Can anybody recommend a make/model of a good CD mega-changer? I was thinking a 300-400 cd capacity would be about right for me but would be willing to consider something with less capacity if the features and price were right. I've done some shopping around and mostly have come across the Sony models such as the CDPCX455.

I would like to spend as little as possible (who wouldn't ), including used or factory refurb, but want to avoid making any serious mistakes.

I thought about the Sony DVPCX985V DVD/CD mega changer which also plays SACD, but am not sure that is the way to go. I think I would rather wait on SACD until I can get a good universal player instead. My reasoning on that is that it gets harder to justify a new universal player if I've already got one that plays SACD.

Thanks in advance for your responses.

I have that player and am quite happy with it. I personally avoided the DVD/CD changer because I think it's a little too much complexity in one box, and I would rather get a quality dedicated universal player down the road. I read some reviews about it eating cds, and also about it losing stored data, both of which worried me a bit. (Although it generally gets great reviews.) So my ultimate descision was to copy each cd I put into it, and burn the "cd text" info on the copy. Since it reads cd-text, it automatically loads the album and track information. And if it does happen to scratch up one of my cds (which it hasn't, I've had it about 7 months now) I don't have to worry about it much. The pause between tracks using shuffle is a bit longer than I'd like, but it's not painfully long. I don't listen on shuffle too much though, so it doesn't bother me at all. Also something to be aware of, it seems that you can't play mp3 cds through the digital out.

I have the 300 disc Sony. Works great and has many playback features that would be fun if I had time to program it.
You can also link the Sonys together, ie have the 300 disc CD and the 400 disc DVD players running off a single remote and working together for quick playback during random listening.
I've run out of storage in my 300 disc, so that linking feature will probably come in handy.
Oh yeah and they are VERY deep so measure the space where you're going to put it before buying.

I have the Sony CDP 450 (400 disc) daisy changed to the Sony 230 (200 disc). I went with the older 450, as opposed to the 455 because the 455 doesn't let you view the material you enter on the television. I figure that if you're going to place more than 25 discs or so in a machine, you'll need to be able to scroll through a larger screen than the little box they give you on the player.

I got mine in eBay (buyer beware, of course), but am perfectly happy with mine. I daisy chained the two players so that I coudl avoid having any gaps in music when I play teh discs on random. For example, we threw a party at the new hosue this weekend. I had a few of my friends pick as many cds as they like - I threw them in the machine, and bingo - I had continuous, random music for the whole party. It's nice to be able to do taht and literalyl not have to worry abotu music for the evening, and not suffer gaps in between songs.

The 455 does have mp3 playability and has some more options as far as entering song titles and artist names etc than the 450. But, for my needs, the 450 did a great job.

Note that you can't find the 450 really anymore at "real" stores because its been out of production for some time. That means that, mostly, the 455 is going to be the player of choice - without options...

Sony, I believe, is the only manufacturer making 400 disc players, but I could be wrong. I think the soudn quality is fine, and I haven't had any mechanical problems yet. I still haven't input the cd titles etc. into the system. I'm waiting to do this in an organized, systematic fashion....

Anyway - the long and the short is this - consider doing the 450 or the 455. Also consider strongly daisy chaining it with another system so as to eliminate the delay.