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In Reply to: RE: Impressions: sony xa5400 vs Ayre cx-5e mp vs Mcintosh mcd-1100 posted by classicalmusiclover on February 16, 2012 at 20:47:32
Owned the Sony stock and Modwrighted. Demo'd the Mcintosh's and Ayre at length recently when shopping for a new front end to replace the XA5400 full Modwrighted player....lot's of choices indeed. I wound up trying the Denon A100 from Music Direct for 30 day trial while I was checking out the other players. Bottom line is that the Denon won my heart and was a freakin steal at $1500 (comparable players would cost at least $5K or more). Dynamic, extended with ZERO digital artifacts, warmth and oodles of inner detail. Most of all, instruments sound dead on accurate tonaly! Beguilingly so in fact....I sit in on Orchestral practices at the local high schools and college. It just don;t get much better if at all:O) Don't believe me?? Try one if they have any left.
dave_b
Follow Ups:
Salient question for you, as I have tried unsuccessfully to get the answer from your other posts on the Sony XA5400 in modded form: What was it about the XA5400 Modwrighted player that led you to sell it? Also, did you have a chance to compare it side by side to any of the other players you have had? Thanks for your input on these players.
Glad to hear you found the right player in the end. I am at the point where I am trying to convince myself the XA5400 I bought is worth keeping enough to send to VSE or Modwright.
I have the original VSE modified 5400, and love it. It has superb sonics. The modifications are guaranteed for 5 years, and Bill at Music Tech is the authorized agent for VSE. I recently asked him if he would do repairs on the 5400 not related to the modifications if they ever came up and he said, no problem.
MUSIC TECHNOLOGY, INC.
5418 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22151
703-764-7005 x106
703-764-0079 (FAX)
703-501-9419 (CELL)
bill@musictechnology.com
HOURS: Noon-6PM Mon-Fri
Thanks for your input. Great news to hear for this player all around. I would hesitate to send my XA5400, unmodded, to Sony if ever a problem, warranty or not. I emailed Bill last week, but no reply yet.
I would hesitate to send my XA5400, unmodded, to Sony if ever a problem, warranty or not. I emailed Bill last week, but no reply yet.
I'd think Bill or Warren (west coast) would be most receptive to troubleshooting 5400's that they installed VSE upgrades into. Some modders do general repairs not associated with units upgraded by them, but I would be surprised if Bill, Warren or Mr.Modwright in Washington worked on repairing units they did not modify.
I did not ask, and Bill did not specify whether he would repair units that weren't VSE mods.
I did not ask, and Bill did not specify whether he would repair units that weren't VSE mods.
Hello Mali. I've read your posts for years and have enjoyed them, but my reply was regarding robss's post.
To be honest, if the transport wouldn't have started misreading discs and if one of the capacitors didn't give out I may have stuck with it:O) The cheap transport was my main long term concern overall. I happened to have gotten very close to what I payed for the whole rig from some wealthy, multisystem gentleman that wanted to have one immediately:O) Plus I got my stock unit for only $1K !
As for comparison, I have only to rely on sonic memory. If you are comfortable with assuming the potential risk of repairs, some of which will be covered by Modwright for example, for their work, then go for it. The Denon A100 for me, combined with my Yaquin tube buffer get's me close enough with 5 years warranty and a far superior build quality.
dave_b
Gentleman buyer bought with a bad capacitor and disc reading issues, or you incurred some cost to repair before selling to gentleman?
What's the longest you've held on to a audio component?
Modwright repaired both issues for me luckily...I had the Sony over 2 years. I owned my Dunlavy/Levinson system for 4 years back in the mid "90's, then I got on the continual upgrade/change path just for kicks when the tech money was flowing:O) Recently I've been playing around with more modest gear so I can still send my kids to college. I do love exploring new gear and technology! It's my hobby and my passion, what can I say? It's fun to actually hear alot of the stuff that get's reviewd or doesn't in some cases....opens your ears up a bit to what's going on in the High end and the near High end. So short answer is an average of 2 years with the shortest ever being just over 4 days (that component really pissed me off).
dave_b
Good to read you put your kids education first and that you had your 5400 repaired before selling. Sorry to sound so suspicious, but some stuff I read on audio forums makes me cringe.
Everything I have ever sold, and Lord knows it was alot, has been 9/10 or higher rating in perfect working order. I sold my last Mega system 2 years ago to a lawyer in New Zealand...with the exchange rate so bad for him, he payed me almost what i payed for it MSRP. It's kinda fun sometimes doin deals around the world:O) My sitting room getaway is a pleasure however, so I'm doin fine!
dave_b
Denon, Marantz and McIntosh are all owned by the same parent company - D&M Holdings. I know they are all separate companies, but you have to wonder if there's any sharing of technology & design. If nothing else, I would imagine that their future plans for Digital/CD/SACD are somewhat coordinated together.Gerry
Edits: 02/25/12
Yup! I just am completely smitten with the A100...it leaves me wanting for not:O)
dave_b
Isn't the tube output stage buffer you are using making a big difference? i.e., I'm wondering how good the Denon would sound to those of us without that buffer. With my naturally skeptical (and sometimes, cynical) nature (sadly), I also can't help but wonder how this player is being sold so cheaply - e.g., I can't help but wonder if it'll be replaced by a much better and cheaper player.
You got me there...I wouldn't want to do without my Yaquin buffer:O) Basically what it does is similiar to what the Modwright upgrade did for my Sony...it adds that tube magic but without any corruptive tube signature i.e. rolloff or veiling etc. All things considered however, it still competes with the big boys in all aspects. I researched it's build and parts content as well as performance parameters compared to the competition and it stacks up closer with $5k plus players like the Esoteric stuff. It simply got lost in the shuffle due to it's 2channel only format and CD/SACD only playback...I think coming from Denon the average droog expects multichannel and playback of everything short of cassette tapes! The 30 day trial is THEE reason I even took a chance, but man o man I'm glad I did.
dave_b
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