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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
sequence56
73 posts
 
Well, In the beginning the sound was too dry with an unfocused sound, lacking space.
After some 175-200 hours the sound became far more smoother and openness came in. This process continued until around 425 hours on the clock. From this point on I am proportional happy with the sound, which is transparent, focused, very smooth, coherent and unforced with a solid low end.
Proportional, because I still use the stock powercord, which I intend to change shortly in one of the aftermarkets, Shunyata Anaconda CX, Furutech Powerflux, Nordost Valhalla or whatsoever came in in this quality region.
The only aftermarket pc I listen until now was a Belden, which was a great disappointment.
Good luck!
prsmccarty
23 posts
 
Well, that's good news. I would recommend trying every power cord in your house whether it's a high-end replacement or not. The one that comes with the player is pretty bad. I got improved sound just by grabbing one out of a drawer that I had left over from a computer or guitar amp or something. I have a Zu Cable Bok which I intend to use eventually, but I have to make a slight modification (i.e. big hole) in the back of my equipment cab to accommodate the cable, since the 5400ES is so deep.
prsmccarty
23 posts
 
One more thing, It could just be my imagination but the power cable upgrade seems to be accelerating the break in. I hear improvements every time I check in on it.
chayro
2,992 posts
 
I think people forget something - they have a given CD player and they optimize the system to get it to sound it's best. They select the right ICs and PCs, move the speakers around, etc. Then they substitute something new and little wonder it may not sound right. You might have to move the speakers a bit or purchase a different IC or whatever.
prsmccarty
23 posts
 
I don't disagree Chayro, but in the beginning I like to keep the rest of the system as the constant in the equation. That way I feel I'm measuring the differences between the new player and the one it replaced. After I'm convinced it's staying, and I feel I've got a pretty good handle on how it differs from the old unit, I can make any necessary adjustments.
Since this Sony is replacing another Sony, I would think those adjustments will likely be minimal. Frankly, I was 99% happy with the sound of the XA7ES, I just wanted to replace it while it was still working and sounding good and I knew that newer players would offer some improvements. The 5400ES is sounding better and better, except for the aforementioned power cable I'll be surprised if I change anything else.
One more thing, this was way more than "may not sound right". The sound of this player during break-in with the stock power cord was dramatically inferior to the sound the player is capable of with simply a better generic cable. It was really that bad. Just read my "big mistake" post. I wasn't exaggerating.
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