Summary: Ok, I guess maybe I was too hard on this player in my first review. Turns out that the "slightly defocused effect" that I discussed was really caused by a low quality component cable. High quality cables make a difference folks. (On the other hand, if you're one of those audiophiles who spends thousands of dollars on interconnects and speaker cables, I've got some time shares you might be interested in...) Anyway, long story short, the picture quality of this unit is far better than I originally indicated, beating out the Yamaha I discussed in that original review. I stand by my guns with regards to the unit's sound quality, though. Both the Yamaha and my Sony SCD-222ES make sweeter music. But the picture quality is so good, that I'm giving the Sony DVP-NC555ES five stars, mainly to balance out my original rating.
Strengths: Terrific picture quality
Weaknesses: Mediocre sound quality
Similar Products Used: see review
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Summary: First, I would say that anyone wanting a very good DVD playback as well as a very good sounding CD/SACD player, would be happy with this SONY Product. I use mine in conjunction with a Denon AVR-3805 and I'm very happy with the results. I feel that some of the negative reviews are caused by individuals who either didn't understand how, or didn't bother to research the adjustments available in the menu. I don't consider myself an audiophile, but I have spent 40 years working in a field that uses professional audio, and I go back almost 50 years to a time when I built my own amplifiers and preamps. Believe me you'll be happy with this product.
Strengths: Excellent build and fine audio/ video results
Weaknesses: Takes a little bit longer than some units between discs
Similar Products Used: SONY, Denon, Yamaha
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Summary: I needed a 5 disk dvd player with a detachable powercord.I won't purchase any audio device unless it has a powercord upgrade.Anyway after reading all the great reviews I got this unit.I didn't care about the dvd player aspect of this unit only audio Sacd playback and regular cd's.Sony should be shot for the audio section in this dvd player only well recorded cd's sound good and some sacd's sound good other than that, audio is harsh and annoying.I couldn't take the harshness anymore so I contacted Matthew anker at sacdmods.com and had the sony modified.Now it sounds great the way it should.I also purchased a powercord from matt that really makes this unit really shine.Go to Matt's site and you will see all the specifics on the mod and the powercord.
Strengths: Well built,detachable powercord and responds to remote very good.
Weaknesses: Harsh audio section.Some of the good reviews were people selling on ebay and audiogon hoping to sell product on those sites.
Similar Products Used: Toshiba,pioneer and soon to be jolida dvd plyer.
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Summary: Ok, I guess I have to be the lone dissenter on this one. I'm not going to say that the Sony is a bad dvd player... it's not. It's just that this player's performance leaves a little bit to be desired considering the price. Colors on dvd's are a tad muted (surprisingly!) and the picture has that slightly defocused effect that is symtomatic of some Y/C interchannel delay. Comparing the Sony with a Yamaha DVD-C750 dvd player, I felt the Yamaha clearly had the better picture with more vibrant colors, razor sharp resolution, and greater detail. On the plus side, the Sony suffered from fewer motion artifacts, though I never found motion artifacts (moire effects, etc) to occur frequently enough to be bothersome.
But I guess my biggest disappoint with the Sony has to be its audio quality. Once again, it's not that the sound emanating from my speakers was bad, it just wasn't among the best I've heard from cd or SACD. Sound quality was definitely above average and light years better than what you get with some of the cheaper universal players (Pioneer, etc.). Still, I guess I was expecting to be blown away like I was the first time I loaded a SACD into my old Sony DVPNS9000ES dvd player (which I no longer own due to its inability to read the SACD layer on hybrid discs). Just didn't happen. The SACD layer of hybrid discs sounds clearly superior to the cd layer (as it should), but neither sounds as good as the same disc when spun on my nearly 17 year old Sony CDP-608ESD cd player! I guess some "advancements" are not really such...
Strengths: good picture, good audio, nice build quality
Weaknesses: neither video or audio among the best available
Similar Products Used: see review
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Summary: I was skeptical at first in regards to the SACD improvement this unit would offer over the DVPNC80V 5 disc changer. The latter being a year newer and having the same specs on paper. I was wrong, there is more detail and ambiance in all SACD material (did an A-B comparison in house). Top hats, triangles, cymbals, xylophone all have added detail instead of sounding flat by comparison. Not too surprising after noticing the weight abd size difference. CDs being a bit bright benefit from filters available in menu. I also like the switch that allows you to change remote frequency so that there is no conflict with other Sony players. A very cool player at a very cool price. Thanks Tweeter.
Strengths: Superb SACD and CD playback and above average DVD.
Weaknesses: On DVD playback the layer change is a bit longer than average players out there.
Similar Products Used: Harman Kardon DVD21, Sony DVPNC80V, Samsung 841, Onkyo.
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The ERC-1 CD player is in a class by itself for price/performance.
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