Sony DVP-NC555ES SACD/CD playback questions

I recently found this player at a local B/M for $300. Last year I purchased the NS875V dvd/sacd player and use it for sacd playback. My questions are regarding the cd & sacd playback of the 555es. How does the sacd playback compare between these two models?

I currently use an early 90's model CDP-C79ES for all my cd playback and I am very satisfied with the results. How would the cd playback of the 555ES compare to the 79ES?

I would really like to get down to one player that fulfills all of my needs, but I have been a little leary of the dvd/cd/sacd combinations as they can suffer from poor audio quality.

Any comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Mike

 

Mike, Do a search of the hardware forum for DVP-NC555ES, I did so and 8 threads came up that mention DVP-NC555ES.

 

Great question. I bought the 'NC555ES about six weeks ago for $300 at Tweeter, but I bought it primarily for movies. Since I have other CD and SACD players, I haven't used the 'NC555ES for anything but DVDs yet. I haven't even connected it to my stereo system. I would be curious to hear what others have to say about its audio performance. All I can say is that the video quality and construction are excellent.

 

Tony & Keith,

Thanks for the replies. I did search the hardware forum, but I did not see any info on the audio quality of this player. Like I mentioned, I have the NC875V dvd player and the video is very good. I can only assume that the NC555ES will be much better with a 12bit/216mhz processor.

Tweeter has several of these players for $300. If I can get down to one unit that meets all my needs, it would be great. I guess that I am going to have to audition the cd & sacd playback of the unit.

Keith, have you had an opportunity to play a cd through this unit? I would be curious to see how it stands up to the 555ES & 222ES sacd players of the past. I recall that they had a nice sound for redbook. A little bright on some selections, but then again so are most of Sony's players.

Thanks again for the replies.

Mike

 

Anyone have a comment on the sound quality of this player? I'm thinking of getting this as my SACD player. I also looked at the other threads, and not much is said about the sound. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

Matthew, Please fill out your equipment in your profile, it makes it easier to give advice. Let me first say that I have a very strong bias towards Sony ES SACD products. Sony ES is not Sony, but a real improvement over Sony. I own a Sony DVP-S9000 ES and a Sony SCD-1. I used the 9000 as my SACD player until I got the SCD-1 (now I use the 9000 as my DVD player). IMHO all Sony ES SACD player give outstanding SACD performance. I have only heard one single unit player that produced better SACD performance than my SCD-1 and that was a single unit player from DCS that runs around $14K.

As to Redbook CD performance, again in IMHO, I find that Sony ES SACD players give good to very good CD performance. There are dedicated CD players that due a better job on CD than Sony ES SACD players, however, if you are like me once you hear SACD you are not going to want to listen to a lot of CD's anymore. This last point of view is controversial and you will find the opposite opinion amongst some of our forum members.

 

Thanks for the reply, my system is being mailed to me from storage (moved over the summer), so my memory isn't that good on things but I think its: NAD C320BEE Stereo Integrated Amplifier, NAD C521BEE CD Player, and Dynaudio Audience 52 speakers. Maybe it is a good idea to fill out the system for my profile

 

Matthew, My brother has a similar system, it has been a while since I heard it, but I would guess you will find the redbook CD on the 555 as good or better than the NAD and the SACD should sound great.

 

Well, with fingers croseed, I finally pulled the trigger and bought a Denon DVD-2910 Universal player, and I'm just hoping it all comes out okay. Thanks for the comments about the various players that I read on the different threads, they helped in a lot of ways.