Sony DVP-NS755V vs. C555ES

Sydney's Dad

I currently have a DVP-NS755 that I bought used for $150 and am thinking about upgrading to the Sony C555ES SACD player. Is the $500-700 worth the extra expense? Can the expense be justified other than to say I have a 25 lb cd player. Can you hear the difference or would money be better spent on a nice used amp?

dorokusai

It is certainly quite a jump in price bracket, and I have not heard any lesser Sony SACD players to personally say yes or no.

The 555ES build quality is much better, upgraded SACD DAC, and separate transformers for the signal path....plus some other Sony menu items. There will be a number of performance figure changes(i.e. distortion, dynamic range, etc) that will be different, but that would be attributed to the DAC.

I would stick with what you have.

LuSh

I personally recommend source above all other things. The 555es should be light years ahead of your other sony, more so on the normal RED book cd. There are a number of factors, better power supply, DAC's, dampening....


It's hilarious the amount of people that throw money into AMPS because of the "wattage" factor not realizing they are using a HORRIBLE source. Sony CD players on average are TERRIBLE. Total gash, I've owned one. The ES line is much much better. The first thing you'll noticed is RED BOOK CD performance, then SACD performance.

Sydney's Dad

Any other opinions?

shack

I tend to lean with lush on this one. The 555 is way ahead of the 755. The question becomes how important is quality of the sound to you. Redbook performance of the 555 is considerably better than the 755. SACD will be improved but not as much as redbook. If you can afford it and if you if you are willing to pay for the improvement in sound quality, build quality, etc...I'd say go for the upgrade. Just my .02.

Sydney's Dad

My CD collection is quite extensive. Sounds like it would be money well spent to pick the additional sound qualities that the 555 offers.

Not familar with the term "redbook". Is that the standard or something like that?

dorokusai

Redbook is a regular store bought CD.

I said that you should stay based on your previous search for more power in other threads. You have to figure out what is a priority for you, and go with it. Also, you are adding another piece of gear to a setup that is allready capable of playing SACD's...why not just get the 999ES? I have seen them for <850. It uses the same DACS.

I certainly would have suggested the upgrade, if you hadn't been all over the board with this or that....spend that money honcho.

F1nut

Just get a used XA777ES, cost you about $1500.00. Better SACD and CD playback. Yes, it's a single well, but it's kinda fun to get up and change discs.

Other than that, get the 555ES, it's a very good player.

Sydney's Dad

Originally posted by dorokusai
Redbook is a regular store bought CD.

I said that you should stay based on your previous search for more power in other threads. You have to figure out what is a priority for you, and go with it. Also, you are adding another piece of gear to a setup that is allready capable of playing SACD's...why not just get the 999ES? I have seen them for <850. It uses the same DACS.

I certainly would have suggested the upgrade, if you hadn't been all over the board with this or that....spend that money honcho.

I've sold 5 pair of speakers so I have a few bucks to spend on my main system. I'm selling off other componets from the other two systems that I have so I can have one really nice setup. I do appreciate the opinions of the group since I have had little exposure at putting something really nice together.

I have two components that I won't sell that being the AVR 777 and the Rti150's. Everything else is expendable and my $$$ is limited to what I can make off my used equipment.

That being said I'm leaning towards a nice cd/sacd player that must be multiple disc since I can see myself getting rid if a couple of the cd players I currently own.

I guess I could use the 755 to watch dvd and the 555 for cd's and sacds.

At this point quality is more important than increase db's

Does that help narrow my search for adding a quality component.

Thanks for the help.

F1nut

Sean,

WTF have you been smoking???

scottvamp

You do limit yourself by only buying Sony Electronics - rare breed you guys are.
My only two favorite Sony items - CD Walkman and PS2. HomeTheater and Home Audio, I'll pass. IMHO lol

dorokusai

ATC - That whole comment is so far from left field its unreal

SD - Yea, that does narrow it up a bit.

I think the 555ES is an excellent choice....you should buy it...based on your new information. Its a good buy, shop around and get it as cheap as possible...authorized dealer means nothing with Sony.

Are you planning on staying predominately Sony? If not, great, but that makes the field much larger for discussion. I am a Sony nut, and can only speak volumes for that brand...you will have to get some input form the resident members as to other brand recommendations. I have absorbed what I have read about about other brands, here and in many other forums and articles.

If you pick up the aforementioned unit, your main system will be getting strong. You are setup in AVR, Sub and Mains...for lack of recalling what the rest of it is. The 555ES will square you away in the SACD, Multi-Channel area....but unfortunately the 999ES, TOTL DVD for Sony is not that great. You may be forced, like me, to rotate into the Denon, for error free video playback.

The 999ES has known bugs, and they, to this date have not been fixed. In that case, stick with the DVD unit you own currently.

Scott - You are also in another arena of audio. Sony does not make many alternates to your current choices, so how could it be an option?

Sydney's Dad

Originally posted by scottvamp
You do limit yourself by only buying Sony Electronics - rare breed you guys are.
My only two favorite Sony items - CD Walkman and PS2. HomeTheater and Home Audio, I'll pass. IMHO lol

I tried Dennon products, but all they did was break. Sony ES has never let me down in over 20 years. Come to think of it I've never had a bad experience with a Sony purchase.

I'm the same way with automobiles. We only buy Honda products.

Sydney's Dad

Is $549 a good price on a new C555 from a local authorized dealer .

F1nut

That's the 555ES SACD player? If so, yes that's a great price.

dorokusai

Yes, good price.

Sydney's Dad

Just listed my Sony 200 disc dvd/cd player on ebay. Hope to pick up the SCD-C555es early this week.

Thanks for your help.

-PM

Sydney's Dad

Went to pick up my C555ES yesterday and the local dealer could not locate it. What a joke! Gives me a great price and when I get there it is nowhere to be found.

Might be better off getting an all in one player and keeping the 200 disc player for back up and parties.

Based on my past experience Denon is not what I had in mind so l guess that leaves Pioneer Elite or Onkyo. Any thoughts?

F1nut

See if these guys can't help you out. They are on the up and up.

http://www.oade.com/Home_theater/Sacd/scdc555es.html

shack

Sorry, but Oade does not have the SCD-C555ES or even the SCD-C222ES. I was looking for a SCD-C555ES and they did not have any SACD/CD only changers and would not be getting any more. I was looking to upgrade to the C555ES and they said the only thing that would be available from Sony would be the DVD/CD/SACD players (except for the SCD-XA9000ES). They have a lot of stuff on their web site that they don't have/can't get anymore. You will probably have to buy used to get a SCD-C555ES.

F1nut

Alright, I didn't think Sony made the 555ES anymore, but thought Oade was worth a shot. My suggestion then would be to check www.audiogon.com daily as they sell as fast as they list.

Sydney's Dad

Still looking for the 555

LuSh

Save yourself some money and get the new NAD BEE cd player, it will blow away the sony stuff....at a fraction of the price. SACD and DVD audio are fads...I've been there done it.

shack

Originally posted by LuSh
Save yourself some money and get the new NAD BEE cd player, it will blow away the sony stuff....at a fraction of the price.

I assume you've heard both? I have. I almost bought the NAD 521BEE but ended up with a good deal on a used CA D500SE. So I think the NAD is a good CDP...but not as good as the SCD-C555ES. SACD performance is obvious, but redbook was much better too. In fact I would not have even considered the NAD if I could have found a new C555ES.

Sony CD players on average are TERRIBLE. Total gash, I've owned one.

I've got three right now. The CA replaced one that I've owned for over 11 years (Still works fine...just moving it to my office). Plus I've got 2 SACD/CD changers. All are fine units. Too bad the market is moving away from CD only players to DVD/CD/MP3/etc do it all machines. NAD makes some nice gear too. I would like to hear a NAD SACD CDP. My guess it would be pretty good.

SACD and DVD audio are fads...I've been there done it.

Thanks for sharing...I'll list all of my SACDs on E-bay before the bottom drops out and I'm stuck with them.

F1nut

Since we can't compare the NAD C521BEE and the Sony C555ES on this forum other than the specs, I'll list a few.

NAD:

DAC - 20 bit
Freq. Response - 5Hz - 20kHz
THD - 0.0035%
Dynamic Range - 96dB
Channel Seperation
@1kHz - >110dB
@10kHz - >80dB
Weight - 9lbs.

Sony:

DAC - 24 bit
Freq. Response - 5Hz - 20kHz
THD - 0.002% CD
THD - 0.0015% SACD
Dynamic Range - 99dBD CD
Dynamic Range - 105dB SACD
Channel Seperation
@1kHz - 108dB decreasing to only 95dB at 20kHz
Weight - 24lbs.
Stereophile Class A+ rated

On CD specs alone, I'd have to pick the Sony. Add the benefits of SACD playback and it's the clear winner.

SACD a fad??? I don't think so......:rolleyes: Maybe NAD thinks so because they don't make a SACD player. I'm not saying the NAD is a bad CD player, but one can do much better.

What SACD player have you owned, Lush? Why didn't you like the format?

Sydney's Dad

Well the C555ES is on its way. Found a new one for $650 in Canada. Can't wait for it to arrive. Should be here in about 7-10 days.

dorokusai

Glad to hear that you have made a decision, and you are awaiting some nice gear. Have fun, let us know what you think about its performance.

LuSh

I've owned the Sony CE775 SACD changer (http://www.audio-ideas.com/reviews/digital-sources/sony-scd-775-sacd.html). I have heard both players but not on the same speakers and amp. I'm curious Shack, did you have both players present and hooked up to the same gear? I had that luxuary when I bought my cd player. I had two NAD cd players vs the Sony. Same amp and Monitor Audio speakers. There was no comparison. The bass, imaging, dynamics and detail of the two NAD's were far superior on the source hungry UK speakers. I've also tested a Sony Multi Changer vs Harmon Kardons multi. Again, no comparison.

Spec's are laughable. The equipment used to measure spec's is about as dated as the LP. If everybody was to use spec's then alot of people would be buying into marketing rather then sound. There are hundreds of intangibles to alter specs. I realize the ES line is a much better player. DAC's, transport, wiring, etc...but for the price one would have to pay in order to get the entry level NAD redbook performance on an SACD version to me is simply not worth it.

I had the player for over a year. I owned 4 sacds. Two of which were bought not because I really wanted the tittles but only to satisfy my need to "hear" sacd. If you are into Jazz, classical music then sure, get it. I'm into rock. Untill I can buy CD's from Janes Addiction, Led Zepplin, The Beatles, Nirvana, or good electronic music like The Prodigy, Fatboyslim, Chemical brothers I'll take a pass. I rolled the dice with DVD and it paid off, within 2yrs of its release alot of major new release tittles were being brought out. It took longer for cataolgue tittles. A HUGE selection of todays new releases are not even offered on either formatt. Let alone older tittles.

Having finished my rant, the SACD performance was breath taking and left me wanting more, but then I realized not only couldn't I get more, but I probably wouldn't be able to get more for years. Not days, weeks, or months, but years. Pink Floyd's darkside of the moon and some Who's albums weren't enough for me to properly invest into a formatt.

I don't have all the answers, but I spent money on a formatt that is having trouble putting forth even 1/4 of todays newest releases, 1.5 years after its birth. SACD may one day live and thrive, but that day is not around the corner.

dorokusai

Lush would be a classic opponent of SACD, nothing at all wrong with that. That is an great counterpoint opinion to the format.

MY impression of Sydney's request was that he was allready into SACD, given the gear, and chose to move forward....so while a great comment, its lost on the buyer.

Sydney's Dad

I wanted a dedicated cd/sacd player that spins redbook and sacd's well, and is multi disc for around $600. My choices were very few. The Sony was the obvious choice for me. I'm confident the C555 will provide me decades of trouble free service if I so choose to keep it that long.

F1nut

While I respect your opinion of the NAD vs the Sony ES price point, why not spend a little more to get that next level of sound quality. After all, isn't that the whole idea....trying to get the best possible sound.

As I said, since we can't actually listen to these units on the forum, specs are the next best thing and since they are testing the same measurements (outdated or not) then it is a good way to judge what they may sound like. Of course, nothing beats the ears.

The bottom line is that you're comparing NAD vs non-Sony ES gear and he was talking about ES gear, so your original comment wasn't relevant.

Just for the hell of it, I counted my rock SACD's, 25 and counting. I have many others including jazz, blues and classical. There are actually many more rock SACD's to be had, but not my taste. I am with you about getting Led Zepplin and The Beatles on SACD, that would be great.

Final note, S's Dad we are expecting a full review.