AVaddict's Full Review: Sony CDX-757MX 10-Disc CD Changer
A Little History
Previous to this unit I had a Sony CDX-727 which performed flawlessly for about two and a half years until being recently destroyed when I was a hit by a drunk driver about a month or so ago. This was a late discovery, but fortunately State Farm is very good about these things and promptly paid for replacement, see my review for more. Thew 757 is very similar to the 727 other than being 3 generations apart. There are a few minor component changes, but I will get into that later of course.
Some Basic Info
As I said earlier, this unit is similar to the 727, but least so in its looks. The previous unit was a beautiful champagne that matched their “1-ohm Drive” ES amps (3 generations ago) perfectly. This unit shows the trend in many electronics now, especially home, to move to a silver scheme as a line change, or at the least a consumer option. This unit is proof. It is a look that is somewhere between brushed and metal flake, but looks good in its own right. At least the have given up the red thing, that was annoying at best. The access door is now a simple black with texture lines instead of the see-through smoked door of the 727. I never labeled my magazines, simply because the days of the home ten-disc changer from Sony are long gone and access in my trunk is easy and quick, so who really needs to actually see the mag?
The connections are in the same place as always which is convenient more than anything else, but I will touch on that later. Specs are marginally better, the dynamic range is slightly higher than the 727 by just a few decibels. I don’t really notice this particular change that much, but it does, somehow, seem to sound better to me. It is running off the same head unit, so at least that constant allows me to make a measured judgment. The system amplification has changed, but I feel that this change is equivalent and at low volume most amps are very similar.
Install
This unit’s size is relatively unchanged as well. It is still a compact 12” x 7.5” x 3.5” or about the size of a small college dictionary, so finding a place for it should be pretty easy. I simply mounted it in the same place it had been, at the bottom of my rear seat pass-through directly below my amps, horizontally. This changer, as did my 727, comes with self-tapping screws for drilling right into, say, sheet metal. I’m not a big fan of drilling into something when I don’t truly know what’s directly behind it, so what I did when I first got a changer was simply make a thicker trunk deck (the part most folks lift up to get to their spare) with fiberboard I bought for $5 at Home Depot. Using a jigsaw and the old deck as a template, I had a new stronger deck in about thirty minutes to which I was able to mount the new changer.
There are small dials on either side of the changer that correspond to the mounting of the changer, this has been the case since the introduction of the CDX-707 almost five years ago. All one needs to do if mounting the player at an angle is make sure the dial indicators are at 90 degrees off horizontal, i.e. perpendicular to the ground. If you, for example, are mounting it on your rear seat pass-through, slipping a measured piece of fiberboard under the carpet and gluing it in place will give you something to mount the changer to as opposed to drilling steel or in the event that the seat backs aren’t backed in sheet metal. Each mounting bracket, two total, holds the changer itself with two machine screws, easily replaced at Home Depot if lost or damaged.
All other install procedures are relatively straightforward. Simply connect your analog RCAs that lead to your head unit and connect the Sony Unilink cable and you are ready to go. I will make one rather important point about the Unilink cable and that is be sure that you have everything where you need it before you connect it. I have had nothing but bad luck with these cables locking in and not wanting to release if need be. In my discussions with installers I know, these appears to be common, so beware.
Sound and Reliability
The sound is very good, period. At this point most changers in the same range will produce equally good sound. What I mean by this is simply that, for example, most folks wouldn’t know the difference in sound quality between this changer and say a Kenwood eXcelon KDC-CX89, which is also about $250. The highs are resounding (resounding being a relative term if listening to Pantera I spose), mids are clear and accurate, and lows are as punchy or soulful as the music dictates. Basically what I am saying is that the music is clear and distinct, devoid of mechanical hum, and without any odd digital fuzziness, some “enhancements” seem to add, in my opinion.
The “Advanced ESP”, which stands for Electronic Skip Protection, is a standard feature on all disc changers or players these days (though with brand specific names), but they do vary widely in how effective they are. Sony’s skip protection tends to be very good. When I first got my 727 I had stocks tyres on a stock suspension, I now have 17” wheels with low profile tyres and a very stiff suspension, a real test for good skip protection. The CDX-757MX passes this test with flying colors. Much as it was with my first Sony changer, it appears to be simply unfazed by whatever I put it through. Even with that in mind, this changer seems to be even one step past that. Where as my 727 just used many small springs mounted accordingly on a subframe along with the requisite electronics, the 757 actually uses a soft silicon based “suspension” which may very well be truly unskippable short of a major traffic accident or uncovered manhole.
As far as reliability goes, I have absolutely no doubt this player will last as long or longer, giving faithful service all the while, than the 2 plus years my 727 gave me. The package, though compact, is still rather weighty giving the impression of stamped metal parts instead of plastics, a sturdy frame, a quality magazine carriage, etc. All this and I haven’t even touched on the fact that not only will it play your store bought CDs, it will play your homemade CD-Rs and CD-RWs. This is all aside from the fact that for the first time this product level (the 7 series) now plays MP3s, a welcome addition at considerable (though understandable) wait. Lets talk about this more.
Features
OK, so this unit plays CDs, super. What is more important is the fact that it now not just plays CD-Rs and CD-RWs, but plays them flawlessly. I will admit though my 727 played both types, it did so with scattered consistency./ CD-Rs played well most of the time, but RWs gave it a lot of trouble. This sad reality of the time simply isn’t true anymore. This changer plays Rs and RWs with unblinking resolve. I haven’t even had any trouble on my most scratched discs, and I mean obliterated, but it still plays them well (within reason of course). I have, however, dismissed the RW format in favor of MD (magneto-optical as opposed to pure optical) which now has more than comparable and sometimes better sound, IMO, than current 192 rate CDs. I don’t want to go off on a pro-MD rant, so take that last statement as you will.
Lets be clear though, what sets this player apart from many others is its ability to play MP3s. This one point is the key buying change in this brands line up, which at this time only has 5 examples out of 21 offerings, only one of which is a component unit. The 757s MP3 playback tends to be pretty consistent, there is occasionally some jumpy sound, but 90% of the time it executes flawless playback. What this means for the user is the need to change the magazine once every couple of months as opposed to every day. Conservatively speaking you are talking about 100-200 (potentially) discs worth of music per magazine. Granted that’s a bold statement, but that’s the reality here. Personally, it would take me a day to put together just one magazines worth of discs. This alone makes this changer a strong competitor to any hard disc system on the market right now, even when the price is paired with a nice Sony head unit. I guarantee you we will soon see a massive trend toward hard disk head units that will also play CDs. As much as I would like to see more development, the days of the cassette are over, regardless of how much I b*tch and moan. The external docking bay systems we have seen from a few mfrs I feel will not last, convenient yes, but too many pieces, wiring, install time, etc. Even with that in mind, most likely there will evolve a class of mobile tower, just like the one you’re next to now, only in your trunk.
Final Thoughts
The truth of the situation here is that this is a very good product for a reasonable price. I could say this about many players, but the reality is I have had Sony head units for years so I have Sony CD changers now. It does what it should with great aplomb and as I mentioned earlier about my old 727, the 757 should do exactly that for many years.
A quick heads u to Sony head unit owners thinking about this changer, the PMF function (Program Memory Function) only works with rather recent receivers. The PMF function does not work with my head unit, nor will it work with any of the pre-Xplod receivers, and not even all of those at that, so before you buy this changer for that reason (‘specially cause of the MP3 playback, just imagine!) make sure your head unit is compatible.
If you have a Sony head unit and want a changer, this is your best bet. You can find this changer for 179.99 and up on the net, just search google with “Sony CDX-757MX” and you’ll get the results I did. Happy listening!
CD TextDisc and Track Name capabilities Up to 110 CD Custom File(TM) memory 12-Second Advanced Electronic Shock Protection allows flawless play of CDs...More at Amazon Marketplace
CD TextDisc and Track Name capabilities Up to 110 CD Custom File(TM) memory 12-Second Advanced Electronic Shock Protection allows flawless play of CDs...More at Amazon
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