I love natural recordings that capture the full acoustic envelope of the performances. The Shostakovich Sonatas performed by Ax and YYMa comes to mind...the Sony portrays the entire event in such an unforced and natural manner that it triggers ones acoustic memory into believing it is real. A player that offers no tone color or openness would be my worst nightmare. I replaced my BAT VK D5 24 bit CDP and was amazed at how much resolution and color was lost on the older design. The Sony re-creates the space, music and acoustic tones with overtones so completely that you start to smile and realize that you have been given a great gift...a peak into the performance as it occured at the recording session. My opinion of the Sony applies as much for the redbook section as it does for the SACD section. This player will become a classic product for digital playback....much better it does not get! It's a keeper at any price,,,for $1500 USD it is a freakin steal. This is Sony's best effort to date and manages to break new ground in the digital domain:)
Associated gear Wilson Sophia speakers Krell 400xi amp Harmonic Tech Cables MIT Oracle AC 2 power cord
Similar products Sony SCD-1 Sony SCD-XA9000ES Sony SCD-XA777ES Levinson 39, 390S, 360S Wadia 851 Krell SACD Standard MF A5 BAT VK D524bit ARC CD 3
Tube designs have their followers, nostalgia and a belief by many that the tube sound is in some way better because it gives a warmer presentation; at the end of the day personal preferences will always apply, but for those of us who over many years followed technology and its advances feel that the many disadvantages of tube technology, no longer represents a level playing field against solid state. Here are some of the major reasons; To produce a first class tube amplifier capable of driving many of the modern multiway speakers, you are looking at an almost prohibitive cost of decent transformers, which include heavy chokes, expensive coupling capacitors and high voltage resistors, then this amplifier from the first day of switch on will be changing its characteristics as the tubes settle then age, so that in order to maintain its distortion levels a regular balance check will be required of the output devices. If you are a regular listener then of course tube replacement will become mandatory fairly regularly and then there is the heat issue. The distortion from tubes is mainly second harmonic which is less irritating to the listener but still suffers a level some fifty to one hundred times that of solid state, some tube designs do not even meet the IEC Hi-Fi standard for distortion at 0.25% or more, which will get worse as tubes age, some designs have now down away with feedback altogether, resulting in very low damping factors, again failing the IEC standard. Most tube designs are still largely the same as those early efforts from Mullard and Brimar so there is a limit to what can realistically be achieved in future design; By contrast solid state has hundreds of variations and technically are regarded as blameless, and for an equivalent cost to the tube would produce an amplifier of superb performance, distortion down to 0.002% damping factor up to 100+ compact size, powerful and trouble free, no competition whatever from tubes... Thats your choice!!!!
Who are you talking too disbeliever? This post is in regards to the Sony XA5400ES/Modwright CDP. Some of what you say is true, however, having an intelligently designed tube circuit utilized on the front end of a system can provide for a far more realistic and organic listening experience. I've sat 2 ft from an alto sax/piano/bass trio and I can tell you that an entirely SS system will not reproduce that melt you into your chair feeling. The sax was so sonorous and burnished that it simply made love to my ears....the Modwright XA5400ES get's me real close to that sound.
I just put my new Shunyata Python CX pc out of the box on the Sony SCD-XA5400ES. Although this cord costs me more than the player, it takes it to a entirely new level. The cable is not at all broken in yet, the soundstage is now beyond and far behind the speakers. Although the stock powercord gives a lot of detail, with the Python CX the performance improves dramatically, both in the heights, the midrange but especially in the bass-region. Far more details are easily apparent. The openness and the increased neutrality of the music is astounding.
So I wonder if the modwright should give me the upgrade over the stock-player is in the same league as what the Python CX does over the stock powercord.
Disbeliever--as Dan Wright of ModWright accurately states on his website, tubes are best for amplifying voltage and SS devices work best for amplifying current, hence why he uses both in his mods for this player.
I was enjoying the 5400ES this afternoon at a moderate listening level and all of the sudden I jumped on my feet when I heard this loud Pitch noise coming from the speakers and music just stopped. I immediately thought it was a electric failure (blackout) and that the noise was caused by the alarm on my computer UPS, but it was not! Every component was on (powered) and the display on the 5400ES was showing "Please Wait" during that period of annoying Pitch noise sound. It only lasted 10 - 15 seconds and after the noise was gone the display showed "reading" and afterwards the CD tracks were displayed. I hit play on the remote and it started playing track 1, music OK. Three (3) hours has passed since the reported incident and everything still normal.
The player is almost 150 hrs and being in brake-in constantly 24-7.
Here is a link, check it out just to have an idea of the type of sound that came from the speakers.
Its impossible to find this player in the UK - I'm getting a great deal on the player in the US though. Do you think I could buy it in the US and then get it modded to 240V ? Is that an easy enough option ? thanks
Thanks, Dave. I fear that USD 1995 for modifications may be a tad too much for me ! I was looking to spend a hundred bucks or so ! Any other suggestions, folks ?
I understand completely...I meant to imply that Dan could point you in the right direction:O) Get the player and convert it...enjoy it and then save up for the mod!! It's worth waiting for.
Mohit25. I have the 5400 with Modwright mods - absolutely fantastic. I asked if they could modify it to 240v (for Australia) but they said no. I had the tube power supply built to 240v and for now I am just using a 110-240v transformer. I am sure my local technician can change the Sony internal power to 240v but he would have to claw the unit out of my hands - I have not been able to take it out of my system to show him yet ! I agree with the comment - buy it now - it is a world class player. Then save up for the mods. However it is easier to buy it and have it sent straight to Modwright and then they will send it to you. Some US sellers will not send out of the US. Postage back and forth will be a waste - the modded player is sensational - worth many times the total cost. Same freight - just do it !
Thanks, Peter for taking the time to respond. It sounds like a fab piece that I may grow to love as much as my trusty Slimdevices Transporter ! Just one question - are you using a standard transformer or something elaborate like a powerplant or a richard gray device. Is it absolutely quiet ?
I have an integrated, Simaudio i7 and speakers Dynaudio Focus 220 mk2. I am planning to buy a cd player mostly for RB CDs. The budget I have is 5-6K. For these money I can go with either ARC CD5 or Esoteric X-05. The question is how good the SCD XA-5400 is on RB CDs or if there is something better for 2-3K. I am wondering if I can save on CD player so I can use the rest of the budget to upgrade my speakers to Focal JMLab 1028 BE or something equivalent. Thanks for reply.
Mohit25, I just saw your response to my post. I was not attempting to make a snide remark at all, I was serious. As a member of this forum, you can't seriously believe that you could get a worthwhile modification for around $100.00. You can, however get some worthwhile improvement by experimenting with cones and footers for that price; although many spend a great deal of money even on that.
First time posting here. I just bought my 5400 last night and it replaced my SCD-C5555es, which was my love for almost a decade. I decided that after a decade of service, it was time to move on to something, so I went out and got it's youger, and lither sibling, the 5400. My friend actually liked the sound of the 555 better. I told him it had 15 minutes on the clock, and that it needed some time. The 555 had 10 years on the clock! Anyhow, I have been burning it in for the last 24 hours, and I can say that this machine sounds more like music. The timbre is much better, but I do see how this macine will need some time to open up. The soundstage is congested, with little depth, but it is very wide. The unit has an upper midrange hump (to my ears) and is less bright than my 555. The 555 overall sounds like a great piece of hi fi gear, the 5400 sounds like the real thing. Still, there are some attributes that until the 5400 is broken in, the 555 is still preferred. We took the stock power cord and threw it across the room. I had no other cords layeing around, so I made a temp one with some rat shack 14 gauge mega cable fitted to iec connections and it sounds much better than that garbage that came with it. The cord indeed limits the player to such a degree, that I can understand someone who is not keen on wiring, would return it. The power cord is THAT bad. I am waiting on something a friend of mine is brewing up in the meantime. I am very happy with my purchase so far and once the sound blossoms, I think I will be very happy. For now, it has it's pros over the 555, as well as cons, but after break in, I have a feeling it will wipe the floor with my 555.
The XA5400ES sounds best via HDMI into the Sony DA6400ES receiver with H.A.T.S. enabled for lowest jitter. Some with more money than commonsense are spending more than the cost of this player to fit it with antique tubes, & external power supply, there is one born every minute the XA5400ES does take a long time to burn in. I agree that the supplied power cord is a disgrace but a so-called audiophile cable is not necessary, just use the heaviest duty cable you can find that will fit the connector.
I wrote a lengthy response Tubegroover, but it wasn't posted? Anyway, the Sony was great but I have downsized and moved on. I would say it competed in the best under $10K category...very organic, dynamic and textured.
Thanks Dave for your clarification. I am really interested in this unit considering the general consensus but at the same time without the benefit of auditioning in my system I am ALWAYS wary, it often times does not pan out the way you might anticipate.
Thanks you for all the informative discussion. XA5400ES is also not available in Singapore. Am thinking to buy from US. But this needs a stepdown transformer as Singaore's electricity is supplied at 230V 50Hz. Will there be impacts on the playback quality? Can anyone help to comment in this? I am planning to place order in this few days.
FYI, I put together a very musicaly satisfying system with an NAD C565BEE front end using a Yoquin Tube Buffer. It may not quite equal the 5400 Modwright player, but it sure delivers the same gestalt. Total price ran around $1K.
I have an MIT Magnum AC2 on my NAD C375BEE, an Audioquest NRG3 wt EMF filters on the C565BEE, an MIT Magnum AC1 on my Totem Dreamcatcher sub and an old ARC Ref 3 preamp PC I had laying around for my Yaqin buffer. The more i listen the more enthralled I am. At this point I'm finding myself more connected with my music than I have been for a very long time. The Yaqin is absolutely flawless, dead quiet, dynamic as hell and clear as a bell with some of the best tone I have ever experienced! It's awesomely adddictive and a great alternative to the modwright upgrade.
I'm not sure really, as my time with the NAD and the Yaoin tube buffer have only been with the new setup. All I can say is that I have never been more addicted to listening as I am now. So, in my current system, I would have to say that I do not miss the Sony at all...weird!
I'm very happy with the Meridian G08, but would like one CDP to play both Redbook and SACD discs. What would I give up, if anything, by trading the G08 for the Sony? Thanks, Jim
Perhaps one or two of you Sony XA5400ES users can help me. I've seen no review of the Sony that answers my concerns, and I can't find a unit to test. I now have an OPPO BDP95 that is a fine blu-ray and CD player but is frustrating to use, especially with SACDs. I also own a BDP83, which is a far easier unit to operate. Before I plunk down $1,500 for the Sony, I want to know it doesn't have the same issues.
I use HDMI exclusively connected to a Meridian HD621 interface.
1. When first selecting a track on the BDP95, the music starts a second or two into the track, and I have to re-start to hear the beginning of the music. Does the Sony do this?
2. When playing an SACD (not CD or DVD), if I change the TV input or switch to another input on the HD621, both the 83 and 95 go silent because the handshake was interrupted. Both regain the handshake and start playing again, but the 95 re-starts the track while the 83 picks up where it left off, behavior that OPPO says is normal in both cases. How does the Sony deal with this on SACDs?
3. I have to point the remote at the 95 virtually straight on, and I can't be more than 12 feet away. (With the 83, you only have to be somewhere in the room and pointing the remote in the 83's general direction.) How about the Sony? (OPPO has admitted this issue and corrected it on the 105, but that does me no good.)
4. To start with any other track than 1, the 95 requires that you leave the drawer open, select the track, and the press PLAY. (The 83 can't do random start at all.) How does the Sony do this?
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