I bought the XA last May. It is REALLY great on SACD (and I have about 50-60 of them). It replaced my Phillips SACD 1000. I was hoping it would be so good on Redbook that I could sell off my Ah! 4000 redbook player and recoup a few bucks. NO WAY.
The Sony is good but my fully loaded Ah! is still markedly better on redbook. Oh well, I have to live with the best of both worlds. |
My comments were for red book only. I own one SACD disk, lol.
..... and I payed $1109 shipped. :-p |
The Sony has a msrp of $1500. What is the msrp of the upgraded ayre? |
Has anyone compared the Sony to an Ayre MP upgraded player? The MP upgrade makes a big difference. |
I'm impressed more on red book performance than SACD performance. Redbook playback is so impressive it makes you forget about SACD. |
My comments apply to redbook only as I haven't tried sacd.. |
How would you use the HDMI? |
Finally CD's don't sound like numbers or bits but real music/analogue.
Even though cd's vary from many factors,I have not heard one sound annoying yet.
Like when passages would get loud or complex,XA5400es somehow compensates & balance is maintained.
There is a musical 3D effect I would venture to say.
Piano music seems to "float" over the surface and it has a visceral effect on the psyche.. |
Let's hear some more feedback about the Sony's Redbook performance. I know that Daveb believes that it is excellent. |
Sony has alot of pride and must spend painstaking hours perfecting their task.
I don't think they make money with some products,it's more of a statement.As with the SCD-1,I had heard Sony lost money on that venture.More desire to get it right then profit drivin.
They have alot of integrety & ingenuity/ |
Makes you think, what else is out there that will better the rest of your $30,000.00 system for a fraction of the cost. |
I have had sony scd-1, MF A5, simaudio moon eclipse, esoteric XO-3 se, bryston bcd-1.
It doesn't have the razor sharp imaging of some of these units but tonally it is better than any of them ( imo). At a msrp of $1500 I can't think of anything that would touch it. |
I bought a Sony XA5400es and I'm very pleased. Granted, you don't get the "cool factor" of owning a boutique or lesser known brand but mine bests these players (all of which I've owned) in my system:
Accuphase DP-57
Meridian 508..24
Linn Ikemi
Resolution Audio Opus 21
Electrocompanient EMP-1UP
Musical Fidelity A5
Ayre CX-7e
My System:
Gamut PreAmp
Spendor S9 speakers
TAD-70 Amp
|
I would simply say the Sony XA5400es is a sensual aural experience.
What I most observe is listening intently or casually with the same enjoyment.
I heard Indigo girls "Become You" on SACD today.
Excellent album,whereas on regular CD I didn't realize it was such a strong performance.
The timbre & balance of frequences are terrific
The Sony is Inspired! |
It is good to hear about this kind of find. First because of this company---I doubt anybody thinks you have a connection to Sony---and second, its price being affordable.
'Glad I don't own the Ayre unit.
Then we have the usual: How's it on red book? Most of us have some sacd and plenty of regular cd's --AND; maybe what cables do you use? |
I do not have SACDs so I do have to ask, how is the redbook play? keith |
Im contemplating between this cd player and Marantz 15s2 strickly for headphone listening. Of course, to find a dealer for actual audition is nothing short of miracle, so I'm going to have to take people's opinion into consideration. |
Hey : Tell it like it is ,,If they don't like it too bad....This is the best thing that can happen to Audio! Bring competative prices back to reality....Thank you Sony |
thanks for this review. I know your going to receive flak from other members and many are going to hit you with how does it sound on red book. |
