Is this Sony CDP still good????

I HAVE STILL GOT A SONY CDPX7ESD, AND I HAVE UPGRADED THE REST OF MY SYSTEM OVER THE YEARS, BUT HAVE NOT FOUND A CD PLAYER THT WOULD HOLD A CANDLE TO THE OLD SONY, ESPECIALLY UNDER $3000 (AUS). IT IS BUILT BEAUTIFULLY, HAS MEGA QUICK TRACK SELECTION, SMOOTH TRAY (THAT IS METAL, NOT PLASTIC). I DOUBT ANYONE IS BUILDING THEM THIS GOOD THESE DAYS, COST CUTTING WASN'T SUCH AN ISSUE BACK THEN. (IT'S RRP WAS $2799 AUS). IT HAS BALANCED XLR OUTPUTS TOO, PLUS A S/N RATIO OF 115dB. OF ALL MY HIGH END COMPONENTS, INCLUDING B&W 604 SPEAKERS, IF I HAD TO KEEP JUST ONE, THE CDP-X7ESD WOULD BE IT! I WOULD MAYBE RECOMMEND A DAC UPGRADE OR A TRANSFORMER(S) UPGRADE, BUT HANG ON TO IT, JUST LOOK AT IT, IT'S A BEAUTIFUL MASTERPIECE!

Gthrush1,

I am not offended. I just want to know why you feel that those brands are "trash".

B

I forgive you, it's not your fault you haven't heard the Jolida I have in my setup ;) :D

Cheers!
-Nathan

Brad Day,

You're right. I was out of line there. "What man gathers, another man spills..."

I should not have tried to impose my preferences upon others. I apologize to anyone I may have offended...

Gthrush1 wrote:

" "If it sounds good, it is good..." "

...then...

"In my opinion, the Jolida, Shanling, and Music Hall are trash."

That second comment was a stunner. Those brands never "sound good"??? Care to elaborate?

Brad Day
Atlanta, GA

I agree with Sean. I would do some sleuthing on mods for your current unit.

Get an Audio Note DAC and keep the Sony if the digital formats suffice.
Use it as a transport.

Go for the upgrade! I wouldn't cross the street to get a free shanling. I won't buy things made in China.

As long as the basics or guts of the sony are still good there's a lot you can do to improve it and have it last for many more years.

One of my friends has modified several different players. They've told me that they find the older Sony units ( that are built like a tank ) to be excellent platforms for upgrades / modifications. You might want to check with the "tweaker" of your choice to see what they think. A couple hundred dollars may get you a couple thousand dollars worth of improvement. Sean
>

While it is no longer a state of the art player, it still sounds good. I have the same player and compared to my Cambridge D500se it has a better soundstage and better low end weight. It is not as resolving as my Linn Karik/Numerik combo. The build quality is excellent, so maybe at some point you can find an outboard dac to upgrade.

"If it sounds good, it is good..."

In my opinion, the Jolida, Shanling, and Music Hall are trash. However, if you have interest in a newer model, I'd go with the Sony SCD-1.