Good build quality. Great sound

No power control on remote.

I have the CDP-CA70ES not the CA7ES. The 70ES replaced the 7ES but this site has not recognized that with an appropriate place to submit reviews. I am not experiencing the skipping problems refered to by other reviewers of the 7ES. Shuffle all disks functionality is a bit slow but not any slower than other machines.

Similar Products Used:

Denon 370

I bought this deck for $330 at the good guys. It's connected to my Yamaha RX-V793 through a coaxial link. It sounds better than analog - not a big deal, but still noticeable. For all those out there without coaxial or optical inputs, the analog outputs are gold-plated. It also features disc exchange, where you can change four cd's while the fifth one plays. Sony ES cdplayers have the "full feed forward digital filter" which makes the sound better. Better? I dont know about that, but I know it sounds pretty damn good!Changing discs is fast as well as silent. You hear music, not the discs changing.
The only thing missing to this deck is disc-naming. At times, it's hard to tell which cd is in which tray. This isnt a drastic loss, since there are only 5 trays. I'd hate a 200-cdchanger with no disc-titleing!
Overall, a great sounding (and great looking!) cdplayer.

I spent considerable time searching for a replacement for my ten-year old Sony CD Changer. Based in part on the recommendations posted here and on my own listening, I settled on this unit. The clarity, sound stage and musicality are excellent. Unlike some of the alternatives, its reliability, operation and ability to track CDs with defects are also very good. In this price range, I have not heard any CD changers which I would rate higher.

For a number of years I swore by Denon CD players because contrary to the dullards at Consumers Reports, they don't all sound the same. The Denons were good when not in the shop. Both (2) over a period of three years were being repaired as often as played--but what sweet sound!!
Finally a sales person who didn't take seriously my -100 pt. rating of anything Sony convinced me to listen to the CA7ES (I was bringing the current Denon back for the third time in six months). Big impression. Sweet balanced sound across the whole audible spectrum (mine anyway). Best noise since vinyl. A friend has a Krell on a similar system which seems to sound even better, but he paid many thousands for it and I doubt most would appreciate the difference. This is a top notch CD player, heavy and well built, with great sound reproduction capabilities. If in doubt, go for it.

I purchased this Sony unit about a year ago, along with the Adcom 5300 amp and 450 pre-amp, and Definitive Technologies BP8B speakers. Very satisfying performance. I recently upgraded to the Adcom 5500 amp and have noticed even more dramatic resolution and dynamic ability across all types of music, without being harsh or too overbearing at any end of the spectrum. Adcom gets knocked around for being "mass-market" stuff because of its lower end prices, but this is crap perpetuated by insecure types in my opinion. The combination works incredibly well, and I am quite happy I saved over $350 by not buying the Adcom changer. I find the speakers to be the weak link in my system right now, but with the amp upgrade, Sarah McLachlin is right there in the room delivering her performance. Bass is tight, vocals more prominent while not overbearing, highs are smooth and not fatiguing. The performance is virtually identical to many other more expensive models I tried, including the Adcom, the build quality superior to the Adcom (flimsy tray mechanism), but the warranty was insane, so the choice was obvious. The only minor complaints are the units controls: giant play button but difficult to read/press, especially the stop, pause, and disc # buttons. Very minor indeed since the easy to use remote control handles all the features one needs other than power on/off. Sony once again proves their meddle in cd performance, if not in other areas. One quirk, has anyone else experienced disc skipping with a clean disc? It has happened rarely, but just often enough to cause some minor concerns.

I have paired the CA7ES with a Denon 975 receiver, Paradigm Reference Studio 40 speakers, Nordost interconnects and Tara Labs Prism Biwire cable. Have only broken in for about 4 days so far. Love the clean balanced response and clear imaging of the CA7ES, especially on recordings like Stravinsky's Firebird (S.F. Symphony), Danny Gatton's Untouchable, and the rerelease of Miles' Kind of Blue. Really shows off orchestral music and well recorded rock n roll. However, I have experienced significant problems with disc skipping-- probably on 10-20% of discs played. Am going to return and try a new unit of same, but am curious if others have seen the same problem with this changer. Changer platter seems a bit skimpy and control placement is lacking. So 5 speakers for sound, 2 for tracking, and 4 for design-- call it 4 speakers rating overall.

The first one of these I bought from a mail order retialer wouldn't even play. Discs would look like they had mounted but would not play. Second unit seems to play but every now and then it will skip to the end of a track while playing. I like the way this unit sounds but after receiving two defective units I am going to upgrade to a CDP-CA80ES. Hopefully that unit will serve me better.

I bought this unit used for under $300 asd as such the Sony 7ES 5 disk changer is a great CD player. Sound quality whether analog or digital is top notch. The bass, mids and highs are all there-if it's on the CD, then this CD player will produce it. Same internal guts as much more expensive single player 3ES/20ES. For a CD changer, the sound is outstanding.
Conveniences: headphone socket w/adjustable volume control, quiet drawer, quiet tray-not clunking about like the common noted problems of changers from Denon and Marantz. Excellent warranty (unlike Marantz and NAD changers)

I did quite abit of shopping before I found this piece and have been very satisfied. Though never a Sony fan, they did this ES changer right.

Sony 7ES CD changer
Marantz PM57 intergrated amp
Phillips 312 turntable (a classic!)
Snell E/III speakers

Well built, excellent performance

No power button on remote

In using this player for approx. two years, I have run into absolutely no problems. It has played every CD I've put into it with no glitches or skipping. The transport mechanism is smooth and quiet, and its output is excellent. My only complaint is the lack of a power button on the remote, though this is solved by plugging it into a switched outlet on my receiver.

To start out correctly let me say that I actually belong somewhere between an 'Audio Enthusiast' and 'Audiophile'. I have been in need of a new CD player for a while, but thought I would wait to see what would happen with DVD. Well, it came to the point where I could not wait any longer - old faithfull became old faithless. I didn't want to spend a large amout on my new CD player - DVD is scheduled for release in 2 months (that's what they say).
In the process of decideing which CD player I was going to put my $300 - $400 on I had 6 players from stacked up next to my system. Note that most stereo stores worth anything will allow you to borrow thier demo units to test in your home environment - definitely invest this time when making your purchase! In this price range the Sony doesn't provide as many fancy features as the other players, but makes up for it in build quality, sonic performance, and I like the way it looks - goes back to the old days when stereo equipment has a heavy duty, made of steel look - not the curvy, round, plastic look of current equipment.

From what I could tell of the ES line of CD players (7ES, 8ES, and 9ES) the basic structure, mechanics, and electronics are the same. The price changes with added features such as 100 disc file. Which makes the 7ES a great buy
for $300 - $350.