Sony CDP-715E - is it a 'classic' yet?

[Tim Jones]

Picked one of these up on eBay about six weeks ago on the strength of a dimly remembered Paul Miller review from the mid-nineties. Paid well over the odds for it (£70 - one went for £20 a couple of weeks later...), but am utterly charmed by it.

I've owned some pretty high end players, including a Naim CDS3/555PS. It can't quite do the sheer oomph of those players but the little Sony has a kind of holographic quality that I've never come across before. In a different system, it could well be a paint stripper, but in my relatively forgiving NVA/Rega set up it seems utterly perfect.

I read somewhere back on PFM (might have been a Guy Sargeant comment) that the DAC/filter chipset in these was almost legendary, and that the difference between it and its rival £300 players was obvious. When the range had to be replaced, Sony UK were very unhappy because the successor line used a newer chipset that just couldn't compare.

God knows what I'll do when it dies - perhaps a company as big as Sony could still service them, although parts would inevitably be rare...

 

[Markyb]

I've got one of these still. Had it new and used to run it in a Naim system into the variable output boards in a 72. Think it got a OTT review from Alvin Gold in Hi Fi Choice too

 

[pure sound]

I still use mine quite alot. It has some qualities that few CD players almost at any price have. I've no doubt there are aspects that could be improved but I'd certainly leave the filter & DAC alone. Those that doubt CD players can sound different would do well to compare the Sony with a few other players under level matched blind conditions as we did for HiFi Choice. It stood well ahead of its peers at that time with a very distinctive grunge free presentation & quiet backgrounds. It also measured better than most.

I think there may have been other Sony models that used the same chipset at that time (815 & 915?) but they were dearer and will have sold in smaller numbers as they didn't get the press coverage the 715 got.

 

[cujo101]

I bought one on eBay a few years ago for £25! I still remember that Hi-Fi Choice review and paired with my Cyrus Straight Line, it sounds great. I've even considered looking for a spare!

 

[jtgofish]

The 715 /715E is a superb sounding player.
It has the clarity and 3D imaging that very few CD players can match regardless of cost.It deserves to be used in very good systems.
I have tried a lot of CD players and DACs and the only one that bettered it [and only just] was an Accuphase DP 700 and that is a $24,000 player.The two players sound remarkably similar just that the Accuphase has a touch more bass and refinement.Much better than the Sony ES players,Esoteric DV50,a Vincent CDS8,Minimax DAC plus,several Audio Gd DACs including the highly praised Reference 5,Moon 300D DAC,Twisted Pair Buffalo Sabre DAC ,Micromega Mydac etc.None of them came even close the the 715.I gave up on DACs after all that.

 

[pure sound]

I gather, from a friend that has recently bought both, that the 915 adds that bit of fullness that the 715 can lack. Same DF & DAC though so all the good aspects.

Another friend picked up a 715 from ebay this week for £7.50!

 

[jtgofish]

I gather, from a friend that has recently bought both, that the 915 adds that bit of fullness that the 715 can lack. Same DF & DAC though so all the good aspects.

Another friend picked up a 715 from ebay this week for £7.50!

The tonal balance is slightly on the lean side but that is probably just accurate.
You can add a bit of richness by using smooth and warm sounding interconnect cables like Van Den Hul The First carbon fibre or Antipodes Reference.

 

[Martyn Miles]

Similarly, the Denon DCD1000 is a very good unit. Probably from the same era as the Sony. I've not compared it directly with anything else, but is certainly musical.
I once owned a Sony CDP 35 in the '80s and the Denon machine is noticeably better.
It's a bit slow in loading, but who cares about that...

 

[jtgofish]

I just discovered the perfect interconnect cable for the 715.
It is the Accuphase ASL-10.More commonly known as the Accuphase Brown.Around $400 for a 1 metre pair.
If you think the 715 is great but has slight tendency to upper midrange glare use this cable.It is very rich and smooth with a hefty bass but also great clarity and imaging.Midrange is just beautiful.As smooth as the Van den Hull First but more open and dynamic.

 

[Taff63]

I gather, from a friend that has recently bought both, that the 915 adds that bit of fullness that the 715 can lack. Same DF & DAC though so all the good aspects.

!

As a result of this thread I picked up a 915 today for £40. It is definitely a 'full' sounding player and well - worth keeping an eye out for.

 

[lsrocha]

I just discovered the perfect interconnect cable for the 715.
It is the Accuphase ASL-10.More commonly known as the Accuphase Brown.Around $400 for a 1 metre pair.
If you think the 715 is great but has slight tendency to upper midrange glare use this cable.It is very rich and smooth with a hefty bass but also great clarity and imaging.Midrange is just beautiful.As smooth as the Van den Hull First but more open and dynamic.

So... a €400 pair of snake oil...I mean, Interconnect, for a €250 CD Player. Makes sense...not!

 

[cubastreet]

great first post but if you made it when you joined it would have only been a two year thread dredge.

 

[lsrocha]

great first post but if you made it when you joined it would have only been a two year thread dredge.

Better late than never, as they say...