Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20778 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Sony
• Model: CDP-CX355
• Released on: 2003-07-07
• Dimensions: 18.74 pounds

Features

• Multiplay Cd
• 300 Disc Changer
• H-Pulse D/A Converter
• Optical Digital Output
• 189mm x 430mm x 484mm

Manufacturer's Description
Load up and play - this 300 Disc Mega Changer is the perfect all-night party machine.PRODUCT FEATURES:300 Disc Changer;H-Pulse D/A Converter;Optical Digital Output;CD/CD-R/CD-RW Playback;CD-Text.

Box Contents

Customer Reviews

Magic Roundabout
"Time for bed" said Zebedee; but I really couldn't go yet, as I needed to see what random track was going to be played next. It is hard to explain why such a juke-box enhances your CD collection, as they're only your own records after all, but it does! This really does change the way you listen to music.

I've had the unit for less than 24 hours, and have not had any of the problems stated by some users of ALL different makes of such units. No skipping. No jamming. No clunk-click.

The unit is big and the manual small; both in size and font. It did not describe how it was designed and what the big coloured light in the centre (blue/green/amber) represents. I guess there's a Dalek in the middle that does all the work. Nor does it make clear when it is referring to front panel or remote control buttons, which work differently to each other.

However, compared to most remotes, it is mercifully simple, and the Play/Stop/Pause buttons are large and visible; a joy to the over 45's.

What the manual does not make clear is how simple the beast is to operate.

Writing Group Labels (8) or Disc Labels (300) is so simple with either the Jog-Shuttle or the Remote, that I didn't bother to connect the PC keyboard. I can see that more Groups and multiple cross-referencing is desirable, but is only whining in the face of such an asset.

Once I binned the manual, it was so easy to program. When I was listening to Shuffled "World Music" I realised that my CD of "Asian Underground" should really be under "Techno/Dance". Two clicks and it was done.

Loading the carousel was so simple. A big door in the front opens, and you stack them like an old slide projector.

The delete facility makes your collection more listenable. Brief non-music tracks or just gruesome tracks can be omitted. Eminem's cussing or Pink Floyd's "Several creatures..." are not in my playlist.

With the jog-shuttle you can speedily select any CD and any track. You can play sequentially or randomly across one disc, one group or all CD's. If you are listening to a random selection and like the track, then you are just a coupla clicks away from hearing the rest of the CD. So you're listening to your "Punk & Rap" selection when that girl you fancy bangs on the door. "Classic" - Click!. You open the door to the sounds of Elgar's Nimrod and tell her how spiritually uplifting you find it. Next time she comes around you'll have the 36 panty-dropping tracks lined up ready to go.

I loaded and named 100 CD's in 3 hours, including popping them in a database and playing some tracks because I couldn't wait. Sure I could do the track listings, and build my own hitlists, but I just wanna hear my music.

I can't compare this to other such units as this is the only one I've had.

It's gonna be a while before I watch TV again. Anyone want to buy 300 crystal CD cases?

5 years on:
In a world of i-pods, I'm still using this unit. Firstly, once you have loaded your CDs into the i-Pod, then you have to put them somewhere. Why put your CD music into compressed files on an i-pod then feed them into your stereo with an audio cable, when you can paly the unadulterated CD files via an optical cable. Watch this space for my 2014 missive!

Sony CDP-CX355 300 CD changer : A gift of God
Sony really does it good when they are into it, 300 CDs in one biiiig box is a help to keep your collection at hand, catalogued and clean. They kept the old style of including all the buttons required in the changer and in the remote, and it's fully lit by LEDs, so it is also gorgeous when used with lights off. I would definitely recommend it and I'm looking forward to getting my second changer to place it on top of the other. One good idea would be to give it the possibility of reading MP3 cds, DVDs, and the top notch feature would be to create a changer for movie DVDs. Imagine 300 movies at the touch of a button!

Memory machine
I bought this to tidy up the CD pile in our house and it did just that - sounds good, easy to use. I found a neat black £13 keyboard on ebay that made keying in the artist names a doddle. The group functions make classification of different music types easy. It is a bit slow on random play (disc to disc) but faster than changing the CDs by hand! And the mechanical noise isn't exactly cool but it's not a lot of money. The colour change LED inside is a bit naff, it changes as you work through the collection to show you which end you are in.

Once CDs are in you can access them individually - it gently spits out the one you want by pushing a button.

Best thing is you play all those old discs you thought you were bored with.