Saturday, June 8, 2013
Stars are never sleeping
Well, I don't expect that there will be a gathering of the enlightened to help evaluate the differences between the Yamaha CD-S2000 and the Sony XA-5400ES SACD players, so I promise to do it myself. I already have some impressions, and some concerns. I think that they are still quite closely priced in the used market, but the release of the Yamaha 3000 series (have you SEEN the amp? They added analog meters the BASTARDS) will probably drive the 2000 series prices down. I believe that the Sony received glowing reviews in the US audio press (all two magazines- and magazines that review video games do not count) but the Yamaha did not, in fact I am not sure it was reviewed much at all. Fuzzy phone picture attached.
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Hello sir!
ReplyDeleteVery much looking forward to your review/ comparison, as I'm currently contemplating these two players. I'm also considering the Yamaha A-S2000 amp. I'm currently using the Anthem 225i, but I see some people feel the Yamaha edges this one out (equally as powerful?, which I doubt) and apparently more refined.
Thank you! Take care!
Jan (Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada)
Well, the listening compare is done, I just have to turn my scribblings into a coherent post. In the process of getting to this, I have seen a number of Sony XA5400 ES players in he $700-$900 range which is a very good price for this player. it would be very hard to go wrong with either, but I haven't seen the Yamaha at anywhere near that price range. The amp deserves 1,000 words just to itself, but be aware of one thing, which some might find a negative: there is no way to tell the volume level (other than by ear) from across the room. perhaps it is just an issue on the black faceplate amps (like mine), but it is a problem when I am trying to return to a start point for volume have to be up close. I have heard the Anthem AVRs, and they are very good, so I would imagine the 225i is no slouch either. What kind of speakers will you be using? I have used Dynaudio Focus 200s and 140s, Dynaudio DM 2/7s, a/d/s/ L470 and Pioneer SP-BS22s all with great success on the Yamaha.
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