Terrific picture quality

Mediocre sound quality

Ok, I guess maybe I was too hard on this player in my first review. Turns out that the "slightly defocused effect" that I discussed was really caused by a low quality component cable. High quality cables make a difference folks. (On the other hand, if you're one of those audiophiles who spends thousands of dollars on interconnects and speaker cables, I've got some time shares you might be interested in...) Anyway, long story short, the picture quality of this unit is far better than I originally indicated, beating out the Yamaha I discussed in that original review. I stand by my guns with regards to the unit's sound quality, though. Both the Yamaha and my Sony SCD-222ES make sweeter music. But the picture quality is so good, that I'm giving the Sony DVP-NC555ES five stars, mainly to balance out my original rating.

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see review

Excellent build and fine audio/ video results

Takes a little bit longer than some units between discs

First, I would say that anyone wanting a very good DVD playback as well as a very good sounding CD/SACD player, would be happy with this SONY Product. I use mine in conjunction with a Denon AVR-3805 and I'm very happy with the results. I feel that some of the negative reviews are caused by individuals who either didn't understand how, or didn't bother to research the adjustments available in the menu. I don't consider myself an audiophile, but I have spent 40 years working in a field that uses professional audio, and I go back almost 50 years to a time when I built my own amplifiers and preamps. Believe me you'll be happy with this product.

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SONY, Denon, Yamaha

Well built,detachable powercord and responds to remote very good.

Harsh audio section.Some of the good reviews were people selling on ebay and audiogon hoping to sell product on those sites.

I needed a 5 disk dvd player with a detachable powercord.I won't purchase any audio device unless it has a powercord upgrade.Anyway after reading all the great reviews I got this unit.I didn't care about the dvd player aspect of this unit only audio Sacd playback and regular cd's.Sony should be shot for the audio section in this dvd player only well recorded cd's sound good and some sacd's sound good other than that, audio is harsh and annoying.I couldn't take the harshness anymore so I contacted Matthew anker at sacdmods.com and had the sony modified.Now it sounds great the way it should.I also purchased a powercord from matt that really makes this unit really shine.Go to Matt's site and you will see all the specifics on the mod and the powercord.

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Toshiba,pioneer and soon to be jolida dvd plyer.

good picture, good audio, nice build quality

neither video or audio among the best available

Ok, I guess I have to be the lone dissenter on this one. I'm not going to say that the Sony is a bad dvd player... it's not. It's just that this player's performance leaves a little bit to be desired considering the price. Colors on dvd's are a tad muted (surprisingly!) and the picture has that slightly defocused effect that is symtomatic of some Y/C interchannel delay. Comparing the Sony with a Yamaha DVD-C750 dvd player, I felt the Yamaha clearly had the better picture with more vibrant colors, razor sharp resolution, and greater detail. On the plus side, the Sony suffered from fewer motion artifacts, though I never found motion artifacts (moire effects, etc) to occur frequently enough to be bothersome. But I guess my biggest disappoint with the Sony has to be its audio quality. Once again, it's not that the sound emanating from my speakers was bad, it just wasn't among the best I've heard from cd or SACD. Sound quality was definitely above average and light years better than what you get with some of the cheaper universal players (Pioneer, etc.). Still, I guess I was expecting to be blown away like I was the first time I loaded a SACD into my old Sony DVPNS9000ES dvd player (which I no longer own due to its inability to read the SACD layer on hybrid discs). Just didn't happen. The SACD layer of hybrid discs sounds clearly superior to the cd layer (as it should), but neither sounds as good as the same disc when spun on my nearly 17 year old Sony CDP-608ESD cd player! I guess some "advancements" are not really such...

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see review

Superb SACD and CD playback and above average DVD.

On DVD playback the layer change is a bit longer than average players out there.

I was skeptical at first in regards to the SACD improvement this unit would offer over the DVPNC80V 5 disc changer. The latter being a year newer and having the same specs on paper. I was wrong, there is more detail and ambiance in all SACD material (did an A-B comparison in house). Top hats, triangles, cymbals, xylophone all have added detail instead of sounding flat by comparison. Not too surprising after noticing the weight abd size difference. CDs being a bit bright benefit from filters available in menu. I also like the switch that allows you to change remote frequency so that there is no conflict with other Sony players. A very cool player at a very cool price. Thanks Tweeter.

Similar Products Used:

Harman Kardon DVD21, Sony DVPNC80V, Samsung 841, Onkyo.

Wide dynamic range. Huge soundstage. Controlled bass.

No more Sony warranty (sniff).

SACDmods (Matthew Anker) rocks!!! I bought the DVP-NC555ES as a factory B-stock and had it shipped directly to SACDmods (the mods void the warranty anyway, so why buy a factory-fresh unit?). I received the unit yesterday and inserted it into my dedicated 2-channel audio system. It's not even fully burned in yet, and all I can say is WOW!! With either SACDs or redbook CDs, the sound is significantly improved over any front-end source I've ever heard - and I have four separate systems, each with its own SACD player. The mods bring a level of detail and controlled bass that I didn't think was possible for under $1000 total. And this is in a 5-disc changer. To say I'm impressed with SACDmods would be an understatement. Way to go, Mr Anker. System: SACDmod modified DVP-NC555ES. Opera Callas monitors. B&K Ref 20 preamp (allows sub-woofer to integrate with direct pass-thru of stereo signal). PrimaLuna Prologue 5 KT-88 tube amp. Sunfire Sub-junior subwoofer. JPS Labs Superconductor FX interconnects. PS Audio Statement bi-wire speaker cables. Shunyata Research Powersnakes.

Similar Products Used:

SCD-S333ES. SCD-S222ES. SCD-CE575. DVP-N9000ES.

Excellent SACD reproduction, Best DVD video I've ever seen! Pleathora of Audio/ Video outputs. Video is better than Sony's 999ES DVD player at 1/2 the cost. Useful video setting/adjustments via DVD menu. Easy to navigate.

Smallest and Worst layed out Sony controller in recent memory/poor IR response/range. Longest layer switch of any Sony dvd product besides PS2 game system (trust me, the positive's completely outweigh the negative's!)

I have been a proponent of DVD since the format began and had the pleasure of owning some of the best players available, or know someone who owns the best available. I first found the NC555ES when looking for a better Progressive unit to replace my NS700P, and wanted to upgrade to a SACD capable player. After much debate I was set on getting a 999ES Sony when the 555ES became available, but it's price was much too high. After spending the good part of 8 months searching for deals I stumbled onto THE BEST online retailer I have ever had the pleasure of doing business with, Oade Brothers Audio. They were willing to sell me the unit for nearly $150 less than any other retailer at that time, and exibited the best customer service that I have ever experienced from a retailer! When I was ordering the unit they offered me a Burr Brown DAC upgrade that they perform in-house, but it was just a bit out of budget. When the unit arrived I was totally shocked at how enormous this monster is, both in shear size and weight. It is quite literally bigger and heaver than my Outlaw Reciever! To say this sucker is well built is an understatememt. I hooked it up immediatelly and was astounded at the level of clarity the DVD video put out through my monitor. Colors were deeper and more vibrent with more accurate flesh tones and a much deeper black level than my previous player. I asked a friend to bring his Denon DVD-2910 player that he loves to brag to me about over to do a side-by-side video/audio comparison. We used many reference DVD's and also SACD's and when all was said and done I felt that the Sony had a more impressive DVD video image with better colors, and that the Denon just edged it out on fine detail. My friend still felt the Sony was inferior to his higher dollar Denon, but once we performed the SACD comparison he was unable to distinguish the difference between the two players, picking the Sony as the best player for some SACD's, and picking his Denon as best for others. Once we were finished he agreed that overall the Sony was a fantastic buy. I feel, next to my Sony KL-W9000 monitor, the Sony DVP-NC555ES is the absolute best component purchase I have made in the last 10 years! Highest Recommendation!

Similar Products Used:

Sony DVP-NS700P Sony DVP-S3000 Denon DVD-3910 Denon DVD-2910

Audio and build quality.

Can't make adjustments without a tv hooked up.

This was purchased in the hope that it's cd playback was good. I ended up selling my dac as the playback is excellent. Very smooth, rich and dynamic. Details are pristine and precise through my planar magnetic VMPS speakers which are excellent at resolving detail. Build quality is excellent at this price point. My experience analyzing the various dvd features is too weak to share as my main concern was the audio as I know Sony does very well with the audio in their ES line of equipment. Only downside is that now that I don't have a tv connected is that you can't change the anti aliasing setting. SACD playback is superior to cd but I've not heard another SACD player so can't comment on how it compares although pro reviews of a low model SACD Sony player was very positive.

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Various Sony cd and dvd players, both ES and standard line models. Also have used various outboard dacs using the Sony cd player as a transport. The dacs in this player are excellent compared to dacs that cost more than this whole unit.

Superb audio quality on both SACD and CD. The sound is smooth yet very open and transparent. Dynamics are great. The midrange has a very transparent and natural sound. This unit really does rival much more costly dedicated SACD/CD players. Build quality is also quite good. This unit includes a variable coefficient digital filter for CD similiar to my old Sony SCD 777ES player. The filter provides a choice of a softer anti-aliasing filter or a steep (normal) filter. Bottom line this allows the CD playback some flexibility. The soft filter sounds similiar to the Pioneer Legato filter techniques used on their high end players.

No headphone or variable volume control.

Superb SACD and CD playback. Outstanding DVD picture quality, utilizing a 12 Bit 216 mHz processor. Changer mechanism is efficient, well built and quite. Sounds far better than it should for the money. Makes me really question my historic trend to spend a lot more for front end players.

Similar Products Used:

Sony SCD C555ES and SCD 777ES

Picture and Sound, player memory comes in handy, and SACD never sounded so good! You really don't want to go back to CD after listening to multichannel SACD's.

None.

Purchased this gorgeous piece of machinery as my own Xmas gift. What can I say? Probably the best DVD/SACD changer I have owned so far. The Sony DVP-NC555ES player far outplayed my former Sony DVP-S9000ES by a mile! The picture was much sharper and cleaner, with extra detail that I haven't seen before. CD's sounded smooth and clear, with wonderful bass reproduction, while Super Audio Compact Discs sounded warm and lively, as if you were in the same room during the musical session! The Sony DVP-NC555ES is everything (and more) you can want in a CD/DVD changer!

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer.