keith@uunet.UU.NET (Keith McIntyre) (03/13/91)
My stereo contains an old Sony CDP-111 that I bought about 6.5
years ago for $470. It has variable volume control that allows me
to run it directly into my amp. I had been getting the upgrade
itch for about 9 months so the blowout sale on Sony CDP-X33ES CD
players (originally $528, now $399) was a big temptation. This is
Sony's high end line of CD players with the new 1 bit technology
and a bunch of tweaks in the construction of the player.
I had decided that 6.5 years should have made big changes in the
sound of CD players. Also I wanted one with a digital output so I
could hook up an outboard D to A. So Sunday night I picked up a
Sony CDP X33ES from a local audio store. I got their demo unit on
evaluation. I plugged it in and let it warm up for 2 hours before
listening to it. Initial observations on comparing the CDP-111 and
the new CDP-X33ES:
1) The remote control operated my nearly 7 year old Sony CD player
as well. The button that opens the CD drawer on the new CD player
opened the drawer on my old CD player. The amazing thing is that
my old CD player never had this function!
2) Both units weigh about 20 pounds.
3) The difference in specifications was impressive. The dynamic
range on the new CD player is 10db better, the channel separation
is 20db better(!!!) and the frequency response of the new CD
player was 3Hz lower. The distortion specification was 50% lower.
My anticipation grew.
The rest of my system is a Threshold s/300 amplifier, MIT Zap
Chord for speaker wire and Martin Logan Sequel IIs. The listening
room is approximately 18 by 15 with the speakers on one of the
short walls.
Joan Baez: Diamonds and Rust Track #1
CDP-X33ES: The guitars imaged well out past the edges of my
speakers. Baez's voice was well focussed in the center and very
detailed. I tried multiple volume levels with the same results.
CDP-111: Exactly the same thing. Maybe, just maybe, the new CD
player was a little more liquid and natural sounding. I would
never submit to a single blind test on this. In fact, I switched
back and forth 2 or 3 times and I'm just not sure there was any
difference at all.
Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker Suite (Excerpts) (Telarc) Track #9
CDP-X33ES: Good dynamic range, the triangle was imaged vertically
very well and was very detailed. The harp was very melodic
sounding and imaged very well also. Orchestral crescendos were
handled easily. Individual solo instruments were precisely
located.
CDP-111: Exactly the same thing. Try as I could, there was no
detectable difference. The CD players have a slightly different
sound, but I couldn't put a finger on what it was, or even which
one was better. The soundstage was identical on both players.
Yellowstone: Mannheim Steamroller Track #3
CDP-X33ES: The killer soundstage test with the birds singing in
the background. The birds imaged about 50 feet to the right of my
right speaker - somewhere in my neighbor's pool. The left side
imaged well also.
CDP-111: Same thing, absolutely no perceptible difference.
John Klemmer: Touch Track #3
CDP-X33ES: This CD has some chimes that image about 4 feet above
the spot where Klemmer's saxophone images at. There are also a lot
of miscellaneous acoustic sounds in this CD. The X33ES handled all
this very well.
CDP-111: The vertical imaging was better. The chimes were rock
solid and not wavering on occasion like they did with the new CD
player.
Monteverdi: Vespers (Harmonia Mundi)
CDP-X33ES: Here on track 9 the tenor singing in the foreground
sounded extremely natural. Imaging was very precise, he was
standing right there behind the wall about 3 feet. The baritone in
the background was definitely anywhere from 40 to 50 feet behind
the wall of my room. An astounding demonstration of midrange
naturalness and depth imaging.
CDP-111: I thought at first that I had finally detected a factor
in favor of the new CD player. At first the old CDP-111 sounded
less natural on the tenor's voice. After two more A/B comparisons,
I decided it was my imagination. The old CDP-111 seemed to image
the baritone 50 feet in the background just a little better than
the X33ES.
My conclusions at this point are that the great technological
advances of the last 6 years have only made it cheaper to
manufacture CD players. The new one is still more cheaply made
than my old one, using a plastic drawer, not a metal one. My CDP-
111 was a top of the line CD player in its day. Perhaps the CDP-
X33ES sounds better than some of the cheaper CD players on the
market today. Sony may have used top grade op amps and other
components in the CDP-111, making it sound good for its day.
There are endless speculations one can make on this. I do know
that the results are not from failure in the other components in
my stereo system. While I have heard other systems that sound
better than mine, what I have is still pretty darn good.
The obvious conclusion? Hype is still dominant in the audio world.
Perhaps I will evaluate some of the more esoteric players (Theta
Digital, Meridian). They had better double the size of my
soundstage to justify those prices!
An audio heretic,
-Keith McIntyre