Sony MegaStorage CDP-CX455 400-Disc CD Changer

Pros: Linking TWO of these changers opens a whole new universe of music-playback potential and pleasure!
Cons: Initially entering many disc/artist names (via keyboard) is time-consuming. (Therefore, instead use below-discussed SAVR2/TitleTrack products!)

Prefatory note: If you own the CDP-CX455 (or virtually any model of Sony changer) and don't already have your changer(s) connected to your computer, smarten up by reading my review of the "TitleTrack" software: ...

Pros: Holds 400 discs
Cons: Doesn't alphabetize, Can't label songs, search by name or turn on Mega Control from remote

I bought this unit assuming that its software would be at least as sophisticated as my two-year old mobile phone. It's not.

The entire point of this product should be to give someone with a large CD collection a way to organize it, and to free...

Pros: Massive storage capability. Flawless playback. Stunning sound. Throw your jewel cases off a cliff!
Cons: Only one. The size, particularly the depth, but hey, that's the nature of the beast.

It had gotten to the point where I rarely (if ever) even bothered playing my CD's any more. Don't get me wrong, I love music, I love it a lot, but when hanging around the house it was decidedly easier just to switch on one of the music channels on my Di ...

Pros: -400 CD's in one unit -Once set up, all music is categorized by Artist
Cons: -Unavoidably LARGE

I like many was attracted to this product for the main reason of managing my growing CD collection. My wife and I had about 500 CD's at the time, and I was sick of CD jewel cases all over our family room. When comparing the Sony 300 changer to the ...

Pros: Safe storage (away from little fingers)
Cons: Effort to set up; MP3 analog output only

I swore I would never do 2 things: (a) buy a piece of audio hardware that did not have discrete codes; and (b) buy another Sony product. Why? Well first, a good measure of whether a piece of equipment has been properly thought out can be shown in ...

Pros: Sony name, availability at major retailers
Cons: Spotty reputation and quality, in light of recent experiences

My search for a CD changer took me to many retailers. Radio Shack had a house-brand that looked a lot like a Pioneer. Circuit City had Sony, and a CX-355 out-of-box special that caught my eye. A week later, it was skipping, badly. Back to the store. ...

Pros: Holds 400 CDs, Simplistic Operation
Cons: Huge Box, CD Text

I personally like Sony, I have had several components over the years, and I have never had a problem with any of them. The trend with the components that I have is that I want to get the latest technology, and the older components don't cut it... so I...

Pros: 400 disc capacity, CD Text Support, MP3 playback
Cons: Unit Scrambles Artist Name Assignments Making This Feature Unusable

You can read my original rating/review for this unit after this update. UPDATE: The CX455 has a design flaw that results in scrambling of artist name assignments which make this function unusable. I've had two of the CX455's, from different vendors,...

Pros: Ease of use, price
Cons: Multiple selects of random CDs not available. It's all or one.

I write this not as an audiophile, but someone who appreciates that the technology for a 'home juke box' is available at a reasonable price and does NOT have all of the bells and whistles to obfuscate my ability to sit back and listen to music.
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Pros: Holds 400 discs. Plays MP3s, CD-R, CD-RW
Cons: Huge Won't allow a "queue" of songs

I bought this unit because I'm throwing a party. I wanted my guests to be able to pick songs similar to the way people pick songs on a juke box. This unit doesn't allow that! The unit is also very large and won't fit in most A/V racks. Because the...

Pros: Can play cd's forever - no more cd cases
Cons: no major flaws

I LOVE my cd changer - best thing ever. Takes a little time to program, but well worth it! I have about 200 CD's in it so far. I do not even bother to turn on the TV anymore. It is amazing what having music on does for the ambiance in my home. I play a lot of oldies and classical stuff. It is amazing how much classical stuff my boys (in their 20's) recognize from films. I go home at night, pour a glass of red wine and relax - no more looking through CD's to try to find something to play.
I put them into the changer in groups or categories. So if I want to play jazz - I just start with the first jazz cd. Same with broadway, classical, oldies - you get the point! I do plan to program all the buttons soon.
By the way, I am a 57 year old female and I did not encounter any problems setting this thing up.
My advise to anyone having problems is to READ THE DIRECTIONS!

Pros: Cross fade. Large capacity. Fiber optic output.
Cons: No real way to backup data. Data easily lost.

I've owned my Sony CDP-CX455 for about a year. It works very well with one VERY big flaw. I spent many hours naming and categorizing all 400 CD's using a keyboard. Then, one day we had a 6 hour power failure. ALL DATA was vaporized! The so-called 30 day memory is a joke! It didn't even last 6 hours!

There is no way to backup the data.

The only way I can justify investing all those hours entering the data again is if I first buy a UPS device to serve as a battery backup.

I did buy the Best Buy extended warranty so I could take it back for repair. But, that means removing all 400 CD's and then re-installing them after the repair. What a hassle!

On a happy note, I love the cross fade feature as it switches from one CD changer to the other.

Pros: It holds 400 cds, but the convenience is not worth the tradeoffs.
Cons: Optical output sound quality and reliability are POOR; Frequently skips CDs in the tray.

Don't buy it. I have owned one of these for a couple of years and it has been disappointing since day one. First,
the sound quality from the optical output is POOR. The sound is fine from the analog outputs, but in both receivers that I have, hooking this thing up to it fails to trigger the subwoofer output. The result, diminished bass. If you have a subwoofer hookup, you will have to use the analog outputs. Forget the optical output, it is poor quality.

Second, it often fails to recognize CDs that are loaded into the tray. For example, go from disc 100 to 102 and it will occasionally omit disc 101 when there is a CD in the slot.

Third, it often locks up when trying to play a CD, either can't load it properly or can't recognize that a CD is in the slot where it has been directed to look. Fourth, it is overly sensitive to CD defects and vibration. CDs that play wonderfully in both my car and older CD home players will skip and lock up in this player.

Pros: Amazing juke box capabilities and solid sony realiabilty. A sold transport system. Upgrades available

Cons: An outdated digital audio/digital converter built into the box that is so terribly compressed sounding.

I agree with everything that reviewer Henry-Thoreau said in his reviews. I think it is the best changer out there for the money.
What no one seems to want to speak to, is how awful sounding the cheap digital to audio converter is that is built inside this box. All money went into the changer, $5.00 went to the DAC. If you want your mind blown, and I mean fench fried, try hooking up the 455 to an quality outboard digital to audio converter. Most people would say "no way, that's much too expensive". I beg to differ, the answer could be at a starting price of about $250.00-$350.00for audiophile quality sound.
Have a very slick changer, and the sound to go with it.
Too much agravation you say? Then try this, if you have a quality Audio/Video receiver with decent digital to audio converters built in, run adigital optical cable from the digital out on the back of the 455, and into the digital in on the back of your receiver. Read your owners manual on your AV receiver and the 455, the capabilities are right there at you fingertips. Thanks and good luck. hrpaul1@verizon.net

Pros: Large CD Changer
Cons: Lack of digital output for MP3s

I am very upset to see that the MP3 output is "disabled." Sony told me it was a conflict of interest to provide a digital output from an MP3. It is interesting that they don't have this conflict on their DVD players!

I was also annoyed that you can't add CDs while a CD is playing.

Pros: High capacity, plays MP3 as well as conventional CDs, reads and displays MP3 information well.
Cons: No MP3 optical/digital output. Entry of information for conventional CDs is slow and awkward.

I bought this Sony 400-disc CD player because it plays MP3s as well as conventional CDs. I discovered, after much frustration, that it play CDs through both the optical and analog output, but MP3s only through the analog output. Now that I understand this and have it connected with BOTH digital and analog cables, it works fine. All the encoded ID3 tag information from the MP3 files is displayed on its display as the file plays. It is now the home for my 100 or so classical CDs, 50 pop CDs, and miscellaneous others. I plan to port my old LP records to MP3 format and use more of its huge storage capacity, which is expandable to 2 more 400-disc units, if you wish. It's a real bargain, once you master its quirks.

Pros: Works flawlessly, with many great features. Sounds great.
Cons: CD/track names should be loadable from PC or Internet.

Mine works flawlessly, the keyboard and remote are all perfect, it plays CDs beautifully, changes them quickly and quietly, alphabetizes, groups, sorts, searches etc. all as advertised. Brilliant device, and I may get a second one to daisy-chain and store 800 CDs. This thing ROCKS!

One negative - the manual says names can disappear if unit is not used for 30 days. Mine has never been unused 30 days, so I don't know if this is true. But given the effort I put in to loading the names, this would be bad. Also, as noted below, there should be a way to load CD/track names from my Mac (or PC) or the Internet rather than typing them in.

Pros: NONE
Cons: The features do not work.

It's a hunk of junk. My wife bought it for me for Christmas. Today I was going to take the time to group my CD's, only, I CAN'T CAUSE IT DOES NOT WORK!

I promptly took it back and got my money back. Too bad to, because I really wanted a mega MP3 player. Now I have none. I gave my old Sony 200 CD player to my son.

Do not buy this product. Someone in Sony manufacturing was in a BIG hurry to get nowhere fast! CDP-CX455 doesn't work. Sony has failed on this one!