Ayre C-5xe-mp v Sony XA5400ES

Look inside the Ayre box, and you'll find an Oppo. The Sony has had better reviews for SACD sound than the Oppo. If you like listening to a pretty and expensive box, buy the Oppo.

Not unusual for a company with high end pretensions to rebadge a more plebeian component. Either Stereophile or TAS ran a column about a Lexicon SACD player about which Lexicon claimed that its innards consisted of a highly modified and inproved sounding Oppo. Upon removal of the top, the author discoved a totally unmodified, stock Oppo. The Lexicon was listed at about 2 1/2 times the price of the Oppo. But, of course, pretty boxes always sound better. May be why some high end audio companies put 40% or so of the cost of manufacturing into the faceplate.

Who does that? Read Art Dudley's column in the latest Stereophile. He berates those audio companies that put $1,000.00 worth of audio components in a #2,000.00 box. Art appears to one of the clearest thinking, most honorable audio reviewers. I say that even though I am poles apart from Dudley's socialist belliefs. But, of course, your expertise far surpasses that of those who rewiew for Stereophile.