Ayre C-5xe-mp v Sony XA5400ES

Is John Atkinson duped by a fancy case, ... or does the Ayre really sound as good as the reviews suggest?

Yes, it is a very good sounding disc player and no, the case is actually not that fancy.

the case is actually not that fancy

The case appears less fancy that that of my Sony XA5400ES, so I hope the sound is sufficiently superior to compensate for such a plain-jane appearance. I expect to experience that sound myself if I find one for not over $3K -- I'll divert my eyes when playing it.

db

Mitch2,

Thanks for the excellent response above to the Stereophile issue.

"06-11-14: Dbphd

the case is actually not that fancy

The case appears less fancy that that of my Sony XA5400ES, so I hope the sound is sufficiently superior to compensate for such a plain-jane appearance. I expect to experience that sound myself if I find one for not over $3K -- I'll divert my eyes when playing it."

Really? To me, the XA5400ES looks a lot like my old 9000ES. Very nice, but I wouldn't say as nice as the Ayre. The one thing I can tell you for certain is the actual build quality on the Ayre is as good as anything I've seen. I have a pair of V-5 amps (part of the same line as the C-5) and when I put them next to my Rowland amp and look at the quality differences, inside and out, the Ayre is better.

"Both of these players have received A+ ratings from Stereophile. I have the Sony and wonder if the sound of SACDs played on the Ayre would be a worthwhile upgrade. Anyone have the chance to compare the sounds of the two?"

Also, after reading your original post again, I think you'll notice just as big a difference from Redbook CD's as you will from SACD. Maybe even bigger.

It's been years since I've seen the Ayre, so I rely on photos. I think both the Ayre and Sony are handsome in a functional minimalist way, neither manufacturer seems to have squandered money on bling.

I just received a Linn SACD sampler that reinforces my impression that the Sony is no sonic slouch, and I'm sure to play that disc on the Ayre when I get one. I also played surround from the Linn disc on my Oppo BDP-105. In my setup, the Oppo is limited to PCM because it does speaker management. The Sony does DSD but not analog surround. All my audio connections are analog. The Oppo is no sonic slouch either, but I prefer stereo DSD from the Sony to surround PCM from the Oppo for this Linn disc.

db