i will be reviewing the oppo 83 se. perhaps its sacd playback will be a competitor opf the sony. |
what makes the sony such a great player ?
frequency responses, timbre, depth, clarity, does it have tube like characteristics ? i understand the redbook section is no big deal.
i am auditioning and will review the oppo 83 se. perhaps that will give the sony a run for its money--certainly on redbook. |
hi kal:
if i want sauteed garlic on my broccoli there is no need to taste the broccoli if it has not been sauteed in garlic.
with respect to the cd player, if i want a tube flavor, and i realize that a cd player has no tubes, there is no reason to listen to the player. ss and tubes do not sound the same. |
missing from the conversation is the implicit connotation that what is "best" is not absolute and hence dependes upon on'es criteria.
it has often been said that there is no best, so while it is entertaining to discusss the merits of the sony player, it is a philosophical and/or rhetorical question--it has no definitive answer.
there is no best anything in life, period. |
hi tmsorosk:
in what way is the sony preferred to the ayre.
it has been sufggested that the cary sacd palyer has been preferred by one of the posters.
what performance parameters do you like over the ayre and other players ?
i would think that having a tube is an advantage. the sony in stock mode has no tube. |
tthere are no absolutes as far as quality is concerned.
food, literature, art, or any other aesthetic activity has no absolutes. why ? the standards for evaluation are subjectively determined.
also absolutes requuire certainty , not probability. in the disciplines of mathematics and logoc--the world of abstraction, there are absolutes.
in the world of experience there are no absolutes.
i would welcome an explantion of how something can be absolute in the world of experience.
admittedly such an explantion has no relevance to audio. it is a subject of philosophy. |
hi wa6itd:
my friend has the ayre 5 and raves about it. i have not heard it.
i am curious why you prefer the sony ?
i am also wondering which of the two players is more full-bodied and how both react to poorly recorded cds. |
hi paul:
do you prefer your dac and mac in 16/44 mode over the sony in sacd mode?
that is if you have a hybrid sacd and play the sacd on the sony, do you prefer the sacd layer out of the sony over the redbook layer using your favorite dac and transport ?
if so, what dac are you using ?
i am considering the sony as an sacd player, but it may be possible that theredbook layer fed through a dac and xport may be preferred over the sacd layer played on the sony, in which case, the sony may have some sompetition as an sacd player.
i say this because i have found that hybrid discs recorded during the last 5 years, have an sacd layer which is more enjoyable than listening to the redbook layer.
then again there may be some dac and transports which can better some sacd players, subject to one's personal criteria, of course.
sorry to be so long winded. i am thinking and writing at the same time and could be more efficient if i spent more time composing my thoughts. |
i have yet to be told why the sony 5400 is preferred to the ayre sacd player.
the preference for the cary, i would conjecture is the somewhat tube-like, euphonic coloration that the sony lacks, or is there another reason ?
i may have a chance to purchase a new sony 5400 for under $1000, but am not convinced that its sacd capability will be superior to some tube based digital components playing redbook.
certainly one would expect the sacd layer to be preferred over the red book layer in many cases.
perhaps the sony's limitation in stock form is the that plaguing solid state components, namely too much odd order harmonic distortion.
by the way, what is the list price of the cary--hopefully less than $10,000, in which case it may have serious competition and beg the question posted in the thread. |
hi prsnccarty:
are you objecting to thinness in the redbook mode or the sacd mode ?
or are you suggesting that in both modes the player sounds thin ?
you may be saving me a purchase by voicing your comments.
then again, a modwright mod might solve your problems. |
hi kal:
consider the food analogy.
if you prefer a dish with a certain flavor, you don't tate it without that flavor. rather, you ask for the flavor.
in audio, if you prefer the flavor of tubes, there is no need to listen to the stock player before sending it out for modification. |
if you want an orange, why eat an apple ?
the stock sony soes not have the facility to alter its sound, so there is no value in listening to the 5400. |
hi jylee:
i was only talking about sauteed garlic. no where did i say that i liked garlic on everything.
my point was to answer kal's suggestion to listen to a component first, before modifying it and i suggested that if i wanted a tube sound, via a buffer or gain stage, e.g., there would be no need to listen to the sony.\
that is, if i was trying to create a flavor which a component does not have , there is no need to listen to it to determine that it does not have the flavor. |
ss and the classic tube sound do not sound the same. if i prefer a certain coloration, i am confident that the sony doesn't have it.
i would be willing to do a test comparing the stock sony 5400 with the modded sony and bet that i would prefer the modded sony.
in life when making choices it is too time consuming to listen to all products.
there have been very few solid state prodducts i have heard that i would want to own. thus my confidence is that the sony would be bought and modded, without listening to the stock version.
kal would you take me up on my wager. i happen to prefer a tube flavor using nos tubes. what is the purpose in listening to the stock sony ?
i will be able to criticize its flaws but that is a waste of time. i can't think of anything that i would learn that is of great value.
back to the garlic situation. i did not say every food should have a garlic flavor, only broccoli.
nor did i say anything about recordings.
obviously a classic tube flavor is like a tone control. changing the tubes changes the sound. you can't change the sound on a stock sony unless you make some change to the player. |
an inexpensive mod, i have been told by a tech, is to replace the cheap op amps in the sony.
i wonder what improvement will result, in absence of other mods ? |
hi wesstborn:
i don't own a sony but have been considering a purchase. so far the lowest price for a new unit has been $1100. i am waiting to get lucky, and pull the trigger when one becomes avilable for under $1000,. i may not be so lucky.
actually a friend commented upon the fact that opamps in most stock cd players are not the best quality and replacing them can often improve the sound. the question is replacing the stock op amp(s) with what ?
i believe that the modwright mod includes a replacement of the opamps, but am niot sure. his mod is expensive--$1400.
this player has received many comments that extol its virtues, while others highlight its flaws, so i figure, if i buy the player, i would like to be protected by paying under $1000 for a new one, in case i don't like it.
i hope my comments are helpful. |
i have never stated that i own the sony, only that i am considering it for purchase and there have been some comments that have been critical of it.
i don't know the score. it doesn't matter.
there are differences of opinion and the fact that there may me more pros than cons does imply that there is a risk when purchasing.
dbphd: no is twisting your arm to respond to my comments. i think you have misinterpreted them. it doesn't matter. t's just talk. incidentally use the dictionary next time you want to use the "m" word, as you spelled it incorrectly. I'm just joshing.
in the past sentiment has been expressed that opinions on audogon should be considered carefully. I am being euphemistic in my last statement. |
i ecenetly spoke to dan wright about his mods to the sony and the opp 83 se.
here is a choice. in essence, warmth vs detail. one is not better than other , rather one is different than another.
players have strengths and weaknesses. one man's rupture is another's rapture.
so it is highly conjectural to speak of best player under any dollar amount.
just listen as much as you can.
i happen to be in the market for an sacd player, but it won't be the 5400. hopefully, it will have a tube or two in it. |
hi mystang:
dan told me he brought both modded players to the 2010 rocky mountain audio show, and said some preferred the modded oppo while others preferred the modded sony. he did not quantify the difference in warmth but suggested that i would not like the sony because it might be too resolving for my taste. he said the oppo was warmer. as you said he did not quantify the difference between the two.
i have two concerns:
1) based upon your observations, warmer may not be enough to achieve a tubey sound and if the difference is small, i probably won't like either.
2) he uses the modern tungsol 6sn7, which i have owned and find them lacking warmth. i wonder how much difference replacing the tungsol, with some nos sylvania, or rca might change the sound.
it may not pay to buy either. i may have to look else where for a more traditional tube sounding unit.
thanks for your observations. you may have saved me from making a mistake.
i probably would prefer an old sony like the scd 1. |
as far as modded players are concerned, i suggest that dan wright is an excellent source of advice and information.
i am very pleased with the modded oppo 83 se. |
