Sony SCD-XA5400ES-Best SACD for under $10,000

That sounds enticing and I appreciate your thoughtful suggestion, however at this time, the only way I could raise that much money would be to SELL the 5400ES (as well as a few other things). I don't know if I possess the nerves it must take to spend that much on a mod. In better days perhaps, but I'm semi-retired now and cash flow isn't what it used to be. I may call Bill at Music Technology (where they install the VSE mods) and speak with him about it. He won't remember me by name, but we have a mutual friend, so maybe he'll spend a few minutes on the phone with me. If he can assure me that the mod will get me to where I want to go, then maybe I'll hang onto the Sony and figure out how to raise the money.
Meanwhile, the Arcam on loan (which is the lower priced unit, not the CD37 I would purchase) is beginning to sound pretty darn good. Being an audiophile in a small market is getting really frustrating because there just aren't any opportunities to audition much of anything! My friend is always happy to order things like the 5400 and the Arcam and he gives me a good enough price that I can listen for a few months and get out without losing my shirt if I don't like the equipment, but I'm limited to what he can get me.
If we had better public transportation I would just sell my car and get something REALLY nice. My car wouldn't get me a DCS rig but it could get me a Wadia. :-)

I understand completely. I'm still working so there is still a little cash coming in.

Anyway, it can't hurt to talk to Bill. Best of luck to you.

Regards,

Have you tried any resonance or vibration controls underneath CDP? I use Aurios MIB's under my transport and they do wonderful things. Just a thought well short of a mod.

I had this player for a few months and last thing I heard was glare; couldn't get any "life" out of it, but I know many love it.

Neal

I have everything on tiptoes. I've also tried resonance control on the top and bottom of the player. I've tried four power cords, ferrite magnets, power conditioner IN and OUT of the system, four pairs of interconnects(though I still like to call them patch cables :-)), two pairs of speaker cables, single barrel bourbon, and turning my chair around so it faces away from the speakers. Each of these things made a difference obviously (except the bourbon) but the glare remains in varying degrees. The power cable swaps and the conditioner changes seem to have the most impact on the offending frequencies.
As for getting any "life" out of it, I'd have to say it has the best dynamic range of any player I've ever heard (yeah, really!) but the mids are a bit recessed and as a result it doesn't have quite the palpable "instruments in the room" effect that my old XA7ES had.
Sorry if my humor is out of line, I really appreciate you're weighing in. I was actually thinking this morning of taking the tiptoes OUT of the equation. It seems like every tweak that made my old player sound better makes this one sound worse. The rest of the system has been fed by numerous sources over the years so I'm pretty confident nothing is being caused by pre/power/speakers.
I'm surprised no one has offered any opinions of the Arcam CD37. I was hoping someone had made a comparison they could share. I will say that the borrowed CD17 is starting to sound pretty sweet and I will even go on record (in case anyone is doing a forum search) as saying that it sounds as good as my old XA7ES. It's a little tubby in the mid bass but that's easier to remedy.
What sort of equipment/cables were you using when you had the 5400? As I stated in an earlier post, I thought the included cable was a joke.

Kudos to you Prsmccarty if you garner that much pleasure out of micromanaging your system the way you do. I know you're not alone here, but it strikes me as a bit obssesive compulsive, IMO

Perhaps the Clever Little Clock may help (Google it for a laugh) ... or that little jar of pebbles for $795 (again, a real product ....lol)