The Sony 5400ES is great. Here's my short-take.
It doesn't have the palpability or texture or detail-retrieval of the my EMM CDSD-SE/DCC2-SE, and the bass is a bit warmish and smoothed-over (but very pleasant and well integrated), but it really walks that fine line between too-much-info and glazed-over perfectly, and I just listen and don't feel that I'm missing anything important, or that I'm being punched around by some hyped-up part of the sound spectrum. Percussion is just right, with nice boundaries but fine decay and just the right degree of softening that keeps it from digital abuse. I can really just listen deep into its sound and want to keep listening. It is a significantly more refined and enjoyable sound than my former low-priced players from the past: Meridian 508.24 (ill-defined bass), Sony CD777ES (boring with grainy vocals), CAL Icon II (little pace, but an old-time favorite as I remember it).
It doesn't have the palpability or texture or detail-retrieval of the my EMM CDSD-SE/DCC2-SE, and the bass is a bit warmish and smoothed-over (but very pleasant and well integrated), but it really walks that fine line between too-much-info and glazed-over perfectly, and I just listen and don't feel that I'm missing anything important, or that I'm being punched around by some hyped-up part of the sound spectrum. Percussion is just right, with nice boundaries but fine decay and just the right degree of softening that keeps it from digital abuse. I can really just listen deep into its sound and want to keep listening. It is a significantly more refined and enjoyable sound than my former low-priced players from the past: Meridian 508.24 (ill-defined bass), Sony CD777ES (boring with grainy vocals), CAL Icon II (little pace, but an old-time favorite as I remember it).