Sony XA5400ES vs Oppo BDP-105

I agree that the 6moons review is obtuse even though I read them semi-regularly.
You also have to realize that they are not inclined to give a pedestrian player such as the Oppo a rave.
As to the OP?
The Oppo hands down vs. the 5400.
On CD or SACD it's a wash but throw all of the other capabilities of the 105 PLUS the unparalleled Oppo customer service and firmware updates?
IMO, it's no contest. None.

 

Wrong! Read the first post in this thread! The OP said "To be used for 2 channel (CD/SACD) playback only."

If used as such the majority here agree that the Sony is better than the Oppo. But as I said before and I'll say it again, the Denon DCD-A100 beats both of these, no contest. And yes, I happen to currently own all three!

 

Interesting.

 

That's fine that a "majority here agree" but I don't for a variety of reasons.
I've heard the 5400 vs. the 95 on CD and SACD, to me the slight differences did not matter.
My question to the OP would be, why limit yourself to CD\SACD?
The 105 can play .dff files and everything else.
More and more music is being released on Blu-ray.
Are you positive you're not going to want those capabilities in the near future?
Granted you may already have a media server.
Also I see you live in Canada. How is Sony tech support there?
One thing not in dispute is Oppo's level of customer support.
A friend just sent in his old 83 for a faulty tray.
Back in his hand's in 7 days. Way out of warranty, no charge.

I respect your preference for the Denon, I've owned 2. The last one being the 5910ci.
But the OP is buying now and the DCD-A100 is a discontinued model.
Maybe that doesn't matter to him but it is a consideration.

 

I own both. Clearly, the Oppo is more versatile, but for multi-channel SACD, I prefer the Sony. The 5400 sounds a little less "digital" to my ears. The Oppo is first and foremost a Blu-ray player, let's not forget.

 

When playing a multi-channel SACD with the 5400 is the audio output LPCM or Bitstream? I looked at the 5400 manual and does not indicate either one.

But the 5400 manual does say:

To play a multi-channel Super Audio CD:
Connect the player to a multi-channel amplifier via the HDMI OUT jack. Set the balance and distance of the speakers on the connected amplifier.

When you compared the 5400 and the 105 did you use HDMI for the 105 as well? Which HDMI setting did you use for the 105? I ask as it would seem that possibly your 5.1 processor could have an impact on how each player sounds. Just curious .

Bill

 

The Sony will send DSD if the connected device can handle it. Otherwise, it will send PCM.

 

Kal,

Thanks for that information .

Bill

 

As Kal said, it sends DSD. I used the DSD setting on the Oppo and turned off Audyssey so there was no down sampling. I think LPCM and Bistream are audio settings for DVD's/Blu-rays, aren't they?

 

The HDMI setting is for selecting audio format from the HDMI output which would I assume include SACDs.

The below is from the 105 manual.

HDMI Audio: Allows you to select the digital audio output format from the HDMI port. The
options are:
Auto (default) – The player checks with the device connecting to the HDMI output to
automatically determine which audio format to use.
LPCM – Digital audio output via HDMI will be in the multi-channel Linear PCM format. When
this option is selected, compressed audio bit streams will be decoded by the player. This
setting is recommended when connecting the HDMI output directly to a TV or to a receiver
without advanced audio decoding capabilities.
Bitstream – Digital audio output via HDMI will be in bitstream format. This option is
recommended when connecting the HDMI output to an A/V receiver or processor that
supports advanced audio decoding, such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio.
Off – No digital audio output via HDMI.

Another important setting in the 105 manual:

NOTE:
If you use HDMI to connect audio to an HDMI A/V receiver or audio processor, it is important
that you choose 720p or higher HDMI output resolution when playing high resolution audio
content (DVD-Audio, SACD, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio). According to the HDMI
specification, the bandwidth available for audio is proportional to the total bandwidth used by
video. At 480p/576p resolution, the HDMI specification can only support 2 channels of audio
with high sample rate (up to 192kHz), or 8 channels of audio with standard sample rate (up to
48kHz). If you play high resolution audio content at the 480p/576p resolution, you may get
reduced audio resolution, incomplete audio channels, or even no audio/video output at all.
Choosing a higher output resolution such as 720p or above allows enough bandwidth for all
high sample rate audio channels.

So if when doing your comparison these settings were not set correctly the 105 could possibly not sound as good as it could for multi-channel SACDs

Bill

 

I was referring to the SACD settings, which offer DSD or PCM. From the list in your reply, I use the Auto setting.

 

It's been about a year since anyone replied to this thread, so I thought I would! I've pretty much switched to 2-channel via XLR, and I prefer the Sony. The Oppo might be a little warmer but the Sony is more detailed.

 

Thanks for your comparison. I'm surprised that you find the Sony better for sound, in general, but that echoes what some others have posted here.

 

It seems to depend a bit on the recording. I listen to classical music almost entirely, and some older recording with screechy sounding strings sound better through the Oppo, while richer sounding newer ones are better through the Sony.

 

I wouldn't want to have a one unit does all for fear of the constant wear and tear.

 

The Sony sounds better but the unit is officially out of production now.

 

Yes, and new they now sell for $5700 on Ebay! http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brand-New-S...t=US_CD_Players_Recorders&hash=item564b4e5a88

 

This thread caused me to reconnect the Sony XA777-ES I set aside years ago when I bought an Oppo BDP-83SE. You're right. The Sony sounds better in 5.1.
Thanks!

 

What? Unreal.

 

You're welcome!

 

If anyone wants a deal I will knock 20% off if you can handle a hardly used mint machine.

 

I think they got the decimal placed wrong. Ridiculous, as you can get a much better new machine for much less.

 

I'm curious...which new machine are you thinking of?

 

I was speaking in general terms, although I'm sure I could list a few for ya if you give me a while to wrack my brain.
Also, I meant for less than $5700.00. I'm sure you could search on the forums and find reviews for many SACD players that trump it at that price.

For a 4500 at the original price, I believe the owners here - that it's a great player for the money.

 

Wow, I hadn't checked prices for the XA5400ES lately. Even used prices are through the roof.