I took the delivery of XA5400ES. I have done casual listening + burning in for 5-6 hours today. The material was mainly redbook CD. I understand XA5400ES has long burn in time, so take my preliminary review with a grain of salt.
The initial impression was more prominent treble. That's probably consistent with what others have expressed as strident treble. I don't feel the treble is over emphasized, although I definitely hear more treble content compared to Unidisk. The midrange is quite good. I hear more texture and better micro dynamics. That's a really good sign as I've been yearning for better midrange texture for some times. The initial impression also includes loss of depth. That might improve as the unit burns in, or maybe I'll get used to it.
It's hard to characterize the sound of XA5400ES. I would compare the sound akin to looking out the window that has been just washed and squeeegeed. The sound is smoother, and more accurate than my previous CDP. It's by no means warm sounding, but at the same time I don't want to leave a wrong impression that it sounds bright and harsh, because it does not. The sound is smooth, detailed and accurate. However if you are partial to warm sounding system, this is probably not for you. I suppose the sound is rather neutral. Others might (wrongly) perceive the extra detail as being bright.
I feel the amount of bass is less than what I used to hear from Unidisk, but it's too premature for final ruling at this time. Perhaps it's less boomy and more accurate. But I did notice difference in the amount of bass. Perhaps it will improve as the unit burns in. Perhaps I'll get used to its sound.
I do feel there is more midrange texture, and more detail throughout. That's a good thing, as those two things were what I was hoping to improve on my system.
I like this CDP so far. It show excellent build quality compared to my Unidisk SC. The sound is just as good, and in many areas better than the incumbent. I don't notice any obvious shortcoming yet.