Why is Sony Digital sound more like vinyl?

Vandersteen 3A sigs, Vandy center and surrounds, Cardas Neutral reference inteconnects and bi-wires, Musical Fidelity A308 Integrated and a Harmon Pardon amp for center and rears. If a good recording means imaging, bloom, large soundstage, etc; then I have heard some great redbook CDs as well. SACD just offers something more. I listen to Classical and it just seems to flatten during tutti sections with most redbooks. Exceptions include some Reference Recordings, and some Collins Classics. (Find Vaughan Williams "Job" on Collins if you can.) Next year I'm going to pick up another Marantz, perhaps the SA11 S1 that's coming out IF it's as good as the SA 14 v2 on redbook. Looks like it's just going to be messy for awhile.

Hammy started me thinking about inflections/voice tones etc. that we cannot convey here in space.It would be interesting, if along with passwords,we each could post MRI pictures of our heads,so our peers would have a better idea of how we hear sounds.Im thinking our ear canals must vary wildly,great post Dave....Bob

Usblues,

A great observation that is too often understated in these posts and reviews in general. I have known many audiophiles in my life and none of them has the same composition of gear in their rigs. They may have owned the same gear at some point or dragged their gear over to a friend's house, etc. etc. but "settled" (if we ever do:-) on different gear to comprise their systems. I think this speaks volumes as to how we hear and specifically, what we find "real". Some people are taller than others and the "sweet spot" listening area we have for ourselves may not be the same for someone 5" shorter. I had an audiophile friend who had large ears that stuck out somewhat (think Alfred E. Newman - almost)who I always disagreed with over what sounded best. The point is, if it mimics what you percieve to be real and you are happy with it - cool!

I have owned a lot of digital front-end gear and currently have the Sony 999es residing in that spot. Some who know me thought it was a trade "down" but I got sick of having 3 racks dedicated to transport/DAC/upsampler not to mention cables, etc. You can see my review of the Sony in other threads. Is it "the best" I have heard (or owned) - no. Is it a sound I can live with - yes. At the end of the day, it does more things right than wrong. To the original point though, it would be interesting to see a study done on ear structure (and shape) with relation to hearing perception. I think it is a much more complicated (and subjective) human sense that doesn't get its due consideration when the "war of words" starts over audio gear - IMO. - Tony

Yeah,its always nice to see a litle more light and a little less heat,that being said,its an amazing pastime,been listening to music since Jailhouse Rock and this time and place is about as good as it got,with the possible exception of Berkeley in the old days,though that was live stuff.This is a great place to engage to learn and get happy and get mad I reckon.Theres some funny guys here besides the aces who teach us the fine points.Hve a large day my friend....Bob

Not giving up the Sony XA777 yet: My audiophile pusher finally talked me into trying a better A/C power cord, (Audioquest nrg2), and low and behold, the sound *is* more beguiling, and more ambience is evident. Interesting. I'm taking the unit to a modifier today to see if better caps and power supply will fit; if so, I'm going to have these items installed. I'll let you know if such mods give the player more oomph.