2. digital
  3. 1098854141

Sony XA7ES is this still a top notch player?

Im looking for the best bang for the buck.
Correct me if Im wrong,but wasnt the design from the XA7EC incorporated into the Sony SCD-1's redbook mode?
If this is true,it would appear the XA7EC can still hold its own.
My budget is ~$700 used.
I am also considering the Marantz 8260 but I have mostly given up on SACD as the titles being released are very far form what I listen to.
I feel I should just settle on a very good 2 channel CD player and let the big companies continue to churn out multi-channel,multiformat units..this 'aint for me.
Thanks for any info.
Fool-
rock_fool

Showing 1 response by ed_sawyer

ed_sawyer
588 posts
 
XA7ES is a great player, no doubt. The SCD1 is better (I have both) but it's a lot more $ too. IMHO, forget all the silly tweaks above (incl. power cord), and if you want to adjust the sound, just get an outboard DAC. Something like the KandKaudio.com RAKK DAC would be my recommendation. Still, the internal DAC is very nice in XA7ES. Note the XA7ES has a true differential balanced output, none of the current sony players do that (incl. SCD-1 - it derives the balanced out from some chips at the end of the signal chain).

-Ed
More to discover