Sony CDP-555ESJ (1992)
The Sony CDP-555ESJ was released in 1992 at ¥90,000 — a Japanese-market ES-series player that celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Compact Disc format. The Vintage Knob described the 1992–93 anniversary units in one word: maturity. For roughly half the price of Sony's flagship CDP-X707ES, the 555ESJ delivered about 90% of that player's performance, and it remained on sale in Japan until late 1993.
Technically, the 555ESJ is a bridge model. The digital filter moved up from the earlier CDP-X559ES's CXD-2560 to the new SCORE-type CXD-2567. SCORE stands for "Subliminal Correlation = decorrelation". It adds a pseudo-random signal before D/A conversion, on top of 45-bit oversampling, and this was Sony's first use of that dither approach. The D/A converter is the CXD-2562 advanced pulse type with third-order noise shaping, the same chip used in the CDP-X505ES. The laser block (KSS-272A) is shared too.
What the 555ESJ did *not* inherit from the pricier X707ES: the Twin-Core transformer, XLR balanced outputs, coaxial digital output, and the super-beefy power supply. What it did get was a generous helping of the X707ES's mechanical DNA — the glass-fiber "G" base drive, "G" tray, GIC analog low-pass filter, sapphire spindle bearing, BSL spindle motor, and a copper-plated chassis to reduce magnetostriction. The two-transformer power supply sat on rubber dampers at four points, the audio circuit board used a glass-epoxy ES substrate, and the output stage ran FETs in class A with a DC servo line amplifier. Even the legs were fine ceramic insulators. The front panel was aluminum, with wooden side panels available in black or champagne.
The front panel also carries an extensive Custom Edit system. It has ten functions: peak search, time edit, just edit, link edit, edit navi, program edit, multi-disc program, time fade, variable fade, and manual fader. There is also a "stayable lock" disc tray mechanism that secures the disc with lock arms at four points. The Vintage Knob summed it up as "12.5 kilos of long-lasting, excellent sounding and affordable high-end," and noted that thousands of X505ES and 555ESJ units are still playing worldwide.
Surviving documentation is thin. No frequency response, THD, or S/N figures are recorded in the archive, and neither are official dimensions. The unit is a 100-volt Japanese-market model. A service manual circulates via eserviceinfo.com, and a YouTube repair video ("SONY CDP-555ESJ の修理") exists. Period listings show units selling with original remotes and intact wooden side panels. One Russian seller described his as purchased new roughly 33 years ago.
Known specs:
- Released 1992; ¥90,000; sold in Japan until late 1993
- D/A converter: CXD-2562 advanced pulse type; digital filter: CXD-2567 SCORE type
- Outputs: RCA stereo ×2, optical TOSLINK ×1, 6.35mm headphone jack ×1
- Weight: 12.5 kg
- 100V Japanese-market unit
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