Great news! Sony XA-5400ES SACD back in production

BlueFox

For whatever reason, Sony discontinued this player just as people were starting to acknowledge how good it is. Well, apparently Sony heard the screaming, and has started selling it again. If you want a very good SACD player then here it is.


http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665537319

BlueFox

Here is a better price. I might get another as a spare and use it in the HT system since it uses HDMI as the multi-channel transport versus two-channel analog out. Of course, then I will need a new pre/pro since my current setup only has two HDMI inputs.


http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Super-Audio-Player-Output/dp/B001CS7M5U/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1356757096&sr=1-1&keywords=sony+scd-xa5400es

BlueFox

I just ordered my spare. Now I need to decide on a pre/pro. This is the first time in 2-3 years I have done anything to the HT system, so it is kind of fun spending money. While I expect to use HDMI as the primary interface in this setup, it does make sense to also use the two-channel analog occasionally, so I will give my Kimber Kables Hero XLR interconnects another try in this setup.

BlueFox

I ordered a NAD T-187 pre/pro today from Audio Advisor to go with the XA-5400ES. This will be replacing my Sony DA-7100ES used as a pre/pro, and the Sony 9100ES SACD player. I have been using this setup for about 5 years now, so I hope to hear an improvement. Thankfully, I already have Shunyata power cords and MIT interconnects on the old gear, so it should be a simple plug and play swap, after calibrating the NAD. This is my first piece of gear with Audyssey, and NAD includes a tweak developed by Paul Barton of PSB. I am hoping since I am using PSB Synchrony One speakers for the front and center that the Audyssey tweak will shine.

Now I have itch to upgrade the Wada171/iPod to the Bryston BDP-1 digital file player. :eek:

Happy new year everyone.