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
hello dear friends . this is antonis from ( not so sunny today greece )
when i purchased the 5400 i had the weiss minerva dac in my system
the 5400 left it miles back in terms of analysis and musicality

BUT
today a friend brought his weiss 202 for comparison
AGAIN winner !!!!
After 8 months with the Sony, I've decided to move on. It's for sale now if anyone wants to try it. It was just not the right player for my system. It is AWESOME, don't get me wrong, but I need something that's just a little bigger in the midrange. My whole system is pretty much flat response with good high freq extension and I feel like I need something warmer and with a bit of midrange bump.
Has anyone noticed the OP hasn't chimed in since he started this thread ? That's odd.
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.