Price Paid:  $219.00

Summary:
To start things off i love this unit for its size. its a good buy and fits in well in any system needing a large cd player. to the people that do not like this unit you should have demo-ed it before you bought it. and another thing if you wanted with extremely accurate sound you should have bought the ES series cd player. this is a budget one made for people like me in college have have lots of cds

Strengths:
can hold 400 cds, thats a lot(still filling it) Price Ability to add another one and use it as one Naming cds Remote

Weaknesses:
Sound isnt the best No backup for names Cant input track names(very dissappointed on this one)

Price Paid:  $279.00 from ABT Electronics (onl

Summary:
With the caveat that this player has just been set up and only a few hours of listening time put in, I will offer the following review as a middle gorund between those saying this is the best player ever and those saying the sound quality is "unlistenable." Connected through RCA jacks (will be hooking up digital this weekend so may see a change then), the sounds quality from this player is at best on the low end of average. I have very good, accurate speakers (Monitor Audio Silver 8Is) and a solid receiver that plays neutral to ever so slightly warm (Onkyo TXSR600) and I agree that this player does lose a lot of the depth and nuance from recordings. In a direct A/B comparison to my 8 year old Kenwood carousel it is about the same, maybe slightly worse but compared to running CDs through my Panasonic RP-82 DVD/DVD-A player (which has great audio processing) it's weaknesses are immediately evident. Everything in the music seems to be "there" technically but it just doesn't feel alive. The sounds seems to be pushed out to me versus drawing me in. It feels compressed, like it is struggling to recreate everything at the same time so some detail gets marginalized. Highs are less acute, midrange is too blended, and lows lose disntiction way to soon with no clarity in the deepest registers. The result is a less engaging musical experience. I have yet to "lose" myself in a favorite album with this player. Now for the other side of the coin, if you want 400 CDs in one spot, it would seem that you must sacrifice quality since I haven't heard any other jukebox of a similar size do better. So until Rotel or Marantz wants to enter the mega changer market, we have to choose between convenience and accuracy. Since I don't like that choice, I will do both, just not with the same player. I will continue to use the 450 for everyday background music for its convenience (especially random play within artist/group) but will rely on my RP-82 for my more critical listening sessions. Not ideal but it is a compromise I can live with until a better solution is available.

Strengths:
Capacity Group/Artist options Keyboard data entry On screen display

Weaknesses:
Sound quality No backup for data entry

Similar Products Used:
No mega changers, older Kenwood 5 disc

Price Paid:  $400.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
I heartily agree with the previous reviewer re the sound quality of the current Sony jukeboxes. I own a six-year old Sony 200 disk changer, which puts out excellent sound, BUT ONLY WHEN USING THE OPTICAL OUTPUT. The sound through the analog outputs is awful. This unit has preformed reliably for over six years, requiring only one modest repair (new laser pickup, $90). With this in mind, I've tried a couple of the new models for the purpose of greater capacity and the ability to input information from a keyboard. None of the current models provides sound quality that I find listenable, and I've returned all of them within days after purchase. I'm sure I'm not imagining this, since I've hooked up the new unit to the same system as the old, and can perform very quick AB comparisons. I thought that all CD players should sound much the same through the digital outputs, but I can assure you that this isn't the case! The people who say this is a good sounding unit must be using some very low end equipment not to hear the difference. I'm going to a more high end system with analog inputs only, and there's just no way my Sony will provide adequate sound quality. I'll probably buy a good single or five disk player for serious listening, and a Pioneer Elite jukebox for more casual use. While I dislike the controls of Pioneer equipments, at least they produce acceptable sound.

Strengths:
Good, easy-to-use controls. Older Sony model has proven very reliable.

Weaknesses:
Shamefully bad, unlistenable sound quality if used with decent equipment.

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer CD jukeboxes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I have this product for about 2 years it has some good features but not great features. This unit is a good storage cabinet for your CD's THE PROBLEM! the sound STINKS! It is the absolute worst! Sony should be ashamed that they put their name on this product. Beleive me if you want one piece of good junk then buy this product. It has loads of distoration, It has a lousey 93 db dynamic range, and even the cheapest CD player will make your CD's sound steller compared to this junk! Even with its optical output to my Amp the sound stinks. I have a Sony CDP-725 5 disc which blows this thing out the door, and out the Window! But I also have a Phillips CD recorder which blows this way away. I also have a cheap $100 teac cd player which blows this thing away. Do your self a favor and stay away from these big storage units the sound on them STINKS! and go with a 5 disc player. Don't know if a ES storage unit would even sound much better. SONY you should be ashamed!

Strengths:
A Few features

Weaknesses:
SOUND! SOUND! SOUND!

Similar Products Used:
Sony CDP-725 Teac CD players, Phillips CD Recorders

Price Paid:  $199.00 from Nebraska Furnature M

Summary:
In short, the CX450 kicks butt! Exceptional value for what I paid. I've noticed on several sites, talk of what to do with your jewel-cases after placing your CD's in the player. As for me, I continue to maintain a library of my cases. All my CD's are entered in a database, numbered by their location within the 450. I've also numbered the cases with the same number. So... if I ever want to play a specific track, it's nothing more than locating the case and playing the track. Perhaps I'm a bit anal, but this really works well. Plus, if I ever want to take a CD on the road, it's quite easy to locate the CD and the case.

Strengths:
The 450 coupled with my system (H/K AVR-320, JBL Studio Towers, JBL 400 Watt Sub) really is a sight and sound to behold. The 450 Rocks!

Weaknesses:
I guess the only weakness is that you can't enter individual track names... but that's why I maintain a library of my CD cases.

Similar Products Used:
My first multi-disk player.