Huge capacity. Good user interface. Good audio. Great value.

Tedium of entering disc data, no capability for song display. Display could be more robust in displaying data.

I recently purchased the CDP-CX400 after purchasing a CDP-M333ES. I urge you to PLEASE read my review on the CDP-M333ES for a full disclosure and understanding of 400 disc changers. Especially important is how I wound up using and controlling them via a third party hardware controller with free software.

I found my CDP-CX400 for a significant savings on ebay and am using it with the CDP-M333ES. Comparatively, the CDP-CX400 does a fine job and for most of us is a real bargain. Unless you demand more control from a single player, desire the video capabilities of other models, or want the extra build quality inherent to ES models, this model is true value! Most manufacturers start with the most cost-efficient but sturdy mechanism that can be used in ALL Models and then take features out of the lower priced models. Well, in the case of 400 disc changers, this one has plenty of meat left on the bone. There is functionally no difference between this and the CDP-M333ES model at almost twice the price. They use the same mechanism, same displays, and same functionality.

I really like the chassis of this unit. The disc access is reasonably fast, smooth and quiet. The ability to insert discs is well thought out, and the feature of “Easy Play” is great if this is your only player, it allows you easy access for one disc. A minor quibble is when a disc is “ejected” it moves out only about 1/16 of an inch so you can just barely grab it with your fingers. I wish there was another sixteenth of an inch for the disc to poke out a little more.

The sound quality is certainly up to par with any other CD player I have owned, and find the differences in sound between all players to be negligible, especially when using the optical digital connection. I did have some qualms about the interoperability of two changers when in Mega mode, but I found a way to circumvent that. When one starts to pile on a stack of 400 (or worse yet 800 discs), disc management is almost insurmountable. The CDP-CX400, as well as the other players with this chassis, do their best to make this tolerable, with the external keyboard jack. However, I predict the future will integrate these products with straightforward PC connection, much as I have done with the nirvis Slink-e and CDJ hardware and software (nirvis.com).

The remote is utilitarian, and does the basic functions required. I think it is silly to consider trying to name discs from the remote, although, I guess that could be a plus if you do it while you listen. I just cannot imagine labeling 400 discs this way. Functionally, there is some room for improvement using the “search” keys. Depending on if the user is in Mega Mode (two players connected together) the player can be reticent in executing forward or reverse search.

Overall I am enthused with the cost/performance ratio of this line of products, and if you have been testing the water for a changer, now is as good a time as any to jump in. Prices are reasonable, and disc capacity probably won’t go much higher than 400 discs per unit.
Unless you want to wait for DVD changers to be reasonably priced and/or be more integrated, this is the way to go for CD changers.

Similar Products Used:

Sony CDP-333ES and Nirvis(.com) slink-e controller.

The storage -- incredibly handy

Big and slow

This is big. Luckily, it fits onto my shelf at home. It takes a LONG time to load 400 CDs, and a LONGER time to title them. But once that's out of the way, this is an INCREDIBLY convenient piece of equipment. I like being able to either play a single disk, play a single artist, or play a whole genre -- any of those either in order or shuffle play. As noted, it's a little slow with the shuffle play -- a little longer than technically necessary I think (the move across no more than 400/2 discs should only take a second, but it seems to take 2), then it seems to take 2 more to select a track (which it could have done while moving). However, it's probably faster than me searching through 400 CDs, inserting it into my old single-unit CD player, and hitting play.

That said, as others have reported, this not only STORES 400 CDs for less money than it would cost to buy a rack, but plays them to boot. Speed up that shuffle in your next incarnation, Sony!

Similar Products Used:

Sony single CD player

Holds 400 CDs

delay in disc changing

This player is certainly worth the money. I have not had any problems with this player acting up. Basically, I use this machine to hold my discs. I have a second single CD player which I use for serious listening. So, if you want something that holds a lot of CDs and has good (not great) sound this player is perfect. If you are looking for a player that is audiophile quality, you should not be looking at a player that costs less than $275.00. So don't complain about the sound not being comparable to a Arcam, Cambridge Audio, Krell, Marantz, Rega, Rotel, ...(you get the idea). Also, many of the reviews below complain about the time it takes to input information, the player's lack of ability to store track titles, the player's lack of ability to automatically "read" the tracks, the bright blue light, etc. These are all complaints that if the person would READ THE BOX AND/OR SPECS BEFORE BUYING they would know about. As far as the blue light being bright, I think that is probably the dopiest comment I have seen on this site. Finally, the guy who recommends HK as a player for sound quality... well just go take a look at the overall reviews for HK products and you'll see that HK is definitely a company to stay away from. I am sorry, but there ain't much difference in sound between the various run-of-the-mill CD players at this level (ie. Sony, Pioneer, Technics, JVC, HK...) To get sound that is considerably better, you need to step up to a more sophisticated company like those listed above. So, all in all, get this player to hold your CD's and to play them for just casual listening. Realize that it may take some time to input all your information (who cares, what else you got goin' on that's so important. If it is so important, stop for a while and finish the data input later). And then save your money and at a minimum get a single-disc Cambridge Audio D300 (very good deal at about $250-$300 new) for serious listening. And then you'll have the best of both worlds.

400 CD Capacity, Price

Extremely cumbersome to enter titles. Inability to enter Track titles without CD-Text. Lack of Digital Coax

Just finally got to loading all my 200+ CD's and entering all the CD title and artist info and creating and assigning groups for each of my CD. This is NO EASY task!!! Hit a key, rotate jog dial, enter characters on keyboard, hit another key, rotate jog dial... repeat (have to do that process 3 times for each CD title, artist name, artits group filing) Get the picture... but once all that info is loaded (took me about 4-5 hours one night) I **LOVE** it!

I wish the unit had OSD (0n-Screen Display), but that's a higher end unit with a 2-way LCD remote and significantly more money than I was willing to spend. The unit does NOT allow you to program CD Track info which is a deficiency, but then again "you get what you pay" chimes in.

The unit has Optical out, and no digital coax. Have not tried the analog out to determine sound quality and compare what my ears hear to what others have reported. However, with Optical (connected to Marantz SR-7000 and Infinity Towers, Velodyne sub) the sound was very good.

To close, for the price and an investment in time (to progarm all the CD info the way you want it) this could be a very good unit.

5 stars on value. 3 on overall rating.

Joe

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Onkyo, Technics, Pioneer CD Players

300, keyboard input, features

SOUND! LOOKS! SOUND!

has anyone actually compared the sound of this thing to anything?!?!?! When I went to the store I was interested in it for the disc capacity and the price. But after I listened to it the Sony infamy as the worst product maker was confirmed. No soundstage, completely muffled sound with no highs, no definition. I immediately swapped it for the HK, albeit only 5 cd changer ($300). Sure the SOny will hold your CD's, but it will rape you of your listening experience! Well, just make sure you compare it to a decent player when you buy it.

Similar Products Used:

Harman Kardon FL8370, Denon DCM-370

Capacity to hold 400 Cd's, Display, Easy to Use, Good remote

Rather large, Remembers CD's by slot # rather than name/artist, Slow (but not too slow)

I had a Yamaha 5 disc changer for about eight years before purchasing this changer. I was reluctant to buy such a big mega-changer after hearing some bad things. But I'm glad I made this purchase.

Sound quality: The quality of sound on this system isn't as good as a smaller changer, but that is to be expected. And to be completely honest with you, I could hardly tell the difference between this changer and my Yamaha, which brand new would cost the same price and only play five discs.
Ease of use: The Sony is easy to program and easy to use. Its got some great features like a hit list that allows you to listen to songs while you program them into a "hit list". You can program up to 32 songs in this list and play them back in order or random. Its also got 3 Programs that memorize 32 tracks each. That means you can program a total of 32 x 3 (for the three programs) plus 32 additional songs from the hit list for a total of over 120 tracks programmable.
Storage features: Entering the CD's into the player is a burden that should be expected. You have to type in the names of each CD, as well as artist information. What isn't the best feature is the fact that the CD player can only remember the slot - so if you put U2's Joshua Tree in slot 55, than take it out and replace it with another CD - the CD player will still display U2's Joshua Tree. This is a bit of a headache.
CD Text: Some Cd's come with text ingrained in them. This is a wonderful feature. These CD's will display the title of each song across the display. Too bad all CD's didn't come with CD Text.
Artist Mode: The artist mode feature of the player allows you to isolate CD's by artist. This is great if you feel like listening to CD's that belong to a particular group or artist only. You can play them in random/shuffle mode even. The artist mode also lets you sift through all 400 CD's rather quickly so you can find the one you want to listen to.
Display: I like the display. There are two screens, one showing you the CD Slot # and the Slot # for the next CD in que. The other display shows you information about the disc, its name, the artist, etc. It would be an improvement if you could see both the artist and name of the CD on the one display. Just seeing the name of the CD can be confusing if you aren't familiar with the titles of all your CD's.
Noise: The CD player is actually pretty quiet for a 400 disc changer. I sleep with it on sometimes and have no problem falling asleep.
Price: I have no problem with the price of this model, its equivalant to the price of alot of 5 disc changers. I think it would be better if Sony lowered the price of the other model - the CX-450. The only additional feature on that model is the on TV display and the remote. But in shops I seen it for $100 more. If the price were lower I would have purchased it.
Remote control: It would be nice if the remote had a scroll feature on it, I think the 450 does, that would allow for quicker access to CD's, quicker searching. Otherwise the remote is a good one.

Ultimately I would recommend this unit, but if you can spare a few more bucks or if the price comes down for the CX-450, I would have considered buying it.

Similar Products Used:

No mega-changers, used Yamaha 5 disc changer

Display,400 disc capacity,disc/artist titles

Size,speed

I love this changer. The size is insane. 20 1/4" deep!
It is also very slow to change discs in shuffle mode.
I found loading to be easy. Naming disc and artists is also simple in my opinion. I actually enjoyed doing it to kind of refamilierize myself with my cd collection that will not leave this changer ever again. I will burn copies for my car etc. I went for the 400 disc for future expansion (I now have about 310 CD's) but mostly for the Artist grouping. You can assign an artist name to each cd. Plus there are 8 group files which you can also name (cool) plus a 32 track "hit list" which is real simple to use. I also like the delete bank, almost every CD has tracks you don't like and they can be deleted from playback so you are only listening to the stuff you like. The initial set-up takes time but is well worth it and then adding additional discs 1 or 2 at a time is simple. The first keyboard I tried works mint!(an old cheap one from a dead computer)I have the two way remote from my Sony receiver which displays the titles on it but only 300 of them because of it's model year I believe. My last comment is I think this unit looks awesome. The user interface and displays are great. Overall rating is really a 4.5 because of the size and speed but the pros far outway the cons!

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer 50 disc

Capacity,Optical output , Dot matrix dual display

Documantation in Owners manual is poor Disorganized to show features and control operations

I have April 2000 manufactured unit. This unit works good
CDR &CDRW play-back has been sucessful. I currently have
264 disc installed. Information storage currently working with power on or off. When 136 more disc installed operation will show under full load. Shuffle playback all discs is my preferred playback mode.









storage i s good

Similar Products Used:

none

400 disk,keyboard input,song delete,digital output

sound,no preview of next disk

i bought this player at sears as a returned one,there were no defects to this and has been running smooth and i have been looking for one that could offer a good capacity.
the size was no matter to me ,the kenwood was almost as big and my place was already setup for the monster.
the last sony i had had lots of souts coming from it and i was weary to buy this one but i was getting tired of taking disks out and replacing them, so this one offered a convienence to me and my cd's dont really get scrathed with handling.
i was expecting it to sound better then the kenwood but then i was dissapointed, so im just using the digital output instead
with the kenwood i was able to select a disk with the remote, and when i wanted to play it i would hit play, with this one the only way is to use the artist mode and then skip to the disk, which irritates me so.
the key board feature is very nice and saves alot of tim but then you still have to do alot of knob turning.
its a good buy for a person who wants the capacity, and the sound could use work but for the average person its good, for me its a sacrifice of sound for convienience
ill have to get the es models next.

Similar Products Used:

kenwood200,sony5,yamaha5

400 disk,keyboard input,song delete,digital output

sound,no preview of next disk

i bought this player at sears as a returned one,there were no defects to this and has been running smooth and i have been looking for one that could offer a good capacity.
the size was no matter to me ,the kenwood was almost as big and my place was already setup for the monster.
the last sony i had had lots of souts coming from it and i was weary to buy this one but i was getting tired of taking disks out and replacing them, so this one offered a convienence to me and my cd's dont really get scrathed with handling.
i was expecting it to sound better then the kenwood but then i was dissapointed, so im just using the digital output instead
with the kenwood i was able to select a disk with the remote, and when i wanted to play it i would hit play, with this one the only way is to use the artist mode and then skip to the disk, which irritates me so.
the key board feature is very nice and saves alot of tim but then you still have to do alot of knob turning.
its a good buy for a person who wants the capacity, and the sound could use work but for the average person its good, for me its a sacrifice of sound for convienience
ill have to get the es models next.

Similar Products Used:

kenwood200,sony5,yamaha5