A very capable player (Sony CDP-XE 330)

Member Name: Lakerfanster

Product:	Sony CDP-XE 330
Date:	04/10/07 (806 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Sound, Ease of use

Disadvantages: Better competition now

Introduction

I have had this CD player for around seven years now and it has served me well. I first had it paired with an Aiwa mini system which did improve the sound quite a lot and then I used this with a Technics Amplifier with Acoustic Solution Floorstanding Speakers and I have have the CD player with a Sony Surround Amp that my dad gave me recently as he hadnt used it since he got a new Cambridge Audio Azur Amp and my speakers are Mission 771's which I bought from Ebay after selling the Acoustic Solutions floorstanders.

Back when this CD player was released it was over £100 and was a five star winner in magazines like What HiFi but I have since seen it for £24.99, Don't be fooled into thinking it is too old in HiFi terms by the price, It still competes with a lot of similarily prices CD players that arent from the likes of the main budget CD player leaders Marantz, Denon and Cambridge Audio. There are the exceptions but for the most part this player will cope very well even now seven years on.

Build Quality and Look.

The Sony CDP-XE330's build quality is very good and gives the player a solid look. It doesnt look dated even though things move so fast nowadays, especially in the world of Hifi. There are even players twice as expensive that don't look at solid as this player and that's something for Sony to be very proud of.

The Sony CDP-XE 330's CD tray also works very well and is relatively silent which is always good as you get put off by a noisy player. It also loads very quickly and is pretty good when it comes to playing without any skipping trouble or anything else like that. You can also control the tracks with a quick turn of the knob at the top of the front fascia.

The Sound

Playing everything from Pearl Jam to Boyz II Men this Player copes very well and it would be a good idea to replace the freebie interconnects with something better as I have just done that recently and boy there is a big difference with things sounding so much more open and there's a much firmer and tauter bass.

Vocals sound natural with this player and are seperate to the music which makes a cohesive performance which doesnt get cluttered easily even with some fairly complex music. There's very good detail though This Sony will be beaten in absolute clarity by the better budget players but the player stands up very well with the competition. Any product that has had a five star award is a very capable piece of kit. Whilst you can buy better now you would have to spend £350-£500 on a whole system to get what you could get. You could pick up a very capable system for £100 from buying good as new condition items from places like ebay.

The Remote

It is also an advantage for A cd player to have a fully flexible remote and With this player you get an easy to use remote which has clearly laid out buttons for each track and also has all the various extra options like repeat and shuffle. This means you can just sit back and relax and your player will sort out the music.

If you lose your Sony CDP-XE 330 remote you may be able to find a replacement remote control from somewhere like Ebay or maybe through Sony Direct or you may be able to use another sony remote if you have a sony dvd player for instance as most of Sony's remotes will work with other equipment of the same brand.

Overall

I have had this player for around seven years and have built my latest system around it as it still has some great time left. You will be very pleased with this CD player if you are looking to put a budget hifi together. And getting something like this means that you will be getting almost as good as a performance but you will also be able to buy any equipment like interconnects, speaker cable or anything else that you might need.
If you want to move into the world of seperates and are on a tight budget then you should check out this CD player as you could build a very good hifi for just £100 if you got former five star winners.

Summary: Worth consideration if you are on a budget.

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