Sony SCD-XA5400ES-Best SACD for under $10,000


This Sony player supplanted my Ayre C5-XE 3, which I still have, months ago. I paid $6000 for the Ayre after determining that it was the best-sounding unit for under $10,000. The Sony blows it away!!!
A unit costing $1500 besting all others under $10,000? That is exactly what it does!
For reference, I am using Audio Research electronics and Vandersteen speakers and subwoofers (about $30,000); a similar system has repeatedly been lauded as "best of show" at CES, so we are NOT talking second-rate stuff here.
This Sony is the only SACD/Cd player I have EVER heard that puts a classical piano live in my living room; nothing I ever had before even comes close.
This unit is a small miracle. I would have gladly paid $8000 for it, but if they want to give the thing away for $1500, who am I to argue?
This unit is going to send the engineers at Audio Research, Luxman, Esoteric, and Ayre back to the drawing board; their current units at 4 to 5 times the price are not even close. Some engineer at Sony is a freaking genius!!!
wa6itd
Mrtennis ... $1000 is more what the 5400 is worth . I'm glad you see this . Ive heard the 5400 many times in a few different systems and its not close to either Ayre players .
hi tmsorosk:

in what way is the sony preferred to the ayre.

it has been sufggested that the cary sacd palyer has been preferred by one of the posters.

what performance parameters do you like over the ayre and other players ?

i would think that having a tube is an advantage. the sony in stock mode has no tube.
hello dear friends . this is antonis from ( not so sunny today greece )
when i purchased the 5400 i had the weiss minerva dac in my system
the 5400 left it miles back in terms of analysis and musicality

BUT
today a friend brought his weiss 202 for comparison
AGAIN winner !!!!
After 8 months with the Sony, I've decided to move on. It's for sale now if anyone wants to try it. It was just not the right player for my system. It is AWESOME, don't get me wrong, but I need something that's just a little bigger in the midrange. My whole system is pretty much flat response with good high freq extension and I feel like I need something warmer and with a bit of midrange bump.