Sony XA5400ES vs XA9000ES

I think it is. My line is through a much modified XA777ES, which was much improved over the standard XA777ES. The standard XA9000ES and XA777ES were extremely close.

The stock 5400 is very satisfying when compared to this highly modified unit, only lacking in a technical area (the balanced output level is surprisingly low). It's a very good unit indeed. It takes an extraordinary long time to break in, though.

Regards,

The redbook performance of the 5400 is much better than the 9000. When playing a hybrid SACD on the 9000, it was very obvious when switching to the CD layer. With the 5400, the switch is much more subtle - the soundstage becomes slightly smaller, a bit less air maybe, but no big letdown. With the 9000, I always felt the need to hook the digital out into a dac for CD, but not with the 5400. It's a very good CD player in it's own right.

That said, there is no comparision in the build quality. The 9000 was much heavier, the switches were smoother and the finish was more refined. The 5400 is solid, the transport works smoothly and you would only know if you previously owned a 9000.

Unfortunately, I never owned these players side by side. I will say that I really can't find something I don't like about the 5400. It's a really listenable player I think.

How about XA9000ES as strictly SACD unit. I already have a very good redbook CD playback system but I am looking for SACD player. There is no 5400 available locally here but I located a used XA9000ES. I could get 5400 from oversea but it would be sight unseen, sound unheard of, kind of thing.

For straight SACD, I could not fault the 9000 at all. If you like the 9000, I would have no hesitation in buying a 5400 unheard, but the 9000 does have excellent SACD playback. Don't get the impression that the redbook is bad. It's probably better than many people have heard. It's just not on the level of its SACD.