It's the Sony XA5400ES the best CDP under 4k

hi tmsorosk:

as a cd player or sacd player, what do you prefer and why ? and, what do you think are the "weaknesses" of the sony.

i have heard that it may be a bit thin sounding.

hi jylee:

thinness and other audiophile terms are both quantitative and qualittative.

that is the perception of thinness is a threshold variable and then there is the degree of thinness once one perceives it.

i don't believe that thinness or other similar variables are relative to the sound of other components.

thus when someone useses the term it is often based upon exceeding a level of treble response that has been exceeded independent of other components.

thus, if i walk into a room the judgments i make about a stereo system are not relative to other stereo systems but rather a comment on a particular stereo system, which depends upon one's criteria of judgment.

i think you may be commenting upon the quantitative aspect rather than the qualitive aspect which is inherent to the component in question.

i don't think the term was used in the comparative sense.

i apologize for being so didactic but i have observed occasional lapses in communication because there is a difference in orientation between one speaker and another , where one's basisis is qualittative (e.g., he/she is thin) or he /she is thin relative to someone else.

hi coxhaus:

perhaps your experience with the sony is due in part to the cables you have mentioned that are part of your stereo system.

take the sony and place it in another stero system, and the impression of another listener may be different from yours.

from the posts i have read on the virtues of the sony, i discern differences of opinion--obviously different ears and different stereo systems.

i am considering the sony but wwill not be able to audition it before buying, so if i decide to purchase , i will try to pay as little as possible, so that i would minimize my loss, if i sold it.

i think the sony scd 1 and the second of sony's sacd player, retailing at $3500, would be competitive with the current sony, especially playing redbook.

the marantz 11 series and 7 series has also been mentioned as worthy competitirs of the sony. the more expensive marantz exceeds $4000, as does the ayre c5 xe.

hi richard:

what sacd players do you prefer to the sony, and for what reasons ?