Sony XA5400ES lack of bass when new?

I've had mine since early June. I don't remember it being as bass shy at first listen as you seem to be experiencing. It did smooth out some over the break-in period but I thought it sounded pretty darn good right out of the box.

Compared to other good units I have tried in the past year: Lexicon RT20, Bryston BCD-1, Meridian G08, Modwright Sony 9100ES, Musical Fidelity A5; As espected, the 5400 is great for SACD playback, but quite surprising on redbook cds. That's what sold me.

Tim

"(Nothing below 100hz)"

If you have confirmed this with measurements, the player is defective.

Or are you speaker figuratively?

Kal

My experience was that the bass increased in suppleness and tunefulness over a period of a few hundred hours. It got slightly deeper, but not so much. The bass became more integrated into the music and developed more propulsion in songs where the bass really drives it along.

I noticed the bass right away. It was more prominent than my modified Sony SCD-XA777ES. Still, hang in there - break in does vary from unit to unit.

Regards,

tim (tkmetz), would you please explain and detail the sonic differences between the sony5400 and your forme meridian and musical fidelity cdp on RBCD? is there difference in overall SQ (are they in the same league on RBCD)? in what system do you use it?