Sony SCD-C555ES good for redbook?

Like the unit a lot. I use it with ADCOM AMP/PREAMP/TUNER equipment circa 1990; AR-302 speakers; and IXOS cables & IXOS speaker wire. SACD best sounds from Louis Armstrong Fats and Blood Sweat & Tears. Redbook equally good. Clean, clear, deep, musical all around sound. Purchased the 555, because the 333 was discontinued.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm considering taking the plunge into SACD but also would like a better sound from CD. I currently use a Pioneer DVD/LD as a transport with an Audio Alchemy DTI-PRO32 and a Parasound DAC1000 (20 bit Burr Brown PCM63(?) chips). I enjoy the sound a lot as an overall presentation but would like to get a little better resolution. The Stereophile recommended list has this model as "A" but for the SACD sound only. Not being the ultimate fan of 50's jazz and classical, I would probably not use ths SACD capability that much NOW. Now if I could pick up some Pink Floyd or Moody Blues in SACD, buying the player would be a no-brainer! Tony

Your limited in the SACD's that you can buy. Music Direct (the web-site is not musicdirect.com, but it is either amusicdirect or musicdirecta) is the most complete source, as it is mostly SONY/Columbia & Chesky pushing out SACD's. So, Santana's Abraxas in SACD is the closest so far to 70's prog rock. I am happy with the Sony's playback of redbbok CD's and that was the primary reason for buying it.

Thanks for the website link. It was amusicdirect.com. Now a whole new dilemma. SACD releases outnumber DVD-A by almost 2:1. Unfortunately, I just wrote down the SACD titles I would want to own and there's only 7. For kicks, I wrote down the DVD-A titles I'd be interested in owning and there are 11 of those! 7 titles out of 300+ releases is a pretty low %. I sure hope Sony gets their act together soon because at this rate I may be buying in to DVD-A. At least there seems to be more software I'd like to own in that format. But I digress...better left for another thread! Thanks again! Tony

Hi Tony,

One thing you might consider is to buy the 555 and have it modded by someone like Stan Warren, Dan Wright, or Ric Scultz. Once they get done with it you'll have a pretty damn decent CD player as well. For more details on the mods go to Ric's website at www.tweakaudio.com. This may be the cheapest way to get the best of both worlds. Best of luck.

Tim