CD v. SACD

Natalie, your idea that Sony puts a lousy analog section for redbook doesn't make sense with what I've heard with my own two ears. You see, I think the Rega Planet sounds great, especially for its price. Now, the Sony, which costs less than the Rega, sounds BETTER than the Rega on redbook playback. If you start from that point and then realize that the SACD playback sounds even better, there's really nothing to complain about for someone who wants to buy in this price range, $600. In my opinion, the SCD-C555ES deserves a class "A" rating for SACD and probably for redbook also, at least an A- or B+.

Natalie, in another post, I asked you which Sony you had purchased. You never did say???????

I compared the Sony SCD-C555ES SACD changer (now discontinued but still selling for $600 new) to my Rega Planet. The Sony, on redbook CD playback, had a more transparent/open soundstage and had a more musical/rythmic presentation. The first five seconds of the first song of the first SACD I ever played on the Sony was an amazing revelation. SACD is a huge step forward in progress over redbook.

your responses are always neat because they start off with dramatic but FALSE assumptions. actually I am not a blind follower of Sony. I don't really even like the concept of Sony. I was really suprised that they even have competing products. Everything is crap to me unless proven otherwise by my own ears. I don't like Sony televisions, they are overpriced and inferior. I have never owned anything Sony except a cassette walkman and DAT walkman.

Let's see, if the model number, which you refuse to give, doesn't matter, that means that its only the brand name that matters. So, if its Sony, it sucks? And there is no gain in sound quality wether you spend $200 or $5000? You know that is wrong. If you told me the model number at this point, I wouldn't believe you anyway. And since you can't make a point without a model number, your whole argument is wasted and useless now. You gotta love Audiogon threads!!!!!

The Sony DVP-NS900V is a whole different creature than the other Sony players being discussed in this thread. For one thing, it is not an ES model. It is just a mass produced consumer product as compare to the ES model which is designed with attention to audiophile needs. Also, it is not a dedicated audio player. It is a DVD/CD/SACD player. The addition of all the video circuits/processors is a big negative for the overall audio performance. Therefore, I can see why Natalie may be unhappy with the player.

1) What?

2) I think DVD-A and SACD are fully capable of catching all of vinyl's skips, pops, scratches, hiss, and rumble.

3) zoooooowwwwwww

yes, redbook CD is flawed. there's a general rule of thumb in audio engineering that you can't expect to accurately reproduce any frequency above one third of your sampling rate. for redbook that would be 14.7 kHz. sounds like a flaw? try digitizing pure sine waves at 44.1 kHz and see what starts happening above 15 kHz. it starts to look like crap, not like a sine wave.