Post by junchoon June 10, 2010 (271 of 290)
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RWetmore said:
I decided that for my tastes and my setup the analog outs of this player are just a tad bright sounding, so I decided to try a Marantz SA8003. So far I like it better - the highs are smoother and easier on the ears.
If anyone is interested in buying my XA5400ES, email me at wetmorer@hotmail.com
have u tried Marantz Pearl instead? hiredfox seems to like that unit. or the oppo 83se, many seems to rate it higher than the sa8003.
before dumping the sony, the run-in time should exceed 500 hours. also, change the cheap power cable to something decent.
wps
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RWetmore said:
I decided that for my tastes and my setup the analog outs of this player are just a tad bright sounding, so I decided to try a Marantz SA8003. So far I like it better - the highs are smoother and easier on the ears.
If anyone is interested in buying my XA5400ES, email me at wetmorer@hotmail.com
This is a great opportunity for someone to buy this excellent player at a good price. It does not sound bright it is very neutral with a absolutely pristine top end , It seems the rest of the sellers equipment is too bright. The Marantz 8003 is a very much inferior player to the Sony.
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Disbeliever said:
This is a great opportunity for someone to buy this excellent player at a good price. It does not sound bright it is very neutral with a absolutely pristine top end , It seems the rest of the sellers equipment is too bright. The Marantz 8003 is a very much inferior player to the Sony.
In your opinion?
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Post by DSD June 11, 2010 (274 of 290)
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Disbeliever said:
...It does not sound bright it is very neutral with a absolutely pristine top end, It seems the rest of the sellers equipment is too bright...
Perhaps your equipment is too dull? Could go a long ways to explain why you do not like tubes or LPs and why you think CDs sound good. Unfortunately according to Harry Pearson a lot of modern equipment is no longer engineered for the absolute sound but instead designed to make the CD format sound acceptable.
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DSD said:
Perhaps your equipment is too dull? Could go a long ways to explain why you do not like tubes or LPs and why you think CDs sound good. Unfortunately according to Harry Pearson a lot of modern equipment is no longer engineered for the absolute sound but instead designed to make the CD format sound acceptable.
What a lot of nonsense, my equipment is probably the most neutral and accurate available, I have access to professional audio consultants. Furthermore I have never said I dislike LP's Not all CD's sound good but many do and the D.L. L. feature on the Sony receiver improves the sound of early CD's.. . See review Marantz SA8003 Doc Sarvis post on XA5400ES player Audio Asylum especially for R Wetmore who does not reveal his speakers & amplification.
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Post by stvnharr June 12, 2010 (276 of 290)
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Disbeliever said:
my equipment is probably the most neutral and accurate available,
Sorry, but as you should well know, neutral is a comparative term. So, what are you using as a reference in order to assess your system as being "neutral"? Without that, you are just blowing hot air and empty words.
If one reads around and read people's opinions of Sony and Marantz players, one finds that Marantz players, especially the entry level ones, are usually noted for having a warmish sound, and Sony players have a brightish sound. I've owned both, and pretty much concur in that assessment.
Sony's use opamps in their output stages, and while opamps don't all sound the same, they generally add a brightish element to the sound outcome. But they are cheap and easy to design with, and that's why they get used a lot.
The Marantz players use discrete opamp circuits featuring a large number of transistors in the design. They've been doing this for a long time. The Marantz powers that be seem to like the warmish dullish sound that this produces.
There aren't many contrary opinions by users. It's just that some prefer one sound, and some prefer the other.
Of course there is a third way, but no need to visit that again in this forum.
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I have enough experience with Live v recorded sound over many years to know how my system compares. I have been in h Hi-Fi manufacturing & Hi-Fi retail for most of my life and have been involved with many designers of speakers electronics and BBC engineers .
As for Marantz I have had many discussions with Ken Ishiwata and have a 20 year old Marantz CD94 (modified) which sounds far superior to the latest Maranzt SA-7S1 which I sold after a 750 hour burn in. The guy I sold it to put it up for sale 6 weeks later. The Sony XA5400ES is an exceptional machine and I doubt if it would get an A+ rating in Stereophile by Kal one of the very few reviwers today that I agree with. Again how many more times do I have to post that the Sony player sounds best via HDMI into its matching receivers especially for MCH SACD and has for a combo the best independant test figures to date as far as I am aware.
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stvnharr said:
Sorry, but as you should well know, neutral is a comparative term. So, what are you using as a reference in order to assess your system as being "neutral"? Without that, you are just blowing hot air and empty words.
+1
When I auditioned Sony and Marantz, the Marantz multichannel SACD player (SA17S1--which I bought) won hands down. Warmth is much more important to me than the overly bright, aggressive, and strident sound that Sony has.
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Post by stvnharr June 12, 2010 (279 of 290)
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Disbeliever said:
I have enough experience with Live v recorded sound over many years to know how my system compares. I have been in h Hi-Fi manufacturing & Hi-Fi retail for most of my life and have been involved with many designers of speakers electronics and BBC engineers .
As for Marantz I have had many discussions with Ken Ishiwata and have a 20 year old Marantz CD94 (modified) which sounds far superior to the latest Maranzt SA-7S1 which I sold after a 750 hour burn in. The guy I sold it to put it up for sale 6 weeks later. The Sony XA5400ES is an exceptional machine and I doubt if it would get an A+ rating in Stereophile by Kal one of the very few reviwers today that I agree with. Again how many more times do I have to post that the Sony player sounds best via HDMI into its matching receivers especially for MCH SACD and has for a combo the best independant test figures to date as far as I am aware.
It doesn't matter how long you WERE in the hi fi industry, how much you talked to Ken Ishiwata, or what magazines rate whatever player!
You can declare your system to be whatever, including the world's very best, it's just all empty hot air without any comparison to other actual equipment, etc. You write a lot of comparative terms without any comparisons. And relying on memory is a dubious undertaking.
FWIW, the Sony XA5400ES has been favorably reviewed in many places, but that does not mean everyone will fall in love with it.
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stvnharr said:
It doesn't matter how long you WERE in the hi fi industry, how much you talked to Ken Ishiwata, or what magazines rate whatever player!
You can declare your system to be whatever, including the world's very best, it's just all empty hot air without any comparison to other actual equipment, etc. You write a lot of comparative terms without any comparisons. And relying on memory is a dubious undertaking.
FWIW, the Sony XA5400ES has been favorably reviewed in many places, but that does not mean everyone will fall in love with it.
It is not necessary for everyone to fall in love with the Sony XA5400ES , it just happens to be the very best value on the market, you pay your money and take your choice. Finally I am very fortunate in being able to compare my speakers to live sound with the designer on hand to make adjustment if necessary . Also my speakers have been built & room voiced to suit my listening room, Not many people are able to obtain this advantage..I am not interested in comparing them with other speakers there is no need to. I believe I have as the late Peter Walker's ad slogan 'Closest approach to the original sound'
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