Sony cdp 555esd

[Ian Walker]

For sale is my Sony cdp 555esd.

Battle ship Sony player in very good/mint condition.

This uses the famous 1541 chip.

I bought this from a guy last year who had three of them for sale.

This one was boxed and didnt look like it had ever been used.

When i say battle ship i mean BATTLE SHIP..you just dont get cd players built like this any more.

All info you need can be found here http://www.thevintageknob.org/sony-CDP-555ESD.html

Comes complete with original box,remote and manual..it even has the original unused cleaning cloth:).

Would prefer the buyer to collect this as its too lovelly to risk in the post.

£300.

Ian.

[Barry]

If I hadn't just spent 10x that amount on a new amp, I would have snapped it up.

Good luck with the sale.

[Rare Bird]

One my fav Sony CDP's

[Wilbur]

Where is collection from :)

[simon g]

Whereabouts are you? Useful information if you prefer collection :)

[Rare Bird]

It's not hard chaps, the buisness link at the bottom states I A Walker .. phone code is Liverpool :eyebrows:

[simon g]

It's not hard chaps, the buisness link at the bottom states I A Walker .. phone code is Liverpool :eyebrows:

You may well be right, but how hard is it to include a proper location? Most people provide that information. The business may or may not be where the unit is located.

Surely it's easier to state where you are?

Frankly, this is the kind of response that annoys me about this place. I thought things might have got better, but I see that they haven't, so I'm off.

[Audio Al]

Frankly, this is the kind of response that annoys me about this place. I thought things might have got better, but I see that they haven't, so I'm off.

:eek::eek: Total of 31 posts in 16 months and you are gone for a second time :scratch:

[Rare Bird]

:lol:

[Ian Walker]

Sorry chaps what a daftee i am,cdp is located on the Wirral.

Ian.

[Beechwoods]

Frankly, this is the kind of response that annoys me about this place. I thought things might have got better, but I see that they haven't, so I'm off.

:eek: There can't be much going for this place if that's cause to cancel your subscription!

[DSJR]

The 555 was the sonic opposite of the Marantz CD94, having a brightly lit sound as compared to the beefy and sometimes cloudy sonics of the Marantz. Both can be updated though, as long as the lasers are ok still.

[Ian Walker]

Bump.

[Marco]

The 555 was the sonic opposite of the Marantz CD94, having a brightly lit sound as compared to the beefy and sometimes cloudy sonics of the Marantz. Both can be updated though, as long as the lasers are ok still.

There's nothing "brightly lit" about this one, matey - it just sounds fab! :)

The heavy-duty transport mechanism and massive PSUs give it a very 'grown-up' sound - the complete antithesis of many of the sterile and anaemic sounding 'plastic' players made today.

Someone should snap this Sony up ASAP, as they just don't make 'em like that anymore!

Marco.

[Ian Walker]

Still for sale this, come on chaps grab it before ebay.

Ian.

[Marco]

I thought Joe had nabbed it? :scratch:

Marco.

[Ian Walker]

No he decided not to...now sold though to Matt.

Ian.

[The Black Adder]

I just couldn't get up there unfortunately.

[Marco]

No worries, dude. As they say: all's well that ends well :)

Marco.

[DSJR]

There's nothing "brightly lit" about this one, matey - it just sounds fab! :)

The heavy-duty transport mechanism and massive PSUs give it a very 'grown-up' sound - the complete antithesis of many of the sterile and anaemic sounding 'plastic' players made today.

Someone should snap this Sony up ASAP, as they just don't make 'em like that anymore!

Marco.

The heavy duty mech with still class leading tracking and track-search etc... and power supplies are the very reason this machine is well worth getting, but in comparison with the CD94 and other similar machines (PD91 springs to mind in a brief comparison), the 555ES majors on treble clarity and the CD94 on organic bass. Like I said, BOTH can be updated and it's well worth while.

This really is a true classic - agreed. They don't make 'em like this any more :(

[Marco]

The heavy duty mech with still class leading tracking and track-search etc... and power supplies are the very reason this machine is well worth getting, but in comparison with the CD94 and other similar machines (PD91 springs to mind in a brief comparison), the 555ES majors on treble clarity and the CD94 on organic bass.

Yup - however, we're into the realms of semantics now, dude. I'd describe it instead as the Sony ultimately being more sonically neutral (not "brightly lit"), thus showing up the 'bloom' and somewhat overblown bass of the Marantz. Of course, all of this will be system dependent.

Anyway, I'm sure that the new owner will love it! :)

Marco.

[schneiderhan]

Reckon I can talk to this, as a) I am the prospective owner and b) I have some experience of the sonys vs marantzes. I started with this whole TDA1541 thing with a Marantz CD85 (I don't think my mum's Marantz CD40 bought in 1988 really counts!) - then a 94, before finding a CD12. Mmmmm. Then a DAS R-1 - cheap due to serious cosmetic challenges, which I use with an X7ESD transport - not that I was copying Marco/Ian etc, although Marco's reviews of his sony dac did influence my purchase:). I love the marantz/philips players, the solidity of the imaging, the soft treble and deep bass, no digital nasties. But critically they lack detail in comparison to my sony combo, which is a detail freak and gives you much more of what's on the disc. For example you can hear the recorded acoustic more clearly, whilst the marantz tends to focus on the instruments and the tunes. It is leaner in the mid by comparison and that's the only area where I occassionally doubt the sony - but then I think well maybe it's actually correct, and you are listening deep into the recording, deep into the midrange, with no mush, however pleasant, hiding detail. And the sony combo is properly solid sounding, not anaemic or washed-out and the bass is fantastic (although I am using Harbeth P3ESRs so I'm probably not hearing that much of it:lol:).

Each bit of hifi to me has a sound, a different way of presenting music - the sony is more forward and exciting (and yes it is brighter), the marantz is warmer and more laid back. And of course synergy is everything, and I find that the marantz and sony sound their best with different amps. There's a couple of things they share - great rhythm, dynamics and tone - so maybe that's the TDA thing. This stereophile article - http://www.stereophile.com/content/philips-lhh1000-cd-player-page-2 - has some interesting things to say about the tonal characteristics of the two. The marantz tends to make everything sound gorgeous (that's a hifi word you know!), the sony is (generally) more neutral sounding, black sounds black, grey sounds grey, but feed it some Vienna or Berlin phil strings and you'll get all the richness.

So if I had to live with one I'd pick the sony duo, it is better in most ways, but the marantz has a special magic. I think maybe sony cd players don't have a very good name because they can sound a bit cool / bright, but I think the DAS R1 is an absolutely remarkable machine with the best sony transports. I've bought this 555 as a back-up player to my X7 but it will be interesting to see how close the one box player gets to the X7/DAS R1 combo.

PS: I run both transports/DACs through a Genesis Digital Lens which is a good alternative to mods - although I find it robs the music of just a bit of flow/ of inevitability, it lowers the noise floor significantly and gives the music more immediacy and palpability. It also gives you a cool readout of clocking error - the X7 scores a brilliant 8, the Marantz scores a so-so 37, whilst a Marantz CD5000 I tried (briefly) scored a not so impressive 150!