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

This Sony player supplanted my Ayre C5-XE 3, which I still have, months ago. I paid $6000 for the Ayre after determining that it was the best-sounding unit for under $10,000. The Sony blows it away!!!
A unit costing $1500 besting all others under $10,000? That is exactly what it does!
For reference, I am using Audio Research electronics and Vandersteen speakers and subwoofers (about $30,000); a similar system has repeatedly been lauded as "best of show" at CES, so we are NOT talking second-rate stuff here.
This Sony is the only SACD/Cd player I have EVER heard that puts a classical piano live in my living room; nothing I ever had before even comes close.
This unit is a small miracle. I would have gladly paid $8000 for it, but if they want to give the thing away for $1500, who am I to argue?
This unit is going to send the engineers at Audio Research, Luxman, Esoteric, and Ayre back to the drawing board; their current units at 4 to 5 times the price are not even close. Some engineer at Sony is a freaking genius!!!
wa6itd
dave_b's avatar
dave_b
3,159 posts
 
In the abstract you are correct Mrtennis, but practicaly speaking, some things are better than others for the money. The 5400, modded or not, is such a player. The NAD C565BEE is another overachiever, albeit for a different buyer perhaps. Balance is the word that comes to mind, and I'll take that over exteme detail, warmth, smoothness or any other hyper characteristic. I find the best way to evaluate any component/system is to utilize live recordings...ones I have had experience with from direct participation or those that I have used repeatedly for evaluation of several different systems.
mitch2
3,682 posts
 
Mr. T, when you say,
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.
Which one is warm and which one is detailed? Is this based on your conversation with Dan? If so, is the difference in Dan's opinion large, or a matter of shadings?
mystang
74 posts
 
Mitch2
I have both and the Oppo is the warmer one and to me it is obvious on a short listen but I would not call it a great difference.
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
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.
tubegroover
2,320 posts
 
Thanks for the follow-up with Dan Wright Mr. Tennis. I think this focuses this whole better/best matter into a more realistic perspective. I too was strongly considering the Sony after what I read but like you could not find unamious concensus on it and since I've owned 2 sony digital products from the past and not really being a fan of a certain "smoothness" that I have found with their products I was apprehensive. This is not to say that I may not have turned out to like the Sony but I just didn't want to take the chance on springing 1100.00 and finding out ultimately it wasn't to my taste.
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