What's the best Sony CD/SACD player?

Jylee,

Nice system you have there. It looks like you use the the Unidisk SC as a disk player only. Have you ever used it as a preamp? If so, how would you rate it?

To be more specific, I have Linn Ninka speakers and C5100 amp, the 9100ES player and a Rotel integrated as a preamp. I'm considering a Linn Exotik or 5103 preamp or Unidisk SC. If I go with the Exotik or 5103 as the preamp that leaves me with the disk player in question.

I look forward to hearing you opinions on the 5400ES vs the Unidisk. I also wonder how people would compare the newer SACD 9000ES vs my 9100ES or the 5400ES. I know the SCD 1 is a great player but I would prefer something newer.

Thanks for any opinions on any of the above.

I forgot to mention in the last post, I also have a Trikan center and old Helix speakers for rears so I would like to stick with a multi channel preamp. I will use the system for movies and 2 channel music. The 9100ES will stay for movies unless I go to a Unidisk. So the questions is what combination of multi channel preamp and music source is best. The Unidisk fills both roles but would an Exotik and a good music source be better for the same price as the Unidisk (all used)?

Bmdduck,

I've been using SC without a preamp for a while with good result. The built in volume control is quite good. Bypassing preamp makes the sound very transparent. However, the analog input section is not very good, so if you have other analog sources a dedicated preamp will serve better for you. The digital input section sounds okay. I've connected Airport Express to the digital input of SC, and it sounds good. I don't have a lot of lossless music on computer so I can't tell you how the digital input compare to the CD from its transport. I haven't watched a lot of movies on SC, as I use it mainly as a music player. I do have some DTS music disks, and Unidisk decodes them just fine.

As far as 5400ES goes, all the reviews I've read said it sounds better than any previous Sony ES players so I am pretty excited about the purchase. It reportedly has long break in period, so it may be a week or two until I can do a meaningful comparison.

hi jylee:
after you get the player, send it to dan wright and ask him to add a tube output stage.

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.