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In Reply to: RE: REVIEW: Vacuum State Electronics VSE modified Sony SCD-XA5400ES with Terra Firma Lite SACD Player (Modded) posted by Metralla on August 09, 2009 at 15:49:59
Thanks for the detailed review it is very much appreciated.
I am also glad that the results are so spectacular.
As you may know I bought a 5400 about 5 weeks ago and at first I was a little disapointed as although very good in some aspects it did sound
a little hifihish but after 4/5 weeks of running the machine has improved
beyond expectation, the new balanced line interconnects also helped.
Thus an improvement on this would be great.
Just to comment on how good the 5400 is in its standard form is that last week I sold my Pathos Endorphin (7000$) which was a very musical player on RBCD's but now the Sony which was bought as a standby player outperform the Endorphin in most aspects.
In an ideal world and for most people that own a 5400 they would like to see a review of the modded machine against a fully run in 5400.
(Maybe Kal could do that??)
I would also imagine that the majority of people that bought a 5400
at 1100$-1500$ may not be able to afford the full mods (2600$)on the 5400 thus a separate review of the player with just the clock upgrade and then a comparaison adding the VSE mods would be welcomed.
I am sure that in time this will happen.
Follow Ups:
I have been unable to access the review for the modded XA5400ES. However the review should be compared to a review of the XA5400ES with its partner receiver STR-DA6400ES or 5400ES (UK) fully utilising H.A.T.S. enabled low jitter transfer via HDMI which I find sounds superior to any analogue interconnects. Tino complains about the HF response of the XA5400ES but this is probably because he uis using antique tubes. The HF response of the XA5400ES is absolutely pristine the best you can get.
****Just to comment on how good the 5400 is in its standard form is that last week I sold my Pathos Endorphin (7000$) which was a very musical player on RBCD's but now the Sony which was bought as a standby player outperform the Endorphin in most aspects. *****
I'm glad you hung in there. It's clear you are glad too! Based on your preliminary comments about the Sony 5400 I thought it was doomed in your view and would never win you over.
I do agree that a direct comparison (subjective and objective; not just one or the other) would be something even I would be interested in (I rarely closely follow gear vs. gear discussions).
Thanks for sharing
Robert C. Lang
Yes at the begining the new 5400 had this Hifi ish sound that was not very musical. Especially on RBCD's but I was not too worried as I basically bought it as a standby. It has been running constantly for 5 weeks and during the last 2 weeks the sound improved dramatically, on some tracks it sounded as good as the Endorphin on some better, my only reservation was on solo instruments like the piano where it still did not sound as round and organic as the Pathos, at the time I put this down to the fact that the Pathos had a very good valve output stage. Then things got even better especially after trying different interconnects and fitting the balanced line interconnect to the 5400.
I was never able to compare simultaneously the 2 machines with both having the balanced line interconnects as my amp has only one set of balanced input. Then a week ago I did a serious comparison using 2 identical RBCD and switching from one to the other and the conclusion was that the 5400 was at least the equal or better than the Pathos, obviously a good SACD sounded better, thus I said to myself why should I keep the Pathos, it is only 2 years old and maybe this was the time to still get a decent price for it, which I did. So I have money in the bank, good sound and if required could do a mod upgrade.
A win win situation. Since the Pathos is gone I placed the 5400 on the Pathos rack which was better anyway, run it with balanced lines and I am really enjoying the sound, especially on big orchestral works where it can sound spectacular.
As you said a direct comparison between a modified and a new unit is needed so that 5400 owners know exactly what to expect.
I now need to buy a cheap standby machine like a Yamaha!!!
Any advice?? 250$ max.
From your posts, we know you have a critical ear. Quite a fascinating development, and congrats on selling the Pathos so quickly - well done in these tough economic times.
Regards,
Geoff
What balanced lead are you using?
Wireworld Eclipse 6
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