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

Might be worth picking up a spare, before it's too late.

I owned a lot of Sony ES CD/SACD players, but they really took a hit in the reliability dept over the last 10-12 years, in my personal experience.

 

Glad the bug seems to be at least in hibernation. I had an SCD-XA5400ES for a few years with absolutely no problems.

 

I think it's too late as far as finding a new one from authorized dealers.

 

It is too late I've been looking for this machine for a couple of years. Sony have now removed any reference to it from their UK website. My guess is it remained available in the USA for longer. One point. I have found CD players like regular use and not left in cold environment. Leaving in standby/off mode and regularly spinning CD's likely keeps the electronics and mech 'burnt in'.

 

They were still available in Germany and Austria until very recently but not any more, from what I can see. However, Sony Japan is still selling them on its website and you can find Japanese companies who specialise in exporting things like this to Europe/the US. You'd have to overcome the voltage issue, of course.

 

Why not buy a handful of spare laser assemblies and an extra power supply board?

 

Just to say, I had the same problem again today - switched on SACD player, display flashes "Reading" a few times then the machine goes dead. (No disc loaded.) I got it going again by unplugging it from the mains, waiting a while and reconnecting but it looks like the fault is here to stay.

 

Sorry to hear that.

 

Me too.

 

See if you can buy a new laser assembly and fit it. These are normally quite easy to swap out. I have the service manual here - let me find the part #

 

KHM-313CAB

 

http://www.amazon.com/KHM-313CAB-Sony-Optical-Laser-Pickup/dp/B005EFTP5W

$28.65

 

Thanks, Geoff. Like Sams said, I had already been thinking of picking up a couple of these just in case. How likely do you think it is that this is the faulty part? At that price it would be worth a try anyway although replacing it would carry its own risks, given my inexperience.

 

BTW, just to say very quickly, I worry that these cheap laser assemblies are knock-offs. If you search the web you find those from Sony and reputable suppliers, claiming to be genuine OEM Sony parts, are around $60-$80 (£60-£80 in the UK) while the cheap ones don't claim to be genuine OEM Sony parts and have slight cosmetic differences. I'm sure they work but I think I'd feel safer paying the extra.

 

Agreed. I paid around $180 for the optical pickup for my XA777ES in order to fix a player that was demonstrating similar problems that you have. It fixed it. The 5400 seems to use a much cheaper part, though.

At the time, I could have searched around on eBay and got it for less, but I went with a major parts warehouse. It was a genuine Sony part, but made in China.

The original assemblies were made in Japan, but all those spares were probably long gone. It worked perfectly though.

 

Interesting, thanks.

I see that p12 of the service manual

http://www.audiodesignguide.com/HiResolution/SONY_SCD-XA5400ES_Service_Manual.pdf

gives instructions for a "cold reset" as follows:

I wonder if that would fix it? I think I'm going to try.

 

Possibly - I don't think it will though. I believe what you will clear from RAM is memory of the TOC, tracks and index positions stored from the first reading of the disc in the drive.

 

Right. Most of the recent Sony issues are due to hardware failure, not micrprocessor errors.

 

OK, thanks for that. I'm going to contact the Sony engineers through the UK website and see what they say. I'll report back (eventually).

 

A couple of days ago, I noticed my 5400 making a whirring sound when spinning some SACDs. It's fairly quiet, in fact inaudible when there's no music or very faint music playing. I've had the player for a year or two (not at home now so I can't check), and I hope it's not a problem that will get worse.

We just had our bathroom remodeled, and the basement (where the player is located) was coated with a fine layer of plaster dust. The player was closed during the process, and covered by a towel for most of the process. It doesn't seem likely that the dust is affecting the player, but I don't know.

 

This topic has been discussed many times here, with both sides weighing in. I have my 5400, a Parasound preamp and amp connected to a surge-protecting power strip. I usually switch the strip off when I'm not going to use the equipment for a day or so. Is this what you refer to as "switched-off at the mains..."? I would assume that a surge protector would prevent voltage spikes from flowing to the components.

In fact, when I wrote to Parasound with this question, the president responded that it's harmless to do so, but also that leaving the components on consumes very little power. He didn't specify how much, and because we lose power several times a year due to storms, I thought it would be safer and more green to leave them switched off when not in use.

 

Standard operation, in my opinion. Some SACDs do make the machine produce a slight mechanical noise - but boy, you have to be paying attention. Don't fret.

 

If I don't worry about these miniscule issues, then what will distract my brain from the real problems?
Thanks.

 

Too true! But as Metralla says, these machines are known for making a slight purring or growling noise, especially when playing CDs, so you may have to find something else to worry about. There was a thread not long ago in which one member here returned his machine to Sony under warranty and actually had it silenced but that's a lot of trouble to go to and they lost/destroyed his original packing box in the process.

Just to update my OP, the problem I originally reported went away all by itself after a while, which makes for a rather unsatisfying conclusion. It must have been some little software glitch that sorted itself out after repeated rebooting.

 

I'm very happy to hear that.