Ayre C-5xe-mp v Sony XA5400ES

There's no comparison. The Sony is a good player but the Ayre is so much better that you don't even have to hear it in the same system to make a comparison. I wouldn't trust Stereophile to buy equipment. Listen to both players. That way you'll know for sure.

"06-03-14: Rondel
Interesting, I Thought The Sound Of The Sony Was More Musical.No Experience With SACD Between The Two."

Nothing wrong with that. If we all liked the same thing, we would all have the same equipment.

"06-03-14: Tarp38
Look inside the Ayre box, and you'll find an Oppo."

No idea how you would come up with that one unless someone miss-boxed an Oppo.

One of the things that makes the Ayre such a good choice, at least for me, is the analog section. Assuming for a moment that the digital side of the player is same as the Sony or Oppo (which its not), there are very few designers as gifted as Charles Hanson. He's considered to be one of the elite in the industry. That doesn't mean you have to like his products, as we all have different tastes, but I don't see that level of design in the other players mentioned. Also, just to be clear, I'm not putting either the Sony or Oppo down in any way. Both are two of the best players in their price range. I just think that Ayre is a higher level.

"06-04-14: Dbphd
IIRC, I read that the mechanicals are Pioneer, and that Ayre has stocked backup units for meeting future service needs."

That's true. They do that with all their players. Also, just to note, there are no transports that are made outside of Asia. Every CD/DVD play, regardless of brand or country of origin, has a transport made in Asia. There was only 1 exception that I know of. Linn used to make a Redbook only transport that went in their high end units. I don't know if its still in production.

"May be why some high end audio companies put 40% or so of the cost of manufacturing into the faceplate."

Who does that?

"But, of course, your expertise far surpasses that of those who rewiew for Stereophile."

Exactly why I don't read Stereophile. Getting back to my question, I really don't care where you get your information from, I just wanted to know who does that? Why take offence? People make statements like that all the time, but they never list any specifics. The tone of your answer tells me that Stereophile probably didn't list any actual companies, which means you can't either.

Mitch2,

Thanks for the excellent response above to the Stereophile issue.

"06-11-14: Dbphd

the case is actually not that fancy

The case appears less fancy that that of my Sony XA5400ES, so I hope the sound is sufficiently superior to compensate for such a plain-jane appearance. I expect to experience that sound myself if I find one for not over $3K -- I'll divert my eyes when playing it."

Really? To me, the XA5400ES looks a lot like my old 9000ES. Very nice, but I wouldn't say as nice as the Ayre. The one thing I can tell you for certain is the actual build quality on the Ayre is as good as anything I've seen. I have a pair of V-5 amps (part of the same line as the C-5) and when I put them next to my Rowland amp and look at the quality differences, inside and out, the Ayre is better.

"Both of these players have received A+ ratings from Stereophile. I have the Sony and wonder if the sound of SACDs played on the Ayre would be a worthwhile upgrade. Anyone have the chance to compare the sounds of the two?"

Also, after reading your original post again, I think you'll notice just as big a difference from Redbook CD's as you will from SACD. Maybe even bigger.