Sony MegaStorage CDP-CX455 CD Changer

Though large, there is no other line of machines that can do what these can do. I own 14 of the Mega changers, 4 of the 400 capacity, 4 of the 300 capacity, and 6 of the 200 capacity models. All but one CDP-CX250 model were bought used. My wife gave that to me "way back when" when CDs predated the high capacity Zunes and iPods by at least a decade. All work flawlessly. For some audiophiles, the warm Sony sound, largely caused by "noise shaping" circuitry, is not a truly accurate Digital sound. I find it very nice, and I can listen to a Mega changer all day. I have perhaps 125 CD players of all types and quality levels, and the Sonys are the most relaxing to listen to, if not the most accurate; the single drawer players can sound sterile and without sonic personality. I like the overall tone quality better than my top flight 2560 Denon. An awesome setup is 2 of these units daisy chained together using the crossfade feature. No delay between songs, with cool deejay type fading, and, with 800 discs possibly loaded, two changers can play for about 58 days--more with MP3s in the 455 model. Some Sony 5 disc carousel models, the 360Z and the 525 can also control the Mega changers. Enjoy.

The Sony MegaStorage CDP-CX455 400-Disc CD Changer with two way remote was purchased because I was running out of room in my CX450 changer and I was also looking for a second two way remote. The price of the changer and remote was less than the price of a new remote (if you could find one) so I essentially bought a remote and got a free changer! I love being able to sync up the two changers into a mega changer and alternately playing tunes from each changer without the usual delay while discs are changing. The CX455 has two features that the CX450 doesn't have, it will play MP3 discs and it will display play time REMAINING (instead of elapsed play time) if you choose. One feature that is missing on the CX455 (and IS on the CX450), is the ability to play discs in the "artist mode" for up to 200 different artists. You can still group your discs into "favorite artists" (up to 8) but this is not as convenient as on the CX450 which lets you play discs by up to 200 different artists and additionally include them in up to 8 groups as "group play". I guess they had to modify this feature to accomodate MP3s on the CX455, but this is a feature that I really love on the CX450 and I'm not sure if it is worth trading just to get MP3 capability. I have compensated by moving all of my Christmas CDs into the CX455 as well as the artists that I have many CDs from (ie, the Bee Gees, Beatles, Moody Blues and Rolling Stones.) The artists that I only have 2 or 3 disks have been kept in the old changer so that I can still play and shuffle disks from them as well. Having two changers also lets each one operate in a different mode while alternating the play. That was a life-saver at Christmas time when I was able to shuffle Christmas songs on one changer and play them alternating with Dan Fogelberg and Simon and Garfunkel on the second changer. VERY COOL and both my wife and I got to hear what we wanted! The two-way remote will also display encoded track titles which is great when you are looking for a specific song. But you have to be within sight of one of the changers in order to receive the transmission and titles will only be displayed for the disc currently playing. Once the titles are loaded into the remote, you can go into another room and still see them on the remote.

I have owned another CDP-CX455 for six years and I love it. It makes handling my CD collection very easy. Now, with this second unit, I can load the rest of my CDs and have all at my fingertips. It saves me from fumbling with jewel cases and protects my discs from excess handling damage. In addition I intend to finally start converting many of my vinyl LPs to MP3 and load them into my new CD changer.

This was my first experience with eBay and I was very impressed with the ease and comfort of the whole process. Also, according to Crutchfield where I bought my first unit, this item is no longer available "new". Buying this previously-owned unit fits the bill!

All CD-s are well organized now. All of them. No separate storage needed. Sound quality is better than MP-3 players. Not available in electronic stores. Originally wanted to buy just a 300-Disc changer, went to FRY's electronic store, they had only 1 left, floor model, and salesman refused to sell it to me. So I got home, looked on the web and got 400 disc changer for the same price. Can't complain.

I bought two of these recently to replace two that were skipping around too much.

The replacements are working almost perfectly with the same CDs: no skipping at all.

So, I'll ask Sony if it is still repairing or replacing this model.

I've not tried other models. Almost all others hold fewer CDs.

I like the "no delay" function that switches playback from one unit to another at the end of every track, so there is no pause between tracks.

I suppose there are other ways to provide non-stop music for a home, but this model does the job.