Sony CDPCX455 CD Players

Sony CDPCX455 CD Players 

DESCRIPTION

Sony 400 Disc MegaStorage CD Changer - CDPCX455/ MP3 Playback Capability/ CD-R/CD-RW Playback/ Twin Jog Dial For Easy Disc Access/ MegaChanger Control/ Optical Digital Output/ Keyboard Input/ Remote Commander Remote Control/ Free Keyboard With Purchase

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-8 of 8  
[Jul 09, 2012]
D Lillis
Audio Enthusiast

I bought this 455 changer 3 years ago and I love it !!!
I did my research and wanted decent sound quality more then anything else, some of the other changers got awful reviews regarding sound quality. This machine has some sort of digital filter which smooths and warms the sounds, great reverb and yet sharp. I like it !!.

Now the down side, I don't like any of the file system, but I knew I wouldn't ! I made up an excel sheet of the 350+ disks I have in alphabetical order (by artist) and use that to find what I want, I also copied every disk I had and put CD text on them so the machine can read their titles, no way am I wasting my time editing in album/track titles only for them to vanish, Also a bit of comfort for me as some of the sony changers can scratch your disks, mine hasn't but I do keep it level.

So if you want the best sound quality mega changer that not in the ES price range, then this is the one for you.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[May 29, 2010]
thaistith
Audio Enthusiast

I have used this changer for some time now. Selecting a play mode from it's remote is a breeze and quite rewarding. The filing system is wonderful. I have used a mini keyboard to label disc. After a day at work I will sometimes select shuffle mode of play and allow the changer to play for me. I also have 3 programs of play I've made. I built my own rack system because this changer is 21 1/4" d. Sound quality is amazing. 400 disc in such a small space is remarkable!

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Aug 11, 2009]
Robs1965
Audio Enthusiast

I purchased the 400 stack version CDPCX450 in 2003 (I think! - getting old) and in 2006 I purchased the 300 stack version CDPCX455. I then hooked them together so when one finishes a song the other kicks in and vice versa all day long.

I have programed in all the CD titles (easy as with a keybord that just plugs in front). With all my CD cases I have stuck an adhesive dot on the back and written the changer (A or B) and the slot number. This is so when I go hunting by CD cover when friends come around it is not an ordeal to find the CD among the 700 CDs in the two machines.

I work from home and my stereo is on about 10 hrs a day and I have never had a problem or lost my data during a power blackout. I love this thing. I am about to purchase 2 more as my collection has now expanded to the point where they are both almost full.

In terms of sound quality, well I had purchased a 200 stacker from JVC a couple years earlier and it made my ears bleed. In the end I bought a AMC digital to anolog converter which improvered that sucker, but it still mucked up from time to time with CDs jamming during the change process. The JVC now lives in a box in the cupboard.

However, I was expecting the sony to have the same cheap harsh sound as the JVC. So I just hooked up the AMC DA converter when I first purchase the sony. A few months later a decided to muck around one afternoon and test what the Sony sounded like without the AMC DA converter hooked up. Seriously, there was a difference but not that one was better than the other - just different and only barely noticable. I now have Sonys directly connected in a Denon PMA 1500ea amp on Jamo D590 floor speakers with quality cables and it is as sweet as anything I could have hoped for.

Yes, a friend did plug in a $1500 dollar Denon CD player and yes it was better - but not enough to trade off the convenience for the type of listening I do. I would say 80% of my listening is quality comfort sound of music I love soul, rock, pop, clasical, blues, techno, classic 1950s 60s 70s 80s and polka - no only kidding. The other 20% is spent auditioning new and much loved CDs with a glass of red wine. At the end of day I have a system that is warm, rich and is hard to walk past when a great song that is well recorded comes on - my favourate distraction in my working day.





OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Sep 07, 2007]
Cole Tamminen
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

As others have said, it Does help you rediscover disks you have not listened to in a while. And between loading and listening, it might help you cull your collection a bit, too.

My changer says it was manufactured in April of 2007 (sticker on the back). It replaces an older single-disk Sony built in '98 or '99. I was prepared not to like the sound of the cx455 however... wow! This silly thing ain't bad!

The bass is Much better than my previous deck. I'm hoping iover time it wil get a little less harsh at the high end -- Celine Dion, for example, is a little fatiguing on this player where she was not on my previous player. But overall, I'm very happy with the output and enjoy it on a daily basis.

I intend to buy a Beresford DAC, based on what I think are specatcular reviews, and also based on trading a couple mails with Mr. Beresford himself. I think a toslink connection between this changer and the Beresford, into my Kolektor/Khartago/MMG system will be very beneficial.

Weakness:

I'm suspicious that the volume of Sony Mega-changers selling on e-bay means something bad. I don't think you will ever find the phrase 'built like a tank' connected with therse, because of price-point issues. Also, it's full of moving parts. So it Is a buyer-beware type of product.

The Software -- the ability to name and categorize disks -- is supposed to be a weakness for these changers, especially the fact that folks have Lost their info after a power failure or something. I've not used this feature yet, and I may not, Ever. This is the very least interesting part of the changer, as far as I'm concerned. I had my Cds in their cases, in a rack, alphabetically. As I loaded them into the 455, I wrote them down. I later transcribed my writing to an Excel file and printed a nicely formatted list in slot-number order. Done.

I haunted the web for a good month reading everything I could find about these mega-changers. I found epinions, audioreview, and Amazon to have the most useful reviews. I have a couple friends who have Sony mega-changers, but they do not live nearby so I couldn't test their machines. I did trade a lot of e-mail and have a couple phone calls, though. It was interesting and re-assuring to learn that neither of them has had trouble with their Sonys, and both have had them for over 3 years.

I could not find much information about any of the changers Other than the Sony models, and few opportunities to buy them, so: I headed for Sony. Based on price, I ordered my factory-fresh CX455 from Amazon. My experience with Amazon -- thus far limited just to taking my order and shipping it -- has been perfect. I highly recommend Amazon. Completely hassle- and error-free.

I've had my CX455 for about a month. It worked perfectly right out of the box, and it's still working. I say it that way because it's readily apparent to anyone who can read that a fair number of folks have had issues with their Changers, some of them right out of the box. I've had no issues so far.

I think THIS is important:
I have developed a suspicion, more deeply held now that I've watched this thing work, that these changers require a level shelf. The manual clearly states not to tilt or prop this unit up, but I think 'not propping it' is insufficient. Give it a Perfectly level shelf to work on.

Customer Service

I did wait on hold for 20 minutes to talk to a Sony warranty-sales rep, Before I bought this changer. That's too long a wait. However the woman I spoke with was Very patient and very nice, and the overall experience was positive.

Amazon has been great every time I've used them. But: So far I've never had to return anything, which is the Ultimate test, of course.

Similar Products Used:

A small variety of Sony and Philips players. None special to the readers of this review.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 17, 2005]
lincolnman
AudioPhile

Strength:

AMAZING amount of space, good capabilities, good price, etcetera.

Weakness:

Glitchy under certain conditions. I would suggest the ES 400 DVD changer for most people now, it's even silver face! :) It has a better eye because it is a DVD unit, but unfortunately only plays MP3 CDs, not MP3 DVDs. I would really like to see an eye in these units that is as ignorant of scratches and cracks as the Pioneer PD-4700 was. They played virtually anything skip free. I will likely be switching to entirely computer, getting rid of the CD changer. Computers just offer a better interface, and they never skip.

This is an excellent product overall. Not a worldbeater, but definately a very good choice. I did not need the 400 disc capability, but it is nice to know that I have it. It seems like a bit of overkill that one can daisy-chain two for mega-control and hold 800 discs, but then again, some people may have that much music. I just do not. All of the features are very nice indeed. I have not used most of them, but am slowly becoming accustomed to all of the unit's capabilities. The jog dials are not only nice but a necessity with as many discs as fit in the player. Being able to manually enter the disc's name with a PS/2 Keyboard is especially nice, being as I had several MP3 discs without any 'cdtext' on them. I do not care for the blue lighting on the front, it makes my Kenwood KR-9600 face look greenish by comparison, and it is much too bright. It would be different if the changer was full, since it would show through the discs, but I only have about 50 or so in mine. I will admit that the remote, while amazingly capable, is a little bit cluttered. I could use one that was simpler and more options actually on the unit. I listen to it through a Kenwood KR-9600 reciever and KL-999Z speakers, and the sound quality has been more than appreciable. I agree that a song delete option would be a plus. Do not move the unit loaded with discs, I had to take mine apart to get a loose disc from the inside after moving it. Browsing through MP3 discs can be a bit of a hassle, even when all the songs are organized, like in my case. I have an issue in that one of my displays shuts off after running for a while. It seems that there is a thermal protection in the unit that shuts off the display before damage occurs. If I shut the unit off and turn it back on it is fine. The random setting seems to develop a memory for songs you have skipped past, they come up more frequently in subsequent playings if the unit is not shut off in between. It seems that it is unable to read a lot of my ID3 tagged MP3s. They will not display the tag information correctly. In MP3 mode, the fast-forward is delayed quite a lot. I would suggest this unit for anyone who likes all of the music they own, otherwise they will be annoyed at how often a song they dislike comes up when on random.

Similar Products Used:

Other Sony CD changers, Pioneer single disc players, other high-end units.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 31, 2004]
Whitesahara
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Pure volume of CD's it can hold. Digital Optical output. Top artist feature (x8) Searching by artist, by album or direct disc access.

Weakness:

No deleted song bank, available on the 300 disc changer (for less money) and the ES555 player. Remote in not intuitive to use. No digital coax output.

When CD's are begining to take over your listening area it's time to consider a Sony Mega Changer, 400 CD's in one machine. If you've really got a gigantic collection of CD's you have the possibilities of adding/linkinadditional machine to have access to up to 800 cd's at once. The CDP-CX455 is packed with usibility features, CD-Text reading for CD's the support this function, two LCD displays, one for the disc number playing and the next disc to play, the other to album/artist name and the play set-up, direct access to your top 8 artists' cd's, two jog dials - one for album/artist/disc search the other for song/character search. Many available play modes, random/1 disc/all disc/by artist/whole machine etc.. For disc's that don't have the CD Text feature (which in my case was all but two of my CDs) you can plug any standard PS2 keyboard into the front of the changer for the tedious task of entering all the artist and album names. A hint for anyone doing this, its way easier and faster do do this while the door of the player is open as the player won't load each cd as you change from one disc to the next while entering text!! The motorized access door is a nice feature with the backlit cd's for a nice touch. The machine includes both analoge and digital optical output, but unfortunatley no digital coax output. The supplied remote seems to have all the nessicary features but it is a bit difficult to figure out, and the manual is deffinatley not conclusive much more detail could have been included. Audio quality seems great, not that it has the exact same audio specs as the ES series, but it sounds awesome on my Paradigm Active Reference Series being run with an Anthem AVM20. I only have one gripe with the changer.... the other Sony Megachanger all have the deleted playlist feature that allows you to mark a song as deleted so it no longer plays as part of your shuffle or random plays, I can understand how less expensive modles and more expensive modles have this feature, but this changer that is over $150 more than the 300 changer does not have this feature!@! Oh well aside form that, I'm very happy with the changer and would still recommend it to anyone with a ton of CD's to organize.

Similar Products Used:

Sony 5 disc, Sony single disc

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Dec 19, 2003]
Elgen
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Convinient storage of CD collections. Plays MP3's, CD-R's and shows CD-Text. Sound!

Weakness:

Huge! Programmability. Swedish price three times the US.

I enjoy the sound and have rediscovered lots of my current CD's. The time between CD's and tracks are barable. I don't use the groupingfunctions and instead keep a list in my Palmcomputer. I let it play all day long on shuffle. I first made the stupid mistake and put all my 116 CD's in with wrong side so look up!

Similar Products Used:

None.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
2
[Feb 17, 2003]
T C
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Holds 400 has option to add second 400 cd changer when you exceed the 400 capacity price plays CD-R/RW and MP3

Weakness:

none for the price

Store all you CD and save space. Browse by artist or song title. Also has a keyboard port (and you will need it) for inputting and editing titles. The dual jog dial is nice. Various play modes including top artist play.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-8 of 8  

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