Great sound with digital optical cable; CD-Text; play & exchange; Delete Bank

Hard power on (i.e., standby mode) so no power on button on remote; cannot open disk tray by remote

I bought the CDP-CE535 at Costco for $160, and I am pleased with the unit overall. I replaced a Kenwood DP-R4430 5-disc carousel that I had since 1991. I also have a JVC 200-disc changer, but the carousel is convenient for playing one or a few new CDs. The sound quality with the Sony is great as I am using the optical digital cable (Toslink). The ability to use the Toslink cable was a major feature I was looking for. Another reason I was drawn to the Sony was that it is rated at a S/N ratio of 107dB, which is quite good given the low price of this machine. As I said, the sound is great. Other nice features include play and exchange, which allows you to remove and replace four CDs while the fifth plays (almost all carousel changers offer this today, but my old Kenwood did not). The CD-Text feature is great as well. It is true that there aren't too many text-encoded CDs in retail right now, but I was able to find a program for making CD-Rs that allows you to encode text (the program is called CDRWIN; go to www.goldenhawk.com for more info.). When you put in a CD-Text disc and play a track with a title that is longer than can be shown entirely by the display of the 535, it scrolls the title every so often, which I found to be useful. The 535 also offer Sony's Delete Bank feature, which allows you to omit tracks from playback. The feature is very easy to use and is great if a CD has a few weak songs. The Delete Bank works if you are using the shuffle play feature on 5 CDs. That is very nice. The "Bank" part means that the player stores the deletions into its memory. So, if you put a disc in, delete track 5 from the playlist, and remove the disc, the player will remember the deletion the next time you place the disc in the unit. I'm not sure how it does this. Maybe it stores information based on tracks and playing time of the disc, which could be thought of as a "fingerprint" for a CD. I used the Delete Bank on a CD-Text disc, so the text information may have helped matters. Anyway, the Delete Bank feature is very useful.

My biggest complaint is that the 535 has a hard power on button (thus, no standby mode). As a result, you cannot turn the unit on by remote, and there is no open/close tray button on the remote either. I don't know how Sony missed these features. Otherwise, I am very happy with the unit. The hard power on issue is relatively minor given the quality of the unit. I considered buying a Sony ES model, but it really isn't worth the extra money. The 535 is a great machine, and the price is a definite bonus. In addition, I found the remote and manual for the 535 easy to use.

For what it is worth, here is my A/V system (I am happy with everything listed):

JVC RX-888V Dolby Digital/DTS Receiver

Sony CDP-CE535 5-disc carousel CD changer (using Toslink cable)

JVC XL-MC222 200-disc changer (using RCA cables)

Sony MXD-D3 CD/MiniDisc deck

JVC HR-S4600 Super VHS (hooked up to cable)

JVC HR-DD750 HiFi VCR (hooked into VCR2 on receiver)

Sony DVP-S330 DVD player (using Toslink and S-video cables)

Philips-Magnavox TR2784C 27" TV

Kenwood S-711 stereo speakers (older, but work well; surround sound speakers will be the next addition, hopefully soon)

As for cables, I use Radio Shack gold-plated cables in general. I don't use Monster brand cables as I don't think they are worth the money.

Similar Products Used:

Kenwood DP-R4430 (old 5-disc carousel)

Value, features

disc access limited to 1 or 2, slow in shuffle mode

This is one feature packed carousel player. The price is icing on the cake. This unit is more likely to appeal to a casual listener rather than an enthusiast or audiophile. I was able to compare this unit against the Marantz CC-48 in my home for several days. I preferred the sound of the Marantz by a very slight margin (but it took critical listening and good headphones to hear the difference). In the end my decision to keep the Sony was made based on the features it offers over the Marantz. My favorite is the "delete bank" fetaure which allows you to delete any number of tracks from up to 305 cd's and th eunit will remember this in the future and never play those tracks again. It even works in shuffle mode (something no other brand offers).

The build quality seems at least on par with the Marantz and I liked the info packed display window over the more spartan Marantz display. Unfortunately it is slow to change from disc to disc in shuffle mode (the Marantz was much quicker).

Ths Sony also only lets you cahnge 2 discs at a time. My old Yamaha CDC-765 drawer opened further to allow access to 4 discs.

In the end, I chose the Sony's features, price, and display over the Marantz's slight sonic advantage (which was barley audible except under extreme scrutiny) and speed.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz CC-48, Yamaha CDC-765

Optical Output, Display, Price/Performance, Quiet operation, Expandability, Ease of use

"Hard" Power On (Minor, IMO)

A good, well-built unit with performance that exceeded our expectations.

We wanted a CD Deck to replace a 5-year-old Pioneer PD-M603 which we used so much that it just died quietly. An Optical Output, Integration into our HT system, and a Total Price of

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer PD-M603

Cd text, peak search, optical output, good sound

Old fashioned mechanical on/off, takes a little too long to choose a song for random play

I got this cd player from Crutchfield for $179, I know I could have gotten it for $150 some other place but I trusted Crutchfield. The units features are great and with a Signal to noise ratio of 107db there isn't much background noise. The unit will com on by itself if you have it in the back of a swithed out on your receiver but you can't turn it off with the remote. All 5 cd changers can do this but I think its fun to put 5 of your favorite cds in there and put in on shuffle play. This is bassically a 5-cd changer with mega changer features

Similar Products Used:

Very old Marantz cd player

CD text, options, the track selector on the c.d. player itself.

No power button on the remote

i was looking to purchase a 5 disc changer, for no more than 200.00. Out of all the player that i tested this one gave me more for the money. I needed a c.d. player with at least one digital output so i can record c.d with my c.d. recorder. I was very impress with the sound quality of the c.d. player. If you are looking for a good c.d. player for the price this c.d. player goes for it's a good buy.

Similar Products Used:

n/a

Cost, CDtext

Can't turn unit on or off with the remote and no Standby

I bought this CD player mostly because I trusted Sony for CD players and since I'm a college student I don't have that much money. I felt that this player gave me the most options for the money. I like the optical output, though I haven't had the opportunity to use it yet, I like the having the option. The CD text is a nice perk to the unit. Overall, I'd say the sound quality is as good as any CD player that I've listened to. With the mega control option it makes it easy to expand to a CD jukebox changer as well.

My biggest grip about the model is that the only way to turn the power to the unit off is through the front of the unit itself. It would have been nice to have either an on off function on the remote or at least a standby function.

Overall I'd say a very nice player and hard to beat for the price.

CD Text, fast closing drawer, toslink output.

The power thing already mentioned, but most receivers have switched outlets in them anyway so this only bones those of us using seperates.

Very happy with this model. I'v started to copy some of my favorite CD's, just to burn in the CD-Text stuff - too cool to scroll through the titles with the jog dial. No problems with this unit whatsoever. Can't beat the price.

The gear:

B&K Ref 20
Sherbourn 51500
Klipsch Reference all the way around
Energy exl:s12 sub
Toshiba DVD
Bellogotti rack
Sony kp43t proj tv
This CD changer
Alesis meq 230 eq

play loud

Similar Products Used:

Other Sony and Toshiba cd players and changers.

CD text, ex-change, optical out, and other standard cd changer stuff

2 of them: see summary

this is a good model, especially for like $150 incl. s/h. (jandr.com). good value.

gosh darnit, among many great features, two incredibly annoying problems stood out:
1. lack of a remote power button. what were they fricking thinking? who wants to try to fall asleep to music then get up and turn off your cd player. when all my other components do, it sucks!
2. no headphone volume control. don't plan on using headphones with this model. you can use the overall level control to lower volume (from the remote), but it still will blow your ears out.

i like the cd text and 2nd cd player control. you can't beat the value on this. also, the jog dial is fantastic. you won't be able to go back to normal buttons again!
it is made a little cheaply, and if you would find the two problems to be unbearable, go for another equivlent cd changer, the prices are so low these days.

Similar Products Used:

sony MD deck

I purchased the 535 at (of all places) Sears. I needed an inexpensive CD player that I could trust my kids to use. Wow, what a surprise when I hooked the unit up to my HK system for a brief test session. This unit provided a nice, clear play of my favorite CD library. Needless to say, my kids now have my HK cd player for their use and I am enjoying the 535. I highly recommned this player, especially at the unreal price of $99 new in the box - what a find!

Great sound from optical output, good ergonomic design, quiet performance.

"hard" power switch, no standbye, no turning unit off from remote.

This unit is a solid carousel changer from Sony. I can't review the DACs as I run an optical out to my Sony 555ES Receiver and use the DACs there. But the sound is smoother than my old CDP-C445 which also had an optical. The bass is a little more prominant in this unit. The 535 has an acceptable seek time for random play. For the money, especially if you are using an optical output, this unit is a good value.

Similar Products Used:

Sony CDP-C445