Sony XA-5400ES v. Yamaha CD-S2000

Is it time to get the matching Yamaha SACD player?  I have the Yamaha CD-S700 (unbelievable buy for $99 complete with remote box and manual), and whereas it does not play SACD, on CD playback it sounds remarkably close to the XA-5400ES (I do not think I could reliably tell them apart on the majority of CDs I play).  What both Yamahas have that demolish the Sony is a solid and impressive disc loading mechanism. The 700 has a thin, elegant loading drawer that was not taken from a computer DVD-Rom unit, I do not think.  I know that Kal Rubinson at Stereophile has given the XA-5400ES very high marks, and he has access to  more and higher quality gear with which to critically evaluate sound quality, so his opinion carries weight with me.  Plus I believe that he is sane and writes in a comprehensive, logical fashion, something I cannot say for many of his peers under the same masthead.  It is a shame that I cannot a.) own both and do a direct comparison, or even b.) listen to the Yamaha anywhere locally.  It can be ordered from Crutchfield however:

 http://www.crutchfield.com/p_022CD2000B/Yamaha-CD-S2000.html?search=Yamaha_CD-S2000&skipvs=T

. . . and they have a wonderful return policy.  I'll have to think about it.  The Sony has excellent bass response and definitely sounds different through its balanced output (at least it does through the balanced input on my Yamaha A-S2000 amp, which is a fully-balanced design). But the loading time is slow, the drawer mechanism is junk, I never cared for its styling, and I really can't stand what has become of Sony the Company.   I will have to think about it . . .

January 1987

"Few things can set hi-fi enthusiasts squabbling faster than a discussion of amplifier sound."  So starts the famous, (or infamous, perhaps) David L. Clark and Ian G. Masters article in the January 1987 issue of Stereo Review entitled: "Do All Amplifiers Sound the Same?"  The conclusion seems clear- they pretty much do if you can't see which one you're listening to.  I just got a hold of a worn copy of this issue, and I have yet to read it again in detail.  The amps compared are a $12,000 pair of Julius Futterman mono tube amps (the name alone is worth the money I suppose), a $2,000  Mark Levinson ML-11, a Hafler DH-120 at $320, a $548 NAD 2200 and a lowly Pioneer SX-1500 receiver- $219.95.  Keep in mind that same Pioneer would cost you $436.97 in today's dollars, so those Futtermans ain't cheap.  I fall into the category of believing that I have heard differences between amplifiers, so I can't wait to read the article and through the whole issue- there's also a great picture of a Linn Axis turntable on the cover.  I intend to keep an open mind.

Tosin Abasi

I'm listening to "Infinite Regression" which is the first track on "Weightless" by Animals as Leaders.  I didn't feel like using quotes just there.  Anyway, it's late and I'm in front of the computer, so the sound is coming through the iGrados again, this time with tracks played through iTunes, which isn't very good, but is better than the awful Zune software.  For someone into stereo, my computer music situation sucks.  More about that some time later, if I ever consider computer music to be more than convenience. 

Tosin Abasi is the guitarist for Animals as Leaders, and he is something of a mix between Stanley Jordan and Eddie Van Halen, with some Vernon Reid thrown in for good measure.  There are a few videos of him floating around, so Google away.  Better yet, buy one of the albums.  He taps and hammers the strings frequently, often at lightning speeds and punctuated by short, powerful chord bursts.  He certainly keeps the drummer busy.  Very neat stuff, and I highly recommend it.  No vocals, which is refreshing- in my opinion it has absolutely, positively, all been said before.  besides, until the craze with whatever the kids consider to be "irony" these days passes, lyrics are going to be an awful mess. 

Watching TV

I think I finally have the home theater system to about where I want it.  I have an Oppo BDP-93 for discs and streaming upon which I cannot heap enough praise.  Next to my old 1989 vintage Sony CDP 605ESD it is my favorite disc player.  We use a somewhat (for an AV receiver anyway) older Marantz SR6003 as the brains, and a very old (1982?) Hafler DH 200 (again updated and modified by Wayne at In House Stereo Repair) running the mains.  This is an amplifier to keep forever.  The speakers are all new Dynaudio DM series- DM2/7 fronts and DM center.  They sound great, even though they are not broken in.   The center is 1/3 the size of my Dynaudio Audience C122 center (which is in storage now) but has a wonderfully natural timbre on voices, which is obviously important.  It's also on a neat stand it comes with to give it clearance over the top of the cabinet, which is perfect given the cabinet's depth.   No sub (yet, I think- the DM 2/6s have great bass) and no serious thoughts for surrounds, but just fine as is for most stuff.  I will admit that the Emerson Lake and Palmer Brain Salad Surgery DVD-A could use surrounds though, as could some of my Porcupine Tree stuff, but the ELP- there's a TON of weirdness in that mix.

Yamaha A-S2000 caps

Just some quick shots of the 4 very large capacitors in the A-S2000, and my old Sony TA-F444ES for comparison.  There's also a shot of the new binding posts on the 444 (thank you In House Stereo Repair)- one of the better inexpensive integrated amplifiers Sony ever made, and given the current quality of the company certainly the last I'll ever own.

Feet!

Here are some shots of the outriggers for the Dynaudios up close- very nice, as I said earlier.  I've also included a shot of the Tara Labs cones the Rega 1 is sitting on- I removed the stock feet.  The inexpensive stand everything is on is made with glass shelves, which are supposedly terrible for sound.  I've found a craftsman in PA that does amazing stuff- I'll post a link to his site later- but I think I will definitely be purchasing a new stand fairly soon.

Speaking of feet, the Yamaha A-S2000 integrated comes with huge feet that have magnetic spikes one can affix- but I still haven't even taken the tape off them.  Again, when I change the rack it sits on I'll get them set up. . .

iGrado and Animals As Leaders

I'm not a big fan of in-ear headphones.  There's something about them that just creeps me out.  I look at them and get the feeling that I'm one step closer to home theater being a chip installed in my skull.  *Blink* 50000p video and 21.1 surround all in my brain *Blink* and I'm out of the Matrix.  Whatever.

Anyway, the latest pair of portable-ish head phones I am using are the very good iGrados.  They were about $40 I think, (from our friends at Audio Den) and fit pretty well.  They have much better bass than any in-ear I have used at twice the price (Klipsch, Sennheiser).  You just can't recline with them on- there is a hard plastic band that wraps around the back of your head that prevents that.  They would be fine for exercise though, even though I prefer to run without music. I would imagine the iGrado would keep your ears warmer than running outdoors in February than iPod buds!  I also use larger Grado S60 cans for late-night listening to the main system, and for the money ($70?  there may be an improved version- check out Music Direct: http://www.musicdirect.com/p-7148-grado-sr-60i-headphones.aspx)  they are hard to beat.

I had meant to order the SACD of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here,"  but as is so often the case on Amazon, I found myself scrolling through the "Other People Who Bought This. . . "  and discovered a band called "Animals As Leaders."   I know nothing about the band, but as I sit here typing I am listening to a track on their MySpace page called: "Tempting Time."  The guitarist is a speed demon. Kind of a cross between Eddie Van Halen and Stanley Jordan for Progressive Metal.  Interesting.  I'm ordering it.

FedEx Strikes Again!

Actually, this is an older picture compared to the Oppo box damage I posted around Christmas.  nevertheless, Bravo, Federal Express!  Good thing they were both double-boxed.

The End is Nigh

. . . and I do not mean that in the sense that Anthropogenic Climate Change Doom is upon us because we haven't seen snow like in this picture of Chermpf from last year.  What I mean is that Susan, of her own volition (no Jedi tricks from me) has:

A.) decided to get rid of the top of the cabinet that housed our Flatscreen and home theater, thus freeing our Dynaudio DM2/7 speakers from the little cubbies in which they resided, leading to hugely improved sound,

and:

B.) decided that she wants to either fix or replace our dead Martin Logan subwoofer.


Who woulda thunk it?  I was going to be happy with the 2/7 and DM Center doing everything, but the lady wants more bass!  Time to do some research (as in HSU Research, perhaps?)  I'll send an e-mail to In House Stereo Repair first and see what can be done about the Martin Logan Dynamo.  It blows fuses now the moment it is turned on.  Probably a short, but it was so cheap it may not warrant replacing. . .

A/D/S/ as promised

Well, it took me a while but I managed to dig up an older picture of a system I ran with a pair of a/d/s/ 1290 speakers.  They belong to my Uncle, but lived in the basement of the condo we used to have and a dorm room (!).  Sorry this is a terrible picture, I took it to show someone how we had installed speaker wiring in the walls and had plates for hook up.  The system actually worked pretty well, but the picture does not flatter the room color or the equipment.  At the time, the amp I was using was a Hafler, and that still lives with me now.  It has been recently upgraded with new binding posts, caps and high quality RCA inputs by In House Stereo Repair in Setauket, NY.  Check out their link- they do terrific work.  The Hafler now runs a pair of Dynaudio DM 2/7 mains for a home theater, with a Marantz SR6003 AVR providing the processing brains.  I can't really comment on the sound in detail as the speakers, amp modifications and blu ray player are all very new to me (blu ray is an Oppo BDP-93).  I'm not yet accustomed to listening to multi-channel without a sub woofer, although I will say the DM 2/7s create a ton of bass for their size.  Apparently they need a lot of break in time, so we shall see. . .

And, without further ado. . .

The list should be viewable now, thanks to the lovely people who created: PDF-XChange Viewer at:

http://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-viewer

I have made JPEG files of the list should you care to look.  Interestingly, for all the various things I have owned over the years, there are very few if any that the mainstream audiophile (ugh- you know who you are, you twerps) would consider to be "High End."  I'd like to think that most of the gear I have spent my hard-earned money on has been reasonably designed by sensible engineers who understand that the benefits of woofer cones made out of shockingly-expensive Carp-flavored, single-atom carbon nanotubes would probably be lost on me anyway.

Soundocity

Here's the link to the nice folks who made the outriggers that I am using with the Dynaudio Focus 220s, an absolute must on thick carpet. 

 http://www.soundocity.com/

They are very well built and look quite impressive without detracting from the wood of the speaker enclosure.  I found that I needed to use metric hardware to install them in the pre-drilled holes on the Dynaudios.  Let me know if you need the size as the card I jotted the measurement down on is around here somewhere.  I can't really comment on any change in sound- there was none that I noticed.  I am very far behind in writing about some sound changes I HAVE heard (new amp, new CD player, and so on), so that should be next.  I think we will start with the speakers, and work our way from there.