it.
I wasnt going to mention this because I didnt want people to dismiss Matts ability, but now that people have a clear indication of his talents and maturity, would you believe he is just 17 years old.

He started sacdmods when he was 16. Now I am waiting on Nightfalls comments for that decisive third opinion on the sacdmods 555es, and I bet it will be equally as positive as markls and mine.

 

[markl]

Quote:

I wasnt going to mention this because I didnt want people to dismiss Matts ability, but now that people have a clear indication of his talents and maturity, would you believe he is just 17 years old. He started sacdmods when he was 16.

Well, look at it this way-- the 555ES was probably assembled in the Far East by underpaid, exploited teenagers to begin with.

At least Matt is a DIY hobbyist and an audiophile, plus he actually *enjoys* his work!

Mark

 

[M_Anker]

Quote:

the 555ES was probably assembled in the Far East by underpaid, exploited teenagers to begin with.

It's made in Japan. I think that they have labor standards there. Now the remote control might be another story.

I do enjoy what I do. I started out by modifying SACD and CD players as DIY projects and then ended up having people wanting me to do it to their players after they heard what I had done. It ended up as a business after I got a little taste of money for doing these jobs.

I'm currently working toward an associate's degree in Electrical Engineering Technology at Muskingum Tech, and I'll be moving on to a 4 to 5 year BSEE degree upon completion of my senior year of high school.

 

[Nightfall]

Sorry for the delay in this, sometimes there simply arent enough hours in the day/week/month.
Here are my impression of the SCD-555ES Hot Rod from Matthew Anker and SACDmods. These are based upon eight days of listening to virtually every "favorite" cd that I own and every SACD. I wont even attempt a full blown review, given the superb job that markl did just a short time ago. Equipment associated with the mini-review is as follows:

Amplification - Cary SLI-80 Signature w/ Jensen Caps Upgrade
Other Sources - Philips 963SA
Headphones - Sony CD3000's, Beyer DT-931's
Interconnects - Voodoo Reference 1, IXOX Ixotica
Power Cables - Virtual Dynamics Power 3 (connected to the amp only)

Selected cd's used for review:

Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms (remastered)
Pat Metheny - One Quiet Night
Bruce Springsteen - The Rising
Dar Williams - Out There Live
William Ackerman - Hearing Voices
Jethro Tull - Songs From the Wood
Genesis - Selling England By The Pound (remastered)
Anonymous4 - Hildegarde Von Bingen - 11,000 Virgins
Sacred Treasures III - Choral Masterworks - Russia and Beyond
Arvo Part - Summa - Tapiola Sinfionetta/Kanterow
Sarah Brightman - Time To Say Goodbye
Peter Gabriel - Up (cd and SACD)
Peter Gabriel - So (cd and SACD)
The Rolling Stones - Hot Rocks (cd and SACD)
Yes - Fragile - (specially remastered anniversary edition)
Joe Jackson - Night Music, and the Joe Jackson Band Vol.4
Roseanne Cash - Rules Of Travel
Aimee Mann - Lost In Space (cd only trying to find SACD)


The SCD-555ES is a very solid, extremely well built unit. It is impressive in its dimensions, and particularily deep. Controls are extremely complete, and well featured excepting the unfortunate lack of a means to move back and forth within a cd track from the front panel. Everything else one could possibly want is available, and the AMS search knob is a perfect means of moving from track to any other track. The display shows all selections on a disc, current track total time, current track remaining time, and disc remaining time depending on your selection. Sony does this better than anyone, IMO. All in all, a very attractive, nearly perfectly designed player. One can see that it had no problem justifying its original price of $1800.00. Yes, I wish it was only a single play unit, by personal preference, but thats not Sony's fault, and your view regarding that may well be different.
The upgrade by SACD mods is invisible from any external viewpoint, excepting the IEC power socket upgrade that eliminates the stock cord and provides a means of connecting an upgraded custom power cord.
The unit functions flawlessly although I only use it in single disc mode. I've not bothered with multiple disc utilization. It does, as noted previously by SACD lover, emit a very slight "pop" or "click" when loading or changing a disc, courtesy of the zap filter. I find this completely inoffensive and barely notice it anymore.
I had been using the Philips 963SA as my cd player for the past six months. I have been an openly vocal champion of that unit as a steal for anywhere close to the price, even simply judged as a redbook cd player. I have not heard anything in the $1000.00 range that I feel betters it in overall redbook playback quality. Its midrange presentation and the upper frequency palette are exceptional and the bass is solid, if a bit "polite".
I purchased the 555ES from Soundseller.com and had them ship it directly to Matthew Anker at SACD mods to be upgraded. Upon receipt of the unit from Matthew (thanks again for the outstanding turn around time) I immediately immersed myself in listening to a great selection of redbook cds, and some SACD's, with the most significant ones, in terms of evaluation, listed above.
I was instantly struck by how much more "musical" the 555 was. As I said, I found the 963 to be an excellent, and justifiably well regarded player, but the depth, presence, and overall sonic presentation of the modded 555ES simply destroyed it in comparison. The modded 555ES is simply in a completely different league. The bass reproduction, slam, impact, dynamics and overall definition is just astonishing given what it costs. Every well recorded cd that I listened to had greater detail, sounded fuller and richer, and showed significant gains in palpable solidity, and accuracy of detail. I could hear the resonance of strings, the bows passing over them, the slightest change in direction as though someone was performing directly in front of my seat. The soundstage was also notably larger, deeper and more natural.
When listening to acoustic guitar, the depth of sound, the striking of fingers that formed each note was so distinct, and the more fluid passages of sound actually shimmered with this magical quality that was, at times, simply stunning.
Notes from electric guitars and electrified flutes (ala Ian Anderson) seemed to almost fire across the soundstage, and hard struck drums left me almost shocked by the speed and definition, and indivdualized impacts. Several extended passages of bass sequences, by the brilliant Chris Squire on the Yes, Fragile cd, had a vibrancy, life and speed of attack that I have not heard before on any system.
Choral hymns, both in groups, or invidually, acapella voiced were more resonant, striking and believable than I had experienced previously on those recordings.
On almost every cd, I heard subtle details, additional sonics and depth I had not heard in all the time I have owned them, either as cds, or previously in lp versions.
While previously, I had felt a well recorded, and mastered SACD to be a significant leap forward from redbook cd's, this player has brought the gap much, much closer. I never expected to hear myself say that. As an SACD player, the 555ES is much better than my 9000ES, far better than the Philips, and only the SCD-1 (if memory serves me correctly from listening to some of the same cds) has sounded better to me out of everything I've auditioned.
The SACDmods - 555ES is a player of staggering quality and exceeds anything I have heard under $2500.00 and a number of those above that price point.
I have been seriously and commitedly involved in quality audio since I built a Dynaco integrated amplifier in my freshman year of college, in 1973, and worked weekends and nights to purchase a pair of used, original Advent speakers. Given all my time in the pursuit of of this goal, the increase of cd reproduction quality I experienced with this player was of an order of magnitude that was unexpected.
I am finally hearing everything the Cary amp has to offer, and I was missing a LOT! My extended listening sessions have been so pleasurable, so enriching, so beguiling that I've been significantly short on sleep nearly every night since I recieved the player. Now THATS a serious recommendation.
As I sit here now, pondering how to close these comments, I am listening to the wonderful new Roseanne Cash cd, "Rules Of Travel". Specifically, the deeply moving song in which she alternates singing with her dad, the legendary Johnny Cash, "September When It Comes". This is a song of a very old man, one whose greatness and time haslong since passed, and finds himself, knowingly and unapologetically, very near the end and ready for its coming. His voice is singing

"I plan to crawl outside these walls
Close my eyes and see
Fall into the heart and arms
of those who wait for me

I cannot move a mountain now
I can no longer run
I cannot be who I was then
in a way I never was"

This was a very touching song when I listened to it, many times, on the 963SA. With the hot rodded SCD-555ES, I am literally feeling every inflection, every slight breath intake between phrases, the very presence of him next to me, so close its as if the words are pouring from him directly into into me. So pure in sound that I can almost forget this is a recording.
While the Cary SLI-80, and the CD3000's were very good with the Philips player, it never came close to approaching this.
Thank you, sacd lover for first bringing this modded player to my attention those months ago. Thank you, markl for seconding that with your experiences, and finding the new units still available for sale. Due to both of you, and trusting my earlier instincts I was able to realize that this was indeed the best course of action in securing a top flight cd player and take the steps to make it happen. Thank you also, Matthew Anker and SACDmods for taking it to this level of excellence with your superb modifications at what seems, now, a bargain price. Nuff said.



JC

 

[markl]

Great review Nightfall! Thanks for taking the time to write down your thoughts, it's clear from the way you express yourself you feel as passionately about this player as I do. I certainly agreed with everything you said, especially regarding the player's "musicality" and ability to involve the listener in an emotional way.
Quote:

While previously, I had felt a well recorded, and mastered SACD to be a significant leap forward from redbook cd's, this player has brought the gap much, much closer. I never expected to hear myself say that.

Totally agreed. As you say, this is not a slam on how the player handles SACD, rather it's an amazing compliment as to how well it plays Redbook CDs. I have a lot invested in my CD collection, particularly in recently remastered material. Now I no longer feel the rush to replace them with SACD versions should they come out.
Quote:

This was a very touching song when I listened to it, many times, on the 963SA. With the hot rodded SCD-555ES, I am literally feeling every inflection, every slight breath intake between phrases, the very presence of him next to me, so close its as if the words are pouring from him directly into into me. So pure in sound that I can almost forget this is a recording.

Yes! It's amazing how much being able to discern all of those small subtleties in singing voices really adds to the sentiment of the song, adds layers to the meaning of what is being sung. I know just what you mean.

Congrats, and thanks again for the review. Cheers.

Mark
(P.S. Love that new Joe Jackson too!)

 

[sacd lover]

Spot on impressions Nightfall, but you expressd them much more eloquently than I did. I think your description is the best I have read regarding the 555es musicality. I hope some lucky head-fier gets that sacdmods 555es thats currently for sale on audigon.

 

[markl]

No way!!!!!! I ccan't believe someone is parting with it. It says he's getting an SCD-1 that he will get upgraded. Well, I suppose a SCD-1 Hot Rod will beat a 555ES Hot Rod.

Here's the link: http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/auc....lay&1058578706

Can't vouch for this seller personally, but he appears to have a lot of feedback. I've got it bookmarked so I can see how much it ultimately goes for. Good luck, auction ends on Friday!

Mark

 

[dd3mon]

SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH - sigh, I was keeping this as my little secret. There are 3 555es's on audiogon, one is an auction and it's modded. But now that the whole world knows this, my chances of affording this player have gone to zero

-dd3mon