Sony CDP-608ESD CD-player Review

The Sony ES series of audio components was developed to provide state-of-the-art performance in consumer audio technology. Although they are hardly inexpensive, most ES components are priced well below most so-called “high-end” audio products. The CDP-608ESD aptly illustrates the ES approach. It uses 18-bit digital-to-analog (D/A) converters and eight-times-oversampling (352.8-kHz) digital filters. Almost every feature yet created for CD players is built into it, and it is rated for state-of-the-art performance: a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of 113 dB, distortion of 0.0022 percent, channel separation of more than 110 dB, and frequency response from 2 to 20,000 Hz ±0.3 dB.

The CDP-608ESD is moderately large—18-3/8 inches wide (including its furnished wood side plates), 14 inches deep, and 4-3/4 inches high— and weighs a hefty 27-1/2 pounds. At first glance, it appears to be a fairly conventional front-loading player with all the usual controls and features plus some that are less familiar. In addition to the standard transport controls, a matrix of twenty numbered buttons gives direct access to any track on a disc. (Pressing the >20 button allows track numbers up to 99 to be keyed in with the other buttons.) There are separate pairs of fast and slow scanning buttons instead of the usual single pair of buttons that increase scanning speed as they are held in.

The CDP-608ESD has unusually comprehensive editing and programming features. It can play a single track, an entire disc, or up to twenty tracks in any desired order, and a shuffle-play mode plays the tracks in a random order. Among special provisions for users who wish to tape programs from CD’s is an Auto Memo feature to select tracks that will fit in a designated time span (it can select two programs, one for each side of a cassette, with minimum tape waste). The player also has a provision for inserting 3 seconds of silence between tracks (for tape players that use such blanks to locate the beginning or end of a segment) and an automatic fade function.

The Custom File feature of the CDP-608ESD stores user-selected programs for up to 227 different discs in a nonvolatile memory (it is retained indefinitely as long as the player is plugged into an AC supply and for about one month with no power available). The stored information for each disc can include a title (up to ten letters or numbers that appear in the display window whenever the disc is loaded), the “program bank” (up to twenty tracks in any order), and a “custom index” of up to ten selected points on the disc. A user can program playback starting from any of the stored points or repeat the program between any two of them. There are provisions for checking the programmed information and clearing or modifying any portion of it.

The CDP-608ESD can be operated automatically by means of an external timer switch. The large display window, which can be switched off if desired, shows the current track and index numbers, the elapsed or remaining track time, and the time remaining on the disc. Its “music calendar” shows unplayed track numbers (up to No. 20), and there are status indicators for practically every one of the control features.

A small knob on the front panel adjusts the level at the adjacent headphone jack and at the variable analog outputs in the rear. A red LED in the knob serves as an index marker and blinks while the control is being adjusted remotely (it is motor-driven in remote operation). The rear apron contains fixed and variable analog outputs and both coaxial and optical digital outputs. A front-panel button switches the digital outputs on and off.

The Sony CDP-608ESD is furnished with a wireless remote control that duplicates virtually all its control functions except power on/off, timer mode, and digital output switching. Price: $1,000.

Lab Tests

The frequency response of the Sony CDP-608ESD was flat within + 0, — 0.15 dB from 11 to 20,000 Hz. The output from a 0-dB test signal into an EIA standard load was about 2.45 volts (fixed or maximum variable), with a channel imbalance of 0.03 dB. The channel separation decreased smoothly from about 128 dB at 100 Hz to 92 dB at 20,000 Hz. As with most CD players, there was a measurable but insignificant difference between the separation readings from the left to the right channel versus the right to the left.

The departure from linearity at very low signal levels was less than 0.05 dB from 0 to — 90 dB, the best performance we have measured from a CD player. The 1,000-Hz total harmonic distortion (THD) plus noise was between —94 and — 92 dB (0.002 to 0.0025 percent) over a level range of 0 to — 90 dB in the poorer of the two channels. The other yielded substantially lower distortion readings, in the range of 0.001 to 0.00125 percent, at levels from —40 to —90 dB. Across the audio frequency range, THD plus noise at the 0-dB level was —92 to — 94 dB from 20 to 10,000 Hz, dropping as low as —97 dB (0.0014 percent) at 20,000 Hz.

The de-emphasis error was only 0.07 dB at 16,000 Hz, and interchannel phase shift reached a maximum of —0.65 degree at 20,000 Hz. The A-weighted signal-to-noise ratio was better than 117.5 dB (referred to a 0-dB level), and the dynamic range was 98.4 dB. The quantization noise (with the D/A converters energized) was —94.7 dB. The frequency (speed) error was —0.0167 percent.

The cueing to tracks that were not separated by a silent interval was perfect. The slew time was 1.8 seconds from Track 1 to Track 15 of the Philips TS4 test disc, not quite the fastest we have observed but better than average. The tracking was unaffected by fairly hard blows to the top or side of the player; a very hard fist blow or open-palm impact was needed to cause mistracking. The defect tracking (error correction), measured with the Pierre Verany #2 disc, was outstanding. A dropout duration of 2.000 micrometers, or two successive closely spaced dropouts of 1.000 micrometers, was needed to cause mistracking.

Comments

Our measurements of the CDP-608ESD speak for themselves—this is unquestionably an outstanding CD player. Not surprisingly, there was nothing in its sound quality that was not perfectly consistent with its performance on the test bench.

Moreover, the special features of the CDP-608ESD are at least as impressive as its measurements or sound, both of which may already have surpassed the actual needs of the vast majority of users. In fact, the same could be said for its vast array of programming, editing, and operating features. One omission that we noticed was the capability of accessing an indexed point on a disc directly; index cueing can be done only in the fast-search mode, using the index display in the window as a guide.

For people who tape their CD’s for use in a car and are particular about what they plan to listen to while driving, the CDP-608ESD offers a unique combination of capabilities. While we did not try every feature it provides, we did experiment with its various programming modes to convince ourselves that they work as claimed—they do. To the question of whether all the features can be used effectively by the typical hi-fi enthusiast, our answer is a qualified “yes.” If you are one of those people who never glance at an instruction manual, you have little chance of realizing the potential of this product. And if you are one of the large number of people who have never been able to program a VCR successfully, you are probably doomed to frustration with the CDP-608ESD. Then too, the manual is not always as understandable as it should be, with an occasional lapse in clarity or specificity that may be the result of less than ideal translation from the Japanese. Still, anyone who studies the instructions carefully and follows the procedures outlined in the manual will be amply rewarded.

Since very few people will need its full capabilities, and since anyone should be able to use it without difficulty as a conventional CD player, we have no hesitation in recommending the Sony CDP-608ESD to everyone who wants a rugged, impressively refined product with silky smooth and quiet mechanical operation along with virtually perfect electrical and acoustical performance. Actually very reasonably priced in view of what it offers, it is one of the most impressive products we have tested and used in quite some time.

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