Sony ES CD players. [Archive] - The Art of Sound Forum

Gromit

27-10-2012, 21:55

What's the low-down then chaps?

I'm really enjoying the sonics provded by my Sony ES amp - it really has been quite a find (and also noticed how the value of these things has started to rise) plus the ES tuner I scored as part of the deal is excellent. The amp is quite a star though, and if I'm honest it was a major upgrade from the Claymore. Yes folks, it really is that good. :)

I'm now keen to have a little delve into the old ES CD player range and have had my eye on a few which have been and gone on the Bay of E. As my knowledge of these beasts is minimal, I've left well alone so far but nonetheless am interested in finding out the goods from the not-so-goods. Reading up around the www hasn't thrown up any nasties, but nor has it shouted from the rooftops as to what stands out.

I fully realise the 'big' beasts (the 777's, 555's etc) are a little out of reach at the moment but the lesser models would surely be worth a look? Any models which stand out as worth having and not costing too much?

Thanks for any info. :)

nat8808

27-10-2012, 22:18

The ES suffix spans many generations of Sony CD players so I'm not sure one can really say that they are a range. More the case of being recommended a particular Sony by someone on its own individual merit.

wee tam

27-10-2012, 22:54

the cdpx/es with the puck were a different beast all together , lovdmine , sold it through a purple haze ,hindsight , probably a mistake

Coelacanth

27-10-2012, 23:18

I had a CDPXA7ES for a long time - the flagship model throught the 90's until the intro of SACD1 if I remember correctly... At the time, the only player I heard that was markedly better was a two-box Wadia system which was super-expensive. I would have another in a heartbeat if I could find one. Built like a brick outhouse - 19kg! Loved the big heavy puck.

I especially liked the remote controllable variable output - straight into my 45 tube amp and the Klipschhorns for a nice, clean signal path and a wonderful audio experience... Also featured ballanced inputs and coax+optical digi outs...

istari_knight

28-10-2012, 01:23

IME they vary from good to great... And I've owned a few :)

The original models are quite old now & will likely need servicing so personally I would avoid those, you can tell them apart from the others as they have more buttons than a till & the model numbers end in ESD not ES.

The CDP-X models are from the same age as your amp so would be a nice match. They consist of: X222es/X333es/X555es/X777es - Models X22es/X33es/X55es/X77es are 99% the same, just a couple of years newer.

The CDP-XA models are from the late 90's to early 00's. They consist of : XA20es/XA30es/XA5es/XA7es - Models XA2es/XA3es/XA5es/XA7es are 99% the same, just a couple of years newer.

The last were SCD-X models but I have never tried them & reports of reliability issues are abound on the 'net so would steer clear unless you find a bargain or are feeling brave.

To be honest you really cant go wrong, they're all good but the 5's & 7's are special.

Hopefully that lot makes sense ? :D

dowser

28-10-2012, 08:03

I had a 707 but the unobtanium kss-272a laser was failing. After a year of looking I finally found a cheaper es with same laser in good condition so fixed it. It was good, but not as good as my CDI to my ears. I sold it on ebay for €685 :)

Richard

Gromit

29-10-2012, 08:47

Thanks for the input chaps - and apologies for tardy reply as I've been gigging all weekend.

The CDP-X models are from the same age as your amp so would be a nice match. They consist of: X222es/X333es/X555es/X777es - Models X22es/X33es/X55es/X77es are 99% the same, just a couple of years newer.

That's pretty much part of the plan James - whilst I'm not always after matching boxes, having ones which do would be rather nice. :)

hoopsontoast

29-10-2012, 09:12

Still chuffed with my S9000ES DVD/SACD player.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8423/7813778516_3e25d79aeb_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hoopsontoast/7813778516/)
Audion Sterling Plus (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hoopsontoast/7813778516/) by RSdesignUK (http://www.flickr.com/people/hoopsontoast/), on Flickr

Battleship build and sounds great!

Can be had cheap as they are Pre HDMI and does not have 5.1 out

http://www.laaudiofile.com/dvps9000es.html

Marco

29-10-2012, 16:09

That's a high-quality player, Rob - virtually as good with audio (CD/SACD) as the partnering Sony CD-only machines, and utterly stunning on movies. Truly one of the last of the 'great players' when Sony were still at the top of their game.

Well, in reference to ES machines, I've been using a highly-modded Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC for years and have no desire to 'upgrade' it with a modern CDP. Quite simply, when you hear TDA 1541s done well, nothing else will do! ;)

Good luck in your search for a nice Sony player, Richard :cool:

Marco.

Gromit

29-10-2012, 21:39

Thanks for the further input chaps - looks like I've just scored myself a very clean X303ES for not a lot of cash, and the seller lives locally. :)

Another big black box to sit upon le shelf. :)

istari_knight

29-10-2012, 22:14

Thanks for the further input chaps - looks like I've just scored myself a very clean X303ES for not a lot of cash, and the seller lives locally. :)

Another big black box to sit upon le shelf. :)

Had one of those, ideal starting point to see how you get on with them :thumbsup: Good ergonomics & the TOC/track access speed makes most other players seem broken.

Would be very interested to hear how it compares to the D3 :eyebrows:

Gromit

29-10-2012, 22:18

Will let you know how it goes James. :)

As for the little D3, the CA DacMagic hasn't had a lot of use this last week or so. Whilst the Fiio is not better (or at least not by a huge margin overall) it's causing my to pinch myself at how bloody good it is...for less than 30 quid.

hoopsontoast

30-10-2012, 07:30

Sweet :)

pjdowns

30-10-2012, 13:29

Hi Gromit,

I had a CDP-339ES prior to getting my current CD player and I have to say it was really good - I took a long time to upgrade because I couldn't find anything sub £1000 to match it (the Sony cost only £400 new) and ended up buying my Naim CDI second hand...

I believe they made a 559 and 779ES and these were also rated highly at the time.

The 337ES which was it's predecessor wasn't in the same league unfortunately.

I was planning on keeping mine for a second system but unfortunately something failed which resulted in the tray staying open all of the time - i tried to get Sony to repair it but they weren't interested so reluctantly it had to go and visit Hifi heaven!

Paul.

dowser

30-10-2012, 17:31

Gromit

06-11-2012, 20:13

Here it is...and apologies for the totally dreadful photo:

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e320/Gromit011/DSC01238.jpg

Built like a brick outhouse - weighs nearly as much as the amp. :eek:

Marco

06-11-2012, 20:18

Nice... How's it sounding, Richard? :)

Marco.

Gromit

06-11-2012, 21:15

Nice... How's it sounding, Richard? :)

Marco.

Really good Marco (Jeez that was some description!). :)

Seriously though, it's a big-sounding player, fairly full at the bottom and quite 'undigital' if that makes sense? I don't believe in describing things as 'analogue' as stuff either sounds right or it doesn't but digital nasties ie glassy top end, 'hash' etc are where I think we can be a little bit more objective (oops the 'O' word crept in). Ashkenazy's Steinway (Rachmaninov Etudes-Tableaux) sounds full and rich with lots of body resonance and musical direction/momentum. Lush, romantic, exciting. As Rachmaninov should be.

Haven't plugged it into either the Dacmagic or the little Fiio D3 yet but will get round to it when I've the time. Just intend spending a few days now with my new player as Mr Sony intended. Admittedly it's not in the higher echelons of Sony ES-dom but it's a lovely thing to have sat on the shelf with its matching amp and tuner. Little touches like the (metal) CD tray moves in and out with hardly a noise of resonant mechanics within.

For 80 quid I'm not complaining. :)

vinylspinner

06-11-2012, 23:08

£80, nice, bargain, just enjoy.

regards

Nigel

nat8808

10-11-2012, 01:39

I've a 552ESD, 555esd and a 337ESD.

The 5s are in the top range of the time and the 3 second from top of the time. This is European numbering anyway.

The 5s have fantastic build quality I must say - the 552ESD is my favourite in that sense.

However, the 337 is the only one that actually works - I bought it to see if I could Lampizate it (NOS and valve output stage) but saw them selling at twice what I bought it for so never touched it, intending to put on eBay. Then I found a the 555 needing repair for £80 instead - has a dead pick-up (suspect laser power supply caps - will recap everything at some point) The 552 doesn't want to read discs but only cost me £10.

Macca

10-11-2012, 10:20

) The 552 doesn't want to read discs but only cost me £10.

I had that issue with a Sony 761E - replaced the laser then found out the problem was actually just a little ribbon connector.

Gromit

10-11-2012, 11:14

My 303 occasionally 'spits' ie a very short, intermittent buzz which lasts less than half a second. The music behind the noise remains completely undisturbed though so it's probably not laser/disc mistracking. Discs are read very quickly after insertion, less than a couple of seconds.

Leave the player running for half an hour or so and all this goes quiet, as though it's been warming up.