Sony XA5400ES vs XA9000ES

I totally agree. Exactly what a buddy of mine said, the 5400 is not built anything like the 9000. I was hoping someone has actually compared them side by side or at least where both of them were in compatible systems. I know Ozzy didnt care for it but I question what amp and preamp or speakers he has because I was talking to a friend of mine who is a dealer and told him of this thread. He said evidently its system matching because the 9000 is Stereophile A+ and he can't imagine it sounding bad. I am not bashing the 5400 at all but I think one reason its so popular is the price. Hell its half of the 9000 new. I just dont see Sony making the 5400 that much better on redbook than the 9000 at half the price. I am saying this without hearing the 5400 obviously so hopefully more will chime in :)

Samzx12, You can look up my system. It is posted below next to my name ozzy.

I stand by my opinion that the 9000 redbook quality is sub par to others in that price range.
That is not to mean it doesnt have the sound and frequency extremes, but it has absolutly NO depth in its soundstage.

The 5400 is lighter and cheaper than the 9000 but neither factor means that it must be of lower "build quality." OTOH, it does sound better.

Kal

Nice system Ozzy.

I am borrowing a friends 9000ES this week so I will compare it to my Muse Signature Gen3 which is a very good player itself.

I started wondering if anyone was getting confused between the Sony DVD-s9000es and the xa-9000es. The dvd-s9000es has got a lot of press and has been a mod queen. But is not in the same league as the stock xa9000es. I hope the comparison with the xa-5400es was not mixed up with this multi format player. I have been very happy with my xa9000es...I may have to buy a xa5400es and compare side by side.