[ILoveGrado]

I am just wondering if any of you have heard of this SACD Player. Is there anyone of you who had a chance to audition it at Bestbuy or Goodguys?

I haven't auditioned it...partly because I just know about this player a week ago, and the nearest store to me doesn't have them.

It costs $289.00 + s/h= $312.00 at http://www.broadwaycomputer.com
It also might be a good replacement for our aging Denon DCM-370.

 

[Magic77]

I had this SACD player for about 2 weeks,but returned it. Mostly because I do not like CD changers and prefer single disc players. Also, to be honest, I could not hear any real significant difference in sound between regular CD's and SACD's with this player. I bought 4 SACD's and they sounded good,but my regular CD's sounded just as good and some sounded even better than the SACD's.

It is a nice unit for the price,but it seems more suited for people that have a surround-sound/home theater setup,especially that it has the Multi-Channel inputs & outputs.

But,since I only listen with headphones it just wasn't the right choice for me.

I do beleive Sony has a DVD/CD/SACD single disc player that goes for $300. It only came out about 2 months ago.

 

[mc whak]

There is the Sony DVP-NS500V DVD/SACD player. www.videodirect.com sells them for $229 plus shipping (S+H is kinda expensive i.e. $20)

 

[MacDEF]

I've heard from lots of people that there is a big dropoff from Sony's ES SACD players to their non-ES models. I can't say that I personally know if it's true, but listening to an SACD on a 333ES was a revelation

 

[Vertigo-1]

I've had the 775 for a week thinking I could take a shortcut with sources, and ended up returning it to Circuit City. My 9000ES blows away the 775, and that NS500V for that matter, by a very far margin. Given that, if you want to consider getting into Sony's SACD players, the absolute lowest model you should consider is the 222ES, which is around $400.

 

[morphsci]

Well since better is very subjective I will not use terms like "sucks" or "blows it away". However I own two SACD players. The first is the Sony 333ES. This player is not made any more but has been replaced with 222ES recommended by Vertigo1. I cannot validly compare the sound of the two units since I only heard the 222 at a dealer (I did not think it sounded any better for sure). However, the build quality of the 222 is inferior to the 333. Therefore, given that I would suggest a used 333 rather than the 222 on build quality alone. I also own the DVP=NS500V. I bought it primarily as a DVD player with the secondary option of playing SACD's in the living room system. Let me state right away that the 500 does not sound as good as my 333 when compared to the 333 in the same system. However, the 500 is still very new and Sony SACD units are notorious for having a long burn-in time. I have noticed that both the bass extension and midrange fullness have improved steadily over the past two weeks on the 500. I guess the take-home message is to give whatever unit you buy a good burn-in and enough time in your system to fully evaluate it. However, my listening impressions to date make it seem unlikely that the 500 will ever sound as good as the 300ES, but it is getting "blown away" less and less over time. Overall I am happy with the 500 for the uses I bought it for.

 

[RickG]

Quote:

Originally posted by Magic77 I had this SACD player for about 2 weeks,but returned it. Mostly because I do not like CD changers and prefer single disc players.

I think it's great that we all have different taste and preferences. I bought the SCD-555ES instead of the SCD-777ES simply because I wanted a changer! I own a 775 which I use in my office and while it doesn't sound as good as the ES unit, I consider it a very decent entry level SACD player.

 

[ILoveGrado]

I never tried any SACD before. Man, I don't even know there's 222ES out there. I only know about 333ES...I got to subscribe to one of those Stereophile mags.

 

[dngl]

uh, no you don't. Stereophile is... limited in scope, to say the least.

Between here and AudioAsylum you can learn all that you need to.

 

[bootman]

Quote:

I've heard from lots of people that there is a big dropoff from Sony's ES SACD players to their non-ES models.

Unfortunately, that’s true of most of Sony's stuff.

 

[ILoveGrado]

Wow, I see.

umm...Vertigo, where can we buy a $400.00 Sony 222ES?
Man, y'all have helped me saving money, as well as spending it.

 

[kelly]

For that matter, how do the 222, 333 and 555 compare with each other and with the 9000ES?

Kelly

 

[Vertigo-1]

ILoveGrado, try checking www.oade.com.

kelly, there's VERY extensive info of that sort at audioasylum.com. I'm not going to even try regurgitating all the info that's on there regarding the different players and how they compare to each other. The only thing I can offer is that I did get to hear a 333ES for a good deal of time using my very own interconnects, RKV, and R10s, along with familiar CDs, and I found it thinner sounding than my 9000ES, which sounds more full, warm, detailed, and airy. Quite simply put, I'm even more happy with my 9000ES now, and am glad I skipped over the 333ES. I found myself not liking the 333ES, although I did hear the airiness and great bass that Sony ES equipment offers in the 333ES, directly comparing it to a Ah! Njoeb 2000. IMO the 9000ES is the perfect bridge between the entry level 333ES and the insanely priced SCD-1 which I also heard before and was very impressed by...both in sound and it's $4000 pricetag. Details I want, and details the SCD-1 gave me in droves, it was very shocking to discover how far into a CD I could hear with the SCD-1, noticeably farther than the 9000ES. I'd love to own that thing except its price makes it not even remotely feasible to me.

 

[RickG]

I was curious, so I checked with Oade today and they're selling the SCD-C222ES for $550.00 shipped. The 9000 and 555 are $900.00 shipped which is slightly up from what I paid for my 555 a few months ago. All are still way less than at other sources (see Crutchfield).

 

[Vertigo-1]

$550 now huh...guess they raised the price, now that the 333ES is totally out. I think it was back when they still had the 333ES that the 222ES was around $400-450.