Best DAC for SONY SCD XA5400es

Sorry to be a wet blanket, I remember this Sony player we had the full ModWright version including a few other players in a shoot out . It was chosen because of the seemingly very popular online appeal with references as a giant killer .

Others we had on had the entry level EMM Labs player , mid line CEC transport and entry level Esoteric player.

The self noise of the Sony was horrendous with a capital H and quickly topped as the worst out of the others we had on hand .  Though using quality footers helped with the cold digital glare the Sony almost sounded like a totally different player the footers helped over tube swaps including trying different interconnects and power cords , footers helped a lot under this player and power supply.
In the end we couldn’t figure why this player has such online popularity and was referred to as a giant killer...

l100 OP4 posts05-06-2020 2:32pmSo I decided to try the latest Bryston DAC - BDA-3 and ordered it yesterday.  Just curious to see if/how the HDMI output will work. Thanks for your suggestions.

Hi,

Did you have any successes in playing DSD from the Sony player to the DAC using the HDMI connection?

Kind regards,

Tom

mahler1231,259 posts05-03-2020 12:44pmThe Sony can also output DSD over HDMI.  If you have a DAC that has an HDMI input, then you are getting DSD.  For that reason I recommend the Bryston DAC3.

You are welcome to add something :)

 So I decided to try the latest Bryston DAC - BDA-3 and ordered it yesterday.  Just curious to see if/how the HDMI output will work. Thanks for your suggestions.

l100 OP

Hi; I would be very interested to read some news from you: did it work?
I mean... do the Bryston DAC (via HDMI) read the DSD file (SACD disc) from the player Sony HDMI output?
Thank you very much.

So I decided to try the latest Bryston DAC - BDA-3 and ordered it yesterday.  Just curious to see if/how the HDMI output will work. Thanks for your suggestions.

The Sony 5400 was listed class A+ by Stereophile when it was current. dCS at $100k was also listed A+ at the time FYI.

I own three and love the warm analog type sound.

Could not be happier .

Still great today IMO, and can not be beat, without spending much more.

If it fails you probably can not get it repaired.

That is why I own three.

Basically trying to go with the times, the DAC section in the SONY has seen better times and is probably very outdated.  I can hear from my 802’s (with the help of Cardas clear cables) very analogous reproduction of red book cd’s that is sometimes tiring.  Perhaps more musicality without the loss of detail.  I mentioned Benchmark DAC3 B but it might sound analogous and boring too, I don’t know.

What aspects of sound and DAC performance are most important to you, and what would you like in terms of improvements?

Hi,

Hello

i have a Sony XA5400es, excellent CD player ++++++

I also have Esoteric SA10 and Arcam CDS50

3 excellent CD players

but I don’t use external DAC

sorry for the bad english translated

greetings from Portugal

.

And how does the Bryston BDA-3 compare to Benchmark DAC-3 sonically?

The Sony can also output DSD over HDMI.  If you have a DAC that has an HDMI input, then you are getting DSD.  For that reason I recommend the Bryston DAC3.

I've been enjoying my Sony XA5400es through my Mytek Brooklyn, the two connected optically.  Of course, the Mytek can only decode regular CD layers.  The SACD feed must go, old school, out of the Sony and into my integrated amp.  And I gotta say that, yes, the Mytek gives me better CD fidelity.