Sony SCD-C333ES a good buy?

Grossdp, on your last question, I believe the SA-14 will be going for half the price of the SA-1, so that's still not affordable; don't know about the SA-12. On your first point, Sony indeed did build its two flagships better than their usual stuff (as did Marantz) to raise interest in the medium and show what it could do, now they're after the mass market, which for the most part could care less about the inner build quality. Given the buzz about the 9000ES on this site, though, it seems that they're still good sounding machines. I for one hope the medium becomes a success, and if Sony bringing out cheaper SACD players does it, great, because if the medium catches on the high end manufacturers will start putting some of their R&D money into SACD playback hardware. And we will all be better off for it, in my view.

Dan, I think the 333es is an outstanding value for $600.00. I paid $775.00 for mine in January and have been using it for about 3 months now. It replaced a Roksan Caspian CDP and easily equals, if not betters, the Roksan. I read a post at Audio Asylum where a Sony rep estimated the 333 had appx 85% of the 777's performance and a large part of the difference was in isolation and vibration control. No, the 333 will never touch the 777 but for the money who would expect it to?

Still, the 333 is no slouch. It's a very musical machine and the least expensive way I'm aware of to enjoy SACD playback. I thought I would wait out the "format wars" and initial shakeout period to subside but found out that too much time was going by while I was waiting on the sidelines. SACD playback is fabulous and deserves every accolade it is given by users on this and other forums. Some people sniff at the idea of having a changer in an audiophile system but I use this SACD player with Plinius amplification and Shahanian speakers and am pleased with the results. Definitely worth a serious consideration. Regards.
-Neil

I replaced my Rotel 5-CD player with the C333ES and am very happy. If you need a multi-CD player you will be happy. It takes quite a few hours to break in though. I'm going to supplement this player with a universal player for DVD/DVD Audio and SACD multichannel later when they come out.
Yes there are better SACD players out there but are single disc players.

The 333ES is very solid player. If you can get one for $600, it's a downright steal. The build quality is not as good as the 777, but it's still built to a very high standard. Sonically, I've not made a direct comparison, but Dreamtime's post sounds credible. Just be sure to let the unit break-in.

Agree with post from Smc above. The 333 I'm using took some time to break in. I didn't make any special effort to play it non-stop or run it through any burn-in procedures but the sound definitely sweetens up and loses that initial hint of brittleness after logging some hours on it. The playback has an ease about it now that makes it more fun to listen to.
-Neil