My little-used Sony SCD-XA5400ES SACD player is faulty already

I only use my Sony SCD-XA5400ES SACD player occasionally because I mostly listen to vinyl. Lately, however, it's developed a fault. When I switch it on, it starts to fire up and looks as though it's going to start normally, but after a few seconds it just shuts down again, as if someone's switched it off. You can press the On button again and it tries to start up again but the same thing happens. Sometimes you can get it to start up by doing this again and again and again, or else you can unplug it from the mains and plug it in again and then it might start up properly.

I never leave a disc in so this is happening with no disc loaded. The display usually reads "Reading" before it shuts down again, although sometimes it reads "Standby".

I wondered if anyone might know what's going on? It was bought in Europe and is out of warranty by now.

 

That's not good. Keep us posted.

 

Have you tried unplugging the unit for a few minutes?

 

Not good, and sorry to hear that.

Mine has been free of any faults (or even minor glitches) for over 2.5 years, and I play it 50+ hrs per week. In general, it's not a player that causes trouble.

 

My NAD 585 does the same, it is out of warranty, I am thinking of going to OPPO, this is after 30 + years of using NAD products, great sound and used to be built like a battleship. Good luck

 

Unplug it for one hour and report back.

 

I tossed my 585 a little while back. Stopped reading disks. I'm done the NAD.
Tim

 

Bummer! Never had any problems with mine and I use it a lot.
What is the point of unplugging it as some have suggested?

 

Simply stated - a power line glitch can "confuse" the player. This is a standard troubleshooting suggestion for almost any AC powered electronic device.

 

I see, thanks!

 

More problems with NAD...just sayin'

 

Is this unit stock? The only times that I have seen players act like this is when they were modified and had some issues with an aftermarket clock.

 

You're supposed to do an exam once in awhile to make sure you don't have NAD problems.

 

Always good advice.

 

Sorry to hear about this. Here's hoping the suggestions of unplugging it for awhile and plugging it back in will solve the problem.

I've had a U.S. model for a little over two years and have had no issues with it. It sees relatively light use.

 

Thanks very much for the responses.

Unplugging: well, it's switched off at the mains (though not actually unplugged) every night, along with the rest of my audio equipment. In fact all of my audio equipment is switched off whenever it's not in use. But I'll try physically unplugging it, too.

I notice that whenever you plug this machine into the mains, you hear a delayed "click", suggesting that it partially powers up into some kind of standby mode, even before it's switched on. Maybe it doesn't like being switched on and off at the mains all the time, sometimes three or four times a day.

Is it stock? Yes, I've done nothing at all to it. Haven't had the lid off.

I'll try unplugging it completely and will report back.

BTW another little bug with this machine is that, when I load a disc and start playing it, the machine makes a low growling or purring noise initially though this seems to fade after the first few tracks. I mean a physical noise, not through the speakers. I'd be interested to know if anyone else gets this.

 

Question for owners of the 5400: Do you leave a disc loaded when not playing or do you take the disc out? Would it matter either way? TIA

 

I always take a disc out, though I don't think it should matter either way.

 

Most times I leave it in.

 

I use several Sony CD units for many years. No issues.
One point not made is:
When you use a separate single switch to 'turn on' your system, the AC mains electrical surge coming in is pretty high.
When the power is just turned on at the switch of each component, any little surge is miniscule.
When you turn on all the equipment, including your amplifier or integrated THAT causes a bigger than normal surge throuout the entire setup.
So that may be aggrevating some limitation in your Sony.

(I leave my stuff on all the time 24/7, though i have a friend who unplugs everything if she goes out.)

 

Keep us posted.

 

I doubt that this unit is designed to to switched-off at the mains like that so regularly. That may not be good for it. If i were you I'd just power it off with its own switch, or just leave it powered-on 24/7. Many high-end components prefer to be left on in my experience.

 

I had not gotten that noise when I owned the Sony XA5400ES, but saw mention of it in the comments section of this review.

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/sacd-players/988-sony-scd-xa5400es-player.html?showall=1

Although it's out of warranty, you may be able to track down Sony support and find an authorized repair center.

Hopefully, the problem will disappear with whatever measures were suggested, but if not, it'd probably be worth getting fixed if the price is reasonable enough.

If my experience of navigating Sony's site for info is any indication, it'll take a while to find the right contact number, but persistence should pay off. Good luck!

 

That's very interesting - thanks very much. The whirring noise they describe seems to be exactly what I get. I hadn't realised it was CDs only and not SACDs but that's probably true because I use it for CDs much more than for SACDs. It's kinda consoling that other people have the same thing because it's probably just a design fault rather than a problem.

Back to the main problem, of the machine switching itself off. I unplugged it today and had a successful start-up though that doesn't necessarily prove anything because it's an intermittent fault. I'll just have to keep experimenting to see if it makes a consistent difference.

I know a lot of people don't like switching stuff off when they're not using it but I don't think there's anything in the manual to say you shouldn't.

Is it true, what ElizabethH says, that the surge is greater when you use the mains switch than when you use the component switch? I'm not sure why that would be but am always happy to learn.

 

I wasn't getting the fault today so maybe all this unplugging has made it go away. I re-read the manual and it does recommend unplugging to rectify bugs. Anyway, I'll report back if it keeps happening but otherwise, no news is good news.