meech
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2002
- Posts
- 622
- Likes
- 11
Hello to all.
I'll start by stating that I have only been into high end audio for
about 2 years and I have never written a review before. I just wanted to give my impressions on a player that was a major step up in my own system.
My modest system consist of the following:
Coincident Triumph Signatures(with upgrade Revelator tweeters)
Dared VP-300B SET monoblocks (7wpc)
Dared SL-2000A Pre-amp
Signal Cable Shotgun Bi-wire speaker cables
Signal Cable Analog 2 ICs with bullet plugs
Signal Cable Magic Power PCs
Monster HTS-2000 power conditioner
OLD Sony 400 disc changer,
and the STAR of the Show,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,the newly acquired Sony
SCD-C555ES.
Here's a pic.
1st of all, I've been using a really cheap Sony Mega changer as a
source for the last 5 years. This player is extremely bright. The highs would almost slice your brian in half. Unfortunately, I had lived with it for so long, I started to think that this is how cd's were supposed to sound. Also, something else that I hated was the 1 dimesional sound. None of the instruments had any focus or location,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,it was just one wall of sound. I had been introduced to high end sound at the Legend Audio room at the Home Entertainment Show in NYC 2 years ago. I was completely floored by what I heard. How the hell did these two small speakers that were 5 feet in front of me throw a stage of music 15 FEET in front of me. It was as if the musicians were in the wall, but each one had their own space. I was truly
amazed. I set out on a mission to one day accomplish duplicating what I heard that day. WORD TO THE WISE,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,START AT THE SOURCE! I bought everything else before I bought this new player but nothing gave me the improvement that the new cd player did.
Well, after letting the player warm up for about an hour, impatience got the best of me. I played one of my favorite disc "Norah Jones" on my old player to re-familiarize myself with the sound. I listened to "Come away with me" about 4 times. Her piano was very sharp. Her voice came from both the left speaker and the right speaker. Bass notes, although impactful, were kind of smeared. This was really obvious because Norah's band uses and upright bass which has really distinctive notes. If an upright
bass sounds smeared and conjested than something's wrong.
I switched over to the 555. Upon playing the same track, I was a little confused at first. After the first 10 seconds, I thought, "OH
CRAP,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,it's broken (I did buy it used from a pawn shop). The reason I thought it was broken was because the wall of sound that I'm used to hearing didn't have it's normal presence. It wasn't that the volume was lower, but the music wasn't coming from the speakers anymore. AND THEN IT HAPPENED,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Norah Jones appeared in front of me! She
started singing and I was blown away. Her voice was dead center, about 5 feet behind the speakers. Although there's a window a few feet behind the speakers, her voice was definately outside of the window. Instruments had there own space a few inches above the speaker. I started hearing some of the guitar riffs that I usually only hear through my RS1's. All of the instruments were a lot more coherant also. It sounded like it should,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,a group of musicians collectively making music. Oh yeah, by the way, the bass cleaned up in a major way. I started to hear distinctive bass notes that used to sound like one note. It was like hearing it for the first time. Yes, I'm well aware that there much better cd players out there but you have to remember what I'm coming from. I've been using a mega changer,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,HOW SAD!
I decided to switch musical genre. I grabbed my absolute favorite piece of classical music, 'Tschaikovsky Symphony NO. 5 by the NY Philharmonic & Leonard Berstein'. I know this piece of music like the back of my hand. The piece starts with an oboe solo that never sounded so real. This put a big smile on my face because you never know whether a new product is going to work in your system. By the time the string section kicked in, I was ALL TEETH! I think I finally figured out what the term "sweet highs" means. No matter how big the piece got, all of the instruments stayed in their section. With my old player, when the piece got busy, it was as if the entire orchestra got up and parted down the middle, while half went to the left and the other half to the right. That used to drive me crazy. Now, everyone stays seated and plays. Brass instruments aren't piercing anymore. They do have the sharpness that we expect from horns but not so much that it becomes irratating.
I also tried a little pop, rock and hip hop. I impressed all around. Although I wish that it had a little more bass impact, it is far better than my previous player. I will give some more impressions in a few days.
By the way, I'm having this player modded by SACDMODS in a few weeks. As goods as it sounds now, I can't imagine it sounding much better than this. I'm looking forward to it.
Thanks for reading.
I'll start by stating that I have only been into high end audio for
about 2 years and I have never written a review before. I just wanted to give my impressions on a player that was a major step up in my own system.
My modest system consist of the following:
Coincident Triumph Signatures(with upgrade Revelator tweeters)
Dared VP-300B SET monoblocks (7wpc)
Dared SL-2000A Pre-amp
Signal Cable Shotgun Bi-wire speaker cables
Signal Cable Analog 2 ICs with bullet plugs
Signal Cable Magic Power PCs
Monster HTS-2000 power conditioner
OLD Sony 400 disc changer,
and the STAR of the Show,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,the newly acquired Sony
SCD-C555ES.
Here's a pic.
1st of all, I've been using a really cheap Sony Mega changer as a
source for the last 5 years. This player is extremely bright. The highs would almost slice your brian in half. Unfortunately, I had lived with it for so long, I started to think that this is how cd's were supposed to sound. Also, something else that I hated was the 1 dimesional sound. None of the instruments had any focus or location,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,it was just one wall of sound. I had been introduced to high end sound at the Legend Audio room at the Home Entertainment Show in NYC 2 years ago. I was completely floored by what I heard. How the hell did these two small speakers that were 5 feet in front of me throw a stage of music 15 FEET in front of me. It was as if the musicians were in the wall, but each one had their own space. I was truly
amazed. I set out on a mission to one day accomplish duplicating what I heard that day. WORD TO THE WISE,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,START AT THE SOURCE! I bought everything else before I bought this new player but nothing gave me the improvement that the new cd player did.
Well, after letting the player warm up for about an hour, impatience got the best of me. I played one of my favorite disc "Norah Jones" on my old player to re-familiarize myself with the sound. I listened to "Come away with me" about 4 times. Her piano was very sharp. Her voice came from both the left speaker and the right speaker. Bass notes, although impactful, were kind of smeared. This was really obvious because Norah's band uses and upright bass which has really distinctive notes. If an upright
bass sounds smeared and conjested than something's wrong.
I switched over to the 555. Upon playing the same track, I was a little confused at first. After the first 10 seconds, I thought, "OH
CRAP,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,it's broken (I did buy it used from a pawn shop). The reason I thought it was broken was because the wall of sound that I'm used to hearing didn't have it's normal presence. It wasn't that the volume was lower, but the music wasn't coming from the speakers anymore. AND THEN IT HAPPENED,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Norah Jones appeared in front of me! She
started singing and I was blown away. Her voice was dead center, about 5 feet behind the speakers. Although there's a window a few feet behind the speakers, her voice was definately outside of the window. Instruments had there own space a few inches above the speaker. I started hearing some of the guitar riffs that I usually only hear through my RS1's. All of the instruments were a lot more coherant also. It sounded like it should,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,a group of musicians collectively making music. Oh yeah, by the way, the bass cleaned up in a major way. I started to hear distinctive bass notes that used to sound like one note. It was like hearing it for the first time. Yes, I'm well aware that there much better cd players out there but you have to remember what I'm coming from. I've been using a mega changer,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,HOW SAD!
I decided to switch musical genre. I grabbed my absolute favorite piece of classical music, 'Tschaikovsky Symphony NO. 5 by the NY Philharmonic & Leonard Berstein'. I know this piece of music like the back of my hand. The piece starts with an oboe solo that never sounded so real. This put a big smile on my face because you never know whether a new product is going to work in your system. By the time the string section kicked in, I was ALL TEETH! I think I finally figured out what the term "sweet highs" means. No matter how big the piece got, all of the instruments stayed in their section. With my old player, when the piece got busy, it was as if the entire orchestra got up and parted down the middle, while half went to the left and the other half to the right. That used to drive me crazy. Now, everyone stays seated and plays. Brass instruments aren't piercing anymore. They do have the sharpness that we expect from horns but not so much that it becomes irratating.
I also tried a little pop, rock and hip hop. I impressed all around. Although I wish that it had a little more bass impact, it is far better than my previous player. I will give some more impressions in a few days.
By the way, I'm having this player modded by SACDMODS in a few weeks. As goods as it sounds now, I can't imagine it sounding much better than this. I'm looking forward to it.
Thanks for reading.
