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The Sony SCD-CE775 arrived.....and here is my review!!

63.39.178.13

My Sony SCD-CE775 multichannel SACD player arrived today (actually I would have had it yesterday, but UPS would not leave it without my signature). Anyway here are the highlights before I go into depth:

1. SACD multichannel sound is great, better than I expected (but then I do not have any other multichannel SACD player to compare it against). One thing I have to say right off the bat is multichannel SACD (the 3 I have) sound markedly better than ANY DVD-Audio disc I own. (More on that later).

2. SACD stereo sound is good, but the 333ES is MUCH better.

3. The changer mechanism works EXACTLY like the changer mechanism in the 333ES - both are fairly noisy and both act exactly the same regarding disc loading and both have the same exact changer features. So no difference there. In addition to two little green lights that lights up for both SACD and Multichannel (same as the 333ES for SACD) there is a little blue vertical light in the middle of the player under the tray that lights when you have a multichannel disc in the disc spot that is playing or ready to play. The player will also tell you when you have a multichannel disc that is merely 5-channel (or less) or one that is 5.1 channel right on the display.

4. The build quality of the SCD-CE775 is what is to be expected from a $399 component. It is fairly light (in comparison to the 333ES) and it has a hollow sound to it when you lightly tap its sheetmetal cover. The 333ES is built like a Tank, the CE775 is built like a nice tin can on wheels. Actually the CE775 is built like any other "Mass Market" (i.e., Best Buy type) component. It even had fancy removable stickers on the case and tray declaring "NEW" and "MUTICHANNEL PLAYBACK CAPABILITY" so that you would notice this player while purusing the aisles in Circuit City.

5. Sony was also nice enough to include enough "cheap" rca interconnect cables to hook it up for multichannel sound (two stereo interconnects, with 2 single interconnects for center channel and subwoofer). Needless to say I did not use these, but it is nice for the beginner to be able to hook this player up for multichannel use right out of the box. This is more than I can say for the Technics DVDA10 which only came with a stereo rca interconnect.

Now for the meat of the review and comparison to the 333ES.

If you are in the market for a STEREO only SACD player (and you can afford to pay more than $300 - 400) go with at minimum the 333ES. The 333ES wipes the floor with the CE775. I could hear the difference immediately with both SACD and redbook CD in stereo mode. Where the 333ES is open, warm, dignified and musical - the CE775 is a tad bright and slightly harsh in the upper ranges. I could notice right away that the 333ES allowed more "air" and "space" to exist between instruments and vocals. High frequencies were smooth and refined. The CE775 had a much more confined soundstage (not as open), and less air around each instrument. I noticed that the high frequencies had less definition and clarity. The sound of the CE775 was less "live" and more pedestrian. The 333ES made the music come alive. And this was all with SACD. I used Mingus - Ah Um, Brubeck - Take Five, Bluesquest Sampler and Monk - Straight No Chaser, as well as the 3 multichannel SACD discs I own in stereo mode. The same observations stand for redbook CD. I preferred the open, musical and more analog sound of the 333ES.

Overall with SACD in stereo the 333ES sounded more like analog, while the CE775, while good, had a more compressed and digital feel. Even so, the CE775 with SACD still took redbook CD to task. It was steps above most redbook CD players, and for someone who is looking for a SACD player on a budget - the CE775 will do just fine. But if you are truly serious about stereo reproduction - and have good equipment - and can afford it - go with a more expensive SACD player.

This is not to say the 775 wasn't any good, and if I hadn't already owned the 333ES, I would probably think the 775 with stereo SACD was better than anything I had heard before. But the 775 IS a $400 player that also does multichannel, so expect $400 performance.

Now - multichannel was a different story altogether. I loaded up Tubular Bells, Jerry Goldsmith and The Vivino Brothers. WOW. TAKE THAT DVD-AUDIO. You haven't heard good multichannel audio until you have heard SACD multichannel audio. Tubular Bells was amazing. Deep well defined bass (with no subwoofer no less since this is a 4 track mix), nice realistic sounding midrange and high end. This disc sounds better in and is very, very well suited for multichannel. Jerry Goldsmith on Telarc had all of the same magic it had with 2 channel stereo, it was just so much more enveloping. I did think that they overdid it with the center channel - collapsing the wide open front soundstage a bit in the process, but the envelopment of the rear channels more than made up for this. The Vivino Bros sounded good, very good. It had a very stereo like feel, just a bit more open due to the rear channel ambience (this is also a 4 channel mix). I don't know what Sound and Vision found in that they indicated that DMP discs "were textbook examples of how reserving the surround channels for just ambience will sometimes not do". I thought the surround mix added just the right amount of open feel to the recording, but it was not so much to detract from the quality original DSD recording. Overall, though I could probably listen to this disc in stereo (without rear surrounds) and not notice that much difference.

So for multichannel SACD audio reproduction I am very happy and will keep the CE775 just for that. I also think that if the masses can get a good demonstration of SACD surround vs. DVD-Audio surround they would pick SACD surround for it's superior sound quality. (Granted I only have 3 surround SACDs but they all sounded great). SACD in surround had the exact same sonic qualities coming from 5 speakers as stereo SACD does coming from 2. DVD-Audio in comparison does not sound as refined and exact. It sounds, well like "Digital Audio" - PCM style - but that's exactly what it is. I think Jazz Inmate hit it on the head in an earlier post stating that DVDA is PCM, just a little more polite,etc. I would pick SACD surround anyday and hope that other labels feel the same way. Before I was a staunch defender of DVDA because it offered discrete high-quality surround (and I like surround when in the mood). Well, I still like DVDA, but SACD surround is just more there, more real. And unless Warners gives up the ghost on DVDA, I will still buy both. (Maybe one day we will get a DVDA that sounded as good as the 3 Surround SACDs I have now, but I wonder. Don't get me wrong though, DVDA still can make redbook CD beg for mercy when it wants to.)

So in the end, for the budget minded consumer this SACD player may just fit the bill. For SACD surround playback it is right there (although I am sure the 555ES would be much better). For stereo SACD, it is a good performer, just nowhere near the quality of the 333ES (and it would follow not as good as the 555ES, 777ES, 9000ES and SCD-1).

So if you are torn between the 333ES and the CE775 - be torn no more - get the 333ES - unless you have to have multichannel playback.

Now, bring on Jeff Beck - Blow by Blow, James Taylor - Hourglass, Miles Davis - Kind of Blue, etc. in multichannel. I can't wait.



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Topic - The Sony SCD-CE775 arrived.....and here is my review!! - Terror 22:02:51 07/11/01 (27)
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