Review: Sony SCD-XA5400ES CD Player

I have to say guys, that this is a case of a little understanding can be a dangerous thing. I have owned Levinsons N0. 39, 390S and 37/360S, Wadia 850SE, BAT VKD5SE, ARC CD3, Sony SCD-1,777ES,9000ES and others. I use some of the best cables and power cords available. My Maggie 3.6R's definately let you know what's going on up top. Bottom line is that the Sony has the most natural and extended high frequencies I've ever heard...pure, clear, complex and tonaly accurate. If you guys are hearing something different, then somethings wrong with your setup or ears. This is not an opinion, it is a fact! Tell me your setups and maybe I can help identify the problem for you:O)

...the Sony has the most natural and extended high frequencies I've ever heard...If you guys are hearing something different, then somethings wrong with your setup or ears. This is not an opinion, it is a fact!
Dave_b (Threads | Answers)

No, this is not a fact. It is a textbook definition of an opinion.

I forgot to mention that I am around acoustic instruments in my house everyday (my children play piano, baritone, cello, drums, flute). I have recordings of concerts I have attended (jazz, classical and rock). I have owned many 50K plus rigs. I have no dog in this race. My opinion has merit based on the above facts. Oh, and I have no hearing loss...yet! Keep in mind I use true reference recordings with realistic high frequency content. Examining the brush strokes of a Monet painting may be interesting to an art major, but it kind of misses the whole point doesn't it? Please do list your equipment, cabling and music for reference however.

So much for the case of "little understanding"... http://www.linkedin.com/in/cyrilmartin

Now Dave B., when it comes to your extensive ownership of expensive digital gear, all of them with no exception were using symmetrical FIR designs. Sad, very sad... Your offer to debug a system "a distance" is presumptuous at best- a bit like phone psychics.. And the statement about "not having hearing loss" is always incorrect- everybody does, that process is called "aging"... unless of course you also have a potion to reverse Corti organ damage (and did it ship with the Sony player?).

As many will notice, that "discussion" is going nowhere. I will summarize as best as I can: if you have $1K laying around and you want a very good all around player, the Sony is for you. If you also have a soldering iron and are not afraid of playing wizard with SMT packages, you may even have the pleasure of doing some experimentation with opamps and see where you get; you will notice that Sony is pretty much in bed with TI (Burr Brown was acquired by TI in 2001) so you have all the ADI and National offering at hand, likely unexplored by the Sony design team.
Now, if you want the best redbook CD player available today (and you are independently wealthy!) go check our the Meridian 808.2 CD player- You will not regret it... And, if you also want to check how devilishly good your SACDs can sound, check out the DCS stuff (N.B: look at the pro gear- it is precisely the same as the audiophile offering in a more rugged packaging, and at more realistic prices... *realistic* still means a wad of cash though!).

And this was only naming a few :)... Contrary to some, I tend to avoid definitive statements as the future would too often prove me wrong!

Peace.

Wow, I am amazed again! I owned a meridian G08...sucked; Sterile, whitish and flat sounding. Knowledge is a terrible burden for some..it dictates their perception despite any evidence to the contrary. Ironic that you would pick my least favorite examples of digital for a rebuke. Obviously you have never been to Boston Symphony Hall...now that's a reference standard:O)