Cd-Rs are played with no problem from my LG dvd/cd burner. Oddly enough, my flatmates CD-rs won't play on this unit, as the CD burner on his PC is a different brand. I wonder how many reviews of CD players have been posted saying "such and such unit won't play Cd-rs", when it is the incompatability between a particular CD burner and CD player that is the issue?

Not having any remote control supplied with this unit, I was pleased to find out my remote from the Yamaha RX 396 receiver will control the cd player!

Sound quality.
OK.The general sound quality from this unit is generally "good". Partnered with the Yamaha RX396 receiver and Energy 2.1e speakers, the unit produces good, sharp clean lively sound. Pop and Jazz is enthusiastic and forward.
However, on classical the music, the unit shows up slight weaknesses.
The sound is slightly harsh and brash.
But we are talking about a low price unit from the 90's.
I compared the sound from the Yamaha to that of a Pioneer DVD player.
The Yamaha is less "boomy" than the DVD player.
The CD player showed superiority in mainaining a consistent volume compared to the DVD player.
The Yamaha sound is rather "lightweight" and edgy, and favours treble and mids over bass.
The DVD player had slighlty more "body" and more bass, but the volume level was inconsistent.
I have ended up using the Yamaha for CD replays.The sound is generally "cleaner" than that from the DVD player.
Which is in general keeping with the view that CD players are better at CD replay than DVD players.
Not surprising really when you consider that CD players are designed for 2 channel stereo replay, and DVD players are designed for video replay and 5:1 audio output.

Has a sound level output for matching output volume with other components.

In general, great for parties, bedrooms etc but for audiophiles doing any serious listening, you will need to look elsewhere.

Slightly Edgy/lightweight sound when doing any serious listening with classical music.
Compared this to a 20 year old philips CD160 CD player I had in a drawer.The Philips had more body, more refinement and more "oomph", but the Yamaha had more treble and sharpness.
Most other genres of music sound good.
I'd give it 6.5/10.

The orange LED display is a bit small and hard to read. But this usually isn't a problem.

The unit skips sometimes.
Also the CD loading tray jams sometimes. Often a delicate tap cures this! Friends that have owned similar models have also had this.

Generally I would recommend this product as a fun/cheap purchase where any non-serious listening is required.
Would not purchase one at full retail price for classical music listening.

This review is for the slightly older CDC 655.

I purchased this CD player second hand for $50 New Zealand Dollars.
Originally I purchased it to complement my Yamaha RX 396 receiver, to use in the bedroom.
I love the 5 CD changer system. Load 5 of your favourite CDs and you can mix and match between them. This unit is great for parties, or having drinks with friends. Great in the bedroom where you can load your favourite 5 cds at the time.
The next cd can be loaded without stopping the current one playing.
When skipping to the next Cd, the player finds the next CD relatively quickly.

The unit looks attractive, the black colour blends in to any surroundings, or most other hifi components.

Similar Products Used:

Philips CD160
Sony micro system
NAD C542 (review to follow shortly)

Great ergonomics, features and price

Shrill, colored, upper mid range that will fatigue listeners.

The first thing I noticed when I listened to this CD player was the harsh, brassy and accentuated upper mid range. It is especially noticeable on reed instruments, sax, trumpets. I tried different artists and mixes, but the coloration is persistent. After 4 or 5 cuts, it becomes tedious to listen much longer. While the imaging and sound stage is excellent - Natural Sound - is a misnomer. I am currently looking for a more balanced sounding CD player to replace this one.

Reasonable price, decent sound.

The sound could be better, durability

I've owned the 665 for almost two years. It has done a fairly good job though w/in the past 2 weeks it has begun to routinely skip on CD's that themselves don't have skips (I've tested). Luckily it's still under warranty and will be going back next week.

I also own a HHB 850 CD recorder. The sound with the HHB's playback is clearly superior and is leading me to shop around for a better CD player to replace the yamaha 665.

Similar Products Used:

HHB 850

Great sound, Toslink digital output (I use it to record to my MD deck)

Play-x-change sometimes skips the cd that is currently playing when the drawer opens. Has no display function buttonon the main unit, only on the remote. Basically a good unit

Unit is a good value, especially if you can get it used on ebay or other such venues. I don't know what a previous poster needs play-x-change on the remote for, as you need to be next to the player to remove the CD's to exchange them anyway. Love the volume output level control and dimmer control for quiet nights.

Similar Products Used:

Denon, Harman Kardon, Onkyo, Sony ES

Very good sound from a basic unit.
Optical out, sturdy design

No display functions on the unit itself, must use remote

Unit is a best value, especially since it is considered an old model and can be found at auction/used for under a hundred dollars. Very good sound for little money, have used mine for about 2 years and haven't had any problems.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Denon, Onkyo, Adcom, Proton, NAD, Carver, H/K

In consumer reports or consumer guide this is Rated VG for error correction, Very good for LS, Excellent for TE. Sounds awesome.

Sound, Looks, output level

CD tray comes out very far because it does not spin-you have to slide your disc "1" and disc "5" CD's in there which may scratch your CD.

This is a nice CD player for the money. This is the first year they started putting toslink (optical) dig. outputs on these. I like the design of the player, especially the buttons and the smooth black front panel. PlayXchange is a nice feature, and mind does NOT skip when i open it using playXchange. Sound is good for me, especially for $90, and i like the Yamaha name. I own the RX-V2092 receiver from Yamaha, that i bought used and both of these components are fabulous together. I also like the amber/orange display Yamaha uses for their LCD. This is a minor thing that i like, but i dont think it will make a difference on anybody buying or passing this CD player, but when i select "Time Mode", for every CD i put in it stays in that time mode, rather than reseting like many other CD players do-this means that if you want to see the "remain" time or something, you only select it once and you can play as many CD's as you would like without selecting that mode again because it memorized it. I like this feat. but its kinda dumb.

Overall, great CD player for the money and i am enjoying my CD's for years to come.

Similar Products Used:

Technics 5 disc, Pioneer single

This $125 CD Player is a good find if you can still get it. Bought mine at 6th Ave Electronics. Has a digital out also for future upgrades. Only complaint is no power on from the remote. Otherwise sound is good for classical/light rock. Clean sound all around. Changer is quite, design is sturdy (remember in this price range your comparing it to RCA and Teac) Haven't tried some Nirvana or Metallica yet.
Lastly, had I waited a week longer could have purchased the Pioneer 101 CD changer (not sure which model) for $119. Not sure what is going on in the CD Market, looks like DVD is finally taking over I guess.

Very good musical reproduction, i'm loving the 20bit dac. quiet, quick, sleek, sturdy

Remote isn't very ergonomic when using buttons other than play,pause,stop

I'm lovin the 20 bit dac, i remember listening to this and the marantz in the same price point, and there was the one violin that had a very small part, kinda a chirp. if i had only listened to the marantz, i wouldn't have known it was a violin, it came in as a squeek as opposed to a chirp. no playXchange on remote though, otherwise, i've been using it for 2 years, loving it the whole way. although i don't understand why everyone says it costs like 130, i paid 300 for it, 2 years ago. i think its worth it too. at this price point, very very very very good value

Similar Products Used:

NA

CS shows this CDC-CDC 665 CD player as Very good for Error correction, Very good for LS (not sure what LS stands for) and Excellent for TE (not sure what TE stands for). The technics sl-pd888 is shown to be excellent in error corrrection but not as good ( VG for LS and Good for TE) as yamaha in other categories. The sony cdp-ce525 was shown to be good in the first two categories and very good in last category.