Home > Consumer Reviews > Sherwood CDC5090R Front Loading Carousel Multi-Disc Player (Black)

I bought SHERWOOD CDC-5090R in a replacement of broken Harman Kardon FL8450, however my first replacement attempt was Sony SCD-CE595 5-Disc CD/Super Audio CD Player. So my review will provide a brief comparison of all above models.
Build quality and appearance
Nothing can beat Harman Kardon, it's very solid with anodized aluminum front panel. However Sony looks really nice too. Sherwood is just a little behind. Only golden feet make it matching my other Harman Kardon units.
Buttons
Again Harmon Kardon had nicest buttons leaving Sherwood behind and then Sony. Sony's buttons are to small.
Display
Sony has very good matrix based display capable to show CD text. It has also more cells in CD track calendar. Harman Kardon and Sherwood displays look almost identically. Only one benefit of Sherwood display is colored pause mode.
Tray opening and disks access
I was surprised when Sony and Sherwood offers only 2 disks for change without carousel rotation. Harman Kardon provided instant access to all 4 disks continuing playing 5th. For some reason Sony distinct disk change and disk exchange mode, considering first as primary operation with a big access button. Since I do mostly disk exchange while a disk is playing I consider Sherwood and Harman Kardon approaches better. Sherwood has buttons of tray access and disk selection just above try, that makes operation of disk exchange a bit inconvenient. Sony was quietest at disks change.
Disk recognition
I never had a single disk which couldn't be recognized by Haraman Kardon. My Sony unit was defective so couldn't read most brand new CD, however for some reason it could read CD-R. I hope that Sony without reading defects can be a good reader too. Anyway time of disk recognition was longest for Sony. Sherwood is matching here Harman Kardon.
Playback programming, CD to tape copy and other functionality
It looks like Harman Kardon and Sherwood have similar functions for playback programming and recording CD to tape. Intro mode and random mode are nice and useful. Sony seems to have more sophisticated programming functionality, however I do not use that.
Input and output
Harman Kardon provided 2 RCA stereo outs, remote control jack, optical output and headphone output with volume control. Sherwood has the same but volume control. Sony has no headphone output. Since Sony SACD player, it has additional rear and center channels output. Since I connect CD changer using only optical output I do not care about these extra outs.
Disk formats
All players are capable to play DTS disks, although only Sherwood is certified for that. I have only few SACD and would prefer to have decoding them in a receiver. For this reason Sony didn't give me much benefits over other players.
Sound quality
As I mentioned I use digital out for converting digital to analog, so I can't say how good these players in that.
Conclusion
I was almost satisfied with quality and functionality of Sherwood player, so could recommend it.

Edit: Few words about remotes. Sherwood has a good remote with possibility directly select a disk or a track using 1-10 buttons. A similar remote had Harman Kardon. Sony remote allows only next/prev for disks and tracks.

This carousel-style unit is a competent performer, and seems more solidly built than the Sony unit I replaced.

It lacks a couple of features that I would have found valuable: there is no power on/off button on the remote, and the small listing showing the number of tracks on the CD only goes up to 14.

I bought this CD player to replace a Harman/Kardon FL 8400. I was extremely happy with the HK unit and was planning on just buying another
until I read the many reviews of discontented owners who purchased the FL 8385. I spent days searching the internet for other 5 disc CD players, only to discover that in the sub $200 category there was no consensus best buy. That could very well change as more and more people discover the Sherwood 5090. It's a very nice CD player . The sound quality is excellent. Sherwood has an audiophile reputation and it shows. Particularly noticable is how much better burned CD's sound compared to my HK FL 8400. Random one disc works great with very little delay between tracks. Random all disc is a tad slow however and is a bit noisy. The remote control works great and is well laid out. Great fidelity out of the headphone jack but it lacks a volume control. Changing discs while one plays is very smooth and efficient, allowing access to two discs at a time with each push of the skip disc button .The tray slides smoothly as well.
The combination of features, performance, fidelity and price makes this unit hard to beat. Highly recommended.

I have found this CD Player to be of excellent quality for its price. It has flawlessly played every CD I have throw at it. It even tries to play CD's I have been less than gentle with. I find the CD swap feature that allows you to install new disks while playing a current one to be great, I can sit and listen to music all day long. I don't claim to be an audiophile, but I find the music quality to be great. All in all it is a good product measuring up to every expectation I have had. As some others have said, it does seem to have some problems playing CD-R disks, I have burned lately. But apparently it was not intended to play home brewed disks. So be forewarned.

Unit is very awkward to load CD's into, controls are located within 1/2" of the door, and the carousell only rotates in increments of 2 disks. It's a big pain in the neck, and to make matters worse, it's very sensitive to any scratch on the CD, and won't play CD's that other players have no problem with. This is a unit you will not be happy with, and I recommend that you avoid purchasing it.