Price Paid:  $300.00 from aafes

Summary:
If I could do it again I would buy a differant unit. It's not that the unit is horrible, but it's not exactly great either. First off the remote broke after four short months of use, and from what I hear this is a commen problem. Second the overall design flaws are not fatal but still annoying. I'll explain. It's hard to add CD's because the CD's are so close to each other, it doesnt retain the memory on the, cd rather on the slot where th cd is placed so if you take it out it must go back to the exact same spot or you have to rename that slot. When you go to name a cd you are limited to very few characters, two or three (small) words on average. And the time it takes to alternate from one cd to the next is just frustrating.
On the other hand, the nice features are the keyboard and the remote (when working). Overall playback of music is good, when using fiber optic out.

Strengths:
Holds many cd's, fiber output

Weaknesses:
slow loading time, not enough text characters; see review

Price Paid:  $350.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
First, the entire idea of a CD changer with the CD Titles on the remote has changed the way I view my CD collection. This changer, when I bought it, was the best option for that. Musically quality is OK, although I am about to go from analog to digital output, so I am expecting an improvement.

Second, My only real complaint is that if you enter a CD title (CD Text not pervasive...don't get me started on that) and you REMOVE the CD to listen to it in the car, then place back in the changer in a different slot, the changer doesn't remember the title. In fact, if you stick a different CD into the first one's slot, it still uses the old title. My cheap Windows CD player remembers CD Titles I entered 4 years ago... why can't my CD Changer???

That had to be the one feature that I really couldn't believe was not in the player. Do others do this as well. I am pretty anal about keeping track of the slot, but my wife and kids aren't. Imagine setting up for a party and in the middle of the drunken orgy having Barney and friends come on. :-)

Strengths:
Holds whole music collection, at my fingertips!, Remote with CD Text great.

Weaknesses:
Control A1 II not working properly, CD title memory.

Summary:
An excellent player with some great options such as the ability to communicate with another Sony mega changer, allowing for songs to play back and forth between players without delay. Nice solid feel.

Strengths:
Very cool "2-way" LCD remote

Weaknesses:
A little slow in changing CD's when used by itself (without another changer attached)

Similar Products Used:
CDP-CX335

Summary:
I was on the market for a mega changer about six months ago before Christmas '99. This Sony changer had three things going for it:

1) 300 disc capacity: you still can't beat it
2) PS/2 keyboard input: important for labeling those 300 discs
3) Cost: a competitive price, and worth every penny

As for some of the things people have complained about with this machine, the only reasonable complaint seems to be with the remote. A fine peice of electronic engineering, it is perhaps a little too complex, and some basic features (like fast forwarding within tracks) are availiable only on the remote. Mine broke after three weeks, and for no good reason. It also took Sony six weeks to ship out a new one, a considerable annoyance.

But as for the rest of the common complaints:
1) Sound quality: Again, this is a MEGA CHANGER, and it is not designed for premium sound output. However, I would argue you get more that you pay for when it comes to the sound.
2) Speed: This is one of the few changers on the market that holds 300 disks, and none of the others are considerably faster. Be realistic. From my experience, this changer is more than fast enough to keep the music going at parties
3) No track titles: Fine, this player only displays album titles, and if that bugs you, you will just have to wait for a reasonably priced CD player that does. Personally, I think entering 3000 track names would be far more trouble than its worth.

QUICK SUMMARY: For the money, its the best value out there on the mega-changer market. [Be sure to steer clear of its cheaper cousins with no PS/2 keyboard input; trust me, its worth the extra $$$.]

Strengths:
300 CDs, PS/2 keyboard input, Fine layout of front panel and remote, Sound is quite good for price range/mega changer

Weaknesses:
Remote broke down after three weeks, seems to be a common problem. Slightly on the noisy side when changing disks

Similar Products Used:
N/A

Summary:
I have only had this unit for a few weeks, but I am completely satified with it thus far. Those of you who complain about poor CD quality with this unit are rediculous--if you want something better, get a single CD player (my point is, a mega changer's purpose is CD storage and NOT the ultimate in high fidelity sound). This is like me writing a review about a $2000 NAD single CD player and saying "weaknesses - does not hold 300 CD's". I have this unit hooked up to the optical CD in on my Yamaha RX-V795a receiver and it sounds great. I have not had any problems with my CD changer so far, but have only had it a short while. The remote is great, and I find it quite easy to use. The group files are also a very nice option when I only want to listen to a certain genre of music. And in response to the complaint of "it takes a whole 13 seconds to change CD's!!" -- try opening a CD changer, taking out a CD, getting a new one, closing the tray, and playing it in less than 13 seconds -- enough said!!

Strengths:
Remote, storage of 300 CD's, optical digital out, CD text, ability to daisy-chain multiple units together.

Weaknesses:
No fast-forward/rewind track button on main unit, no digital optical connections available when daisy chaining multpile units together.