sony dvp-ns500v- how's the sound on redbook cd's?

As the owner of one, the SACD is good, marginally good, but good for the price. Redbook - not so hot. HOWEVER: invest in the mods available, and everything improves. For 335.00 dollars, SACDmods.com can turn this player into a very good Redbook performer. The difference before and after is huge. An added bonus is the video performance improves as well.

I think I may have once heard an Adcom gcd-575 and I think the Sony will be a little smoother on redbook cd's. The Sony's weakness is dynamics and overall resolution which it tends to gloss over, but for $150, whadya expect? I bought 2 of them and one of them conked out after a few days of light use, so I would suggest not buying w/o a rite of return. Also, if you're planning on using the Sony in an audio only system, you will not be able to use its track programming without a video hookup.

I used to own a 575 and I believe that you will enjoy the sound of the 500, which I also own. Please use surge protection on the 500 - they seem to be sensitive to spikes and so on. Nothing fancy in the way of protection. Give the SONY time to break in, and use decent cables.