SONY CDP-555ESA

Commentary

Equipped with an advanced pulse D/A converter, the ES series mainstream model CD player.

The D/A converter employs a high-density linear converter system, equipped with a newly developed advanced pulse D/A converter (CXD 2562) and a new version of a 45-bit noise-shaping digital filter (CXD 2560).

The Advanced Pulse D/A converter is a further development of the characteristics of conventional pulse D/A converters. It employs third order noise shaping to reduce the maximum quantization noise in the audible band and to avoid a sudden increase in noise outside the audible band. On top of this, it employs a newly developed high-precision arithmetic method developed by Sony that enables multiple quantization outputs (higher pulse output density). This increases the number of pulses output per unit time and increases the pulse density to achieve a more accurate musical waveform.
In addition, the advanced pulse D/A converter has two PLM (pulse length modulation) wave outputs that are complementary to each other, and two PLM wave outputs that are complementary to each other. The 4D/A output of the advanced pulse D/A converter is an 8D/A output that is one channel of the 4D/A output of the PLM wave 2 outputs that are complementary to each other. The 4D/A complimentary service PLM consists of two PLM wave outputs that are complementary to each other. The 4D/A output is a differential amplifier that combines two PLM wave outputs that are complementary to each other. The 4D/A cancels out harmonic distortion that is noticeable when signal frequencies are high or amplitude levels are large.

To take advantage of the advanced pulse D/A converter, a 45-bit noise-shaping digital filter is incorporated in the front stage.
In this circuit, a high dynamic range is obtained by performing a high-precision oversampling operation and a first order noise shaping operation on the result of the operation before outputting it to a pulse D/A converter.

A direct digital sink is used to prevent degradation of sound quality due to jitter.
In this method, the master clock is formed on the same chip of the pulse D/A converter, and the jitter is removed immediately before the electronic switch, which is the final stage of the pulse D/A converter, thereby reducing sound quality degradation due to jitter.

The analog low-pass filter is a GIC type low-pass filter with no series passive elements such as capacitors, and the line amplifier is a DC servo amplifier with no coupling capacitors directly connected to the audio signal path.
In addition, the output stage has an A-class FET that has a smooth rise and is suitable for small-signal amplification.

The servo circuit uses a high-precision digital servo.
In this circuit, the signal from the optical pickup is A/D converted, filtered and controlled by digital processing, and then D/A converted again to operate the optical pickup. This enables the servo amount to be adjusted according to each disc.
The high-precision servo uses a high-sampling rate, high-precision, high-resolution A/D converter and D/A converter to realize an ideal servocontrol and low power consumption by digitizing.

A fine drive is used to prevent noise components that adversely affect sound from flowing into the ground line.
In this system, the drive circuit of the optical pickup is composed of balanced push-pull by ± 2 power supply system capable of canceling the in-phase noise component, and noise current mixing is eliminated.

G-base unit is adopted for the base of the mechanical deck.
The G-base unit is made by adding calcium carbonate, which has the same composition as marble, to a special resin and reinforcing it with glass fiber to prevent loss of trace accuracy due to vibration and resonance.

The spindle motor that rotates the disk is equipped with a BSL motor that achieves high precision and high quiet rotational performance with little cogging. The spindle bearing is made of sapphire with high hardness and low friction coefficient, providing high durability.

An acoustic shield is adopted, and a damper made of a special rubber material is provided in the opening of the front panel where the tray is stored to improve airtightness. This reduces the effect of air vibration entering through the tray lid.
The tray itself is a G-tray made of the same material as the G-base unit. In addition, a stayable lock mechanism is provided to fix both sides of the tray with lock arms during performance to improve vibration control during performance.

The FB chassis is used for the chassis, and vibration is eliminated by the surrounding frame and the structure in which the whole chassis is firmly jointed by the beams passing from front and rear to front and rear.
In addition, copper plating is applied to the inside of the chassis to make it nonmagnetic.

The legs are equipped with a fine ceramic insulator.

The audio circuit board and digital circuit board are separated in a separate sheet configuration, and the digital circuit board is moved to the lower part of the mechanical deck to minimize noise from the digital part to the audio part.
The audio circuit board high-strength glass-epoxy ES substrate is used for the audio circuit board to prevent deterioration of sound quality due to vibration in the substrate and electrostatic floating capacity.

The power supply section has a 2-transformer configuration that provides independent power to the digital servo section and audio section. In addition, a dedicated power supply circuit is provided for the D/A converter section, which is important for sound quality, to eliminate interference from the power supply.
In addition, in terms of mechanism, rubber dampers are used at four locations to prevent transmission of the vibration of the transformer.

Aluminum front panel is used for the front panel.

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The Custom Edit function is equipped with ten functions : peak search, time edit, just edit, link edit, edit navi, program edit, multi-disc program, time fade, variable fade, and manual fader.

In peak search, all songs are searched at high speed, and they are repeatedly played for about 4 seconds before and after the point where the volume level is highest.

Time Edit enables efficient editing of the A-side and B-side when recording tapes.
If you want to edit to fit the length of your tape, use the TIME SET button or AMS button to set the length of the tape (you can also use the direct key to set the length in seconds). Press the Edit button. First, program from the first song for side A. When you encounter a time-over song, select the longest song that fits within the time. Then press the Edit button to edit side B.
Also, if you select and edit a half disk with the AMS button, tracks are distributed so that the A side and B side of the tape are about the same length without changing the order of the songs.

Just Edit is an evolution of Time Edit. It automatically finds and programs the combination of songs closest to the specified time.
You can set the A side and B side at the same time as in Time Edit.

Link Edit allows you to add music to the remaining tapes from Time Edit or Just Edit.
If you have programmed all songs and there is room for more songs within the editing time, the track number of the song to be entered and the LINK display will blink, and you can add a song by reselecting from the songs with the blinking track number.
Link-edit also allows you to swap disks and continue editing.

It is equipped with edit navigation. When you edit a tape with time edit or just edit, the operation procedure is shown on the display. If you get stuck in the middle of setting up a song in each edit, the next procedure is shown in English every 5 seconds.

Program Edit allows you to manually edit your favorite songs in any order.
With the AMS key or direct key, you can program your favorite songs in any order while checking the accumulated time. If you turn on Auto Space at this time, you can edit each song by adding a 3-second blank to the playing time. When you press the pause button, you can program the A side and then the B side together.

Multidisk programs allow you to edit across multiple disks.
When you program in program mode and open the tray, the display "MULTI PGM" appears and the program automatically moves to a multi-disc program. You can program up to 6 discs (24 songs). You can also program poses in the middle of the program.

Time Fade allows you to fade out at a specified time, which can be set with the TIME SET button or the AMS button.

You can set the fade-in / fade-out time for the variable fade from 2 seconds to 10 seconds in units of 1 second.

The manual fader allows you to fade in and fade out at the desired location.

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Equipped with a custom file function, you can advantage of 6 functions such as disk memo, custom index, program / delete bank, level file, last mode memory and file recall.

Disk Memo can record up to 10 characters per disk, 78 characters including alphanumeric characters, special symbols and blanks.

With a custom index, you can index the disc in your own way wherever you want in the index. You can set up to 10 points per disc and fine-tune it in steps of approximately ± 0.15 seconds.

In the Program / Delete Bank, you can record the settings of a program performance or a 99-track delete play.

The Level File feature lets you set different playback levels for different disks.
You can set the lineout / headphone volume to your desired volume by simply pressing the Level File button. When you insert the same disc, it is automatically set to the stored level.

In the last mode memory, you can store the play mode and fade time set just before removing a disc with a custom file. When the same disc is inserted, that mode is automatically recalled.

With File Recall, you can check what kind of file was stored.
This function can be function even if you don't have a disc installed, and you can delete unnecessary files on the fly.

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It is equipped with a delete play function so that you can play continuously with only the music you want to listen to. If you delete unnecessary music in shuffle mode and then switch to continue mode to play, you can skip that music and play the next one.
In addition, it is equipped with a 99 track delete shuffle function so that you can leave only your favorite music and play it randomly.

Equipped with Music Scan, Auto Q and Auto Space functions, each of which can be operated from a remote control.
With Music Scan, you can play only the first part of a song one after another. You can choose between 10 seconds, 20 seconds, and 30 seconds. Both of them have a 2-second fade-out function. You can also use the Clear button while scanning to delete songs you don't want to listen to.
With the Auto Queue function, you can search automatically to the point where the sound starts in the pause state.
The AutoSpace feature allows you to add approximately three seconds of silence between songs, and reduces it to a minimum of three seconds for discs with more than three seconds between songs.

It is equipped with functions such as program performance function of up to 24 songs, 8-mode repeat of 1 song / all songs / relay A-B (remote control only) / program / delete play / shuffle / delete shuffle / custom index, index search (remote control only), AMS and music search.

The display section has a 20-track music calendar.
The dimmer control allows you to adjust the brightness of the display to three levels, and the display mode function allows you to switch between full light / partial light / off.

Equipped with an optical digital output.

Equipped with two line-out terminals, fixed and variable.
In addition, it is equipped with a headphone terminal with a lineout linked volume that flashes when the remote control is operated.

There are 2 color variations of gold and black.

Wireless remote control is included.

Model Rating

Type	CD Player
Frequency characteristic	2 Hz to 20 kHz ± 0.3 dB
Total harmonic distortion factor	0.0017% or less (EIAJ)
Signal-to-noise ratio	117 dB or more (EIAJ)
Dynamic range	100 dB or more (EIAJ)
Wow and flutter	Below the measurement limit (± 0.001% W. peak) (EIAJ)
Output level	2Vrms(Fixed) 2 Vrms ~ 0 V (Variable)
Digital output	Optical : -18dBm (emission wavelength 660 nm)
Headphone output level	28 mw (32 Ω)
Power consumption	26W
External dimensions	Width 470x Height 125x Depth 375 mm Side Wood Removal : Width 430 mm
Weight	13.0kg
Attachment	Wireless Remote Control RM-D891 (Gold) RM-D991 (Black)