Sony XA-5400ES Black with Tube & Regulated Tub outboard Power Supply as new...

Highly recommended and very desirable and one of the best CD Player options.
See Rave reviews:

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  Sony XA-5400-ES Tube Mod Review
  

  — Positive Feedback
  by Bob Levi (Sept./Oct. 2010)
  

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  Sony XA-5400-ES Tube Mod Review
  

  — Audio Asylum
  by Customer Review
  

• 
  

  
  Sony XA-5400-ES Tube Mod Review
  

  — Positive Feedback
  by Marshall Nack (March 2012)
  

Double boxed and ready to be enjoyed by you.

                                                                                  Please no low offers considered.

This modification is no longer available. For informational purposes only.

ModWright XA-5400ES Ultimate Truth Mod

And then there was music…

Price: $1995 (modification only); Customer must supply player.

Why Modify Rather Than Buy New?

Because our mods are sold factory direct, there is no dealer markup.
As a result, we can use the best quality parts and produce a design
that FAR surpasses the performance of comparably priced ‘NEW’ manufactured equipment. The performance of all of our mods simply speak for themselves!

I am pretty much obsessed with the quality of the soundstage that
my system presents. I had nearly a full year with the stock Sony 5400
and it was OK on soundstage, but I thought something was missing on many
of my CDs.

Now I know what a great soundstage sounds like! Your mod places the
performers in their exact positions and they are rock solid. One of my
favorite CDs is Clapton/Cale “Road to Escondido”, but I always had
trouble figuring out exactly where the two performers were on the
soundstage and which guitar solo I was hearing, Cale or Clapton. NO
mystery anymore! EC is slightly left of center and JJ is slightly to the
right of center and so are their guitars! It is so satisfying to hear
them play and sing inside a realistic soundstage.

Thanks again. J Atkinson doesn’t know what he’s missing! Keep building great products.

—Dave Drake

ModWright brings over a decade of custom modification experience to the Ultimate Truth SACD mod for the Sony XA-5400ES. The XA5400ES follows the Sony SCD-1, SCD-777ES, XA-777ES, DVD-9000ES,
999ES and 9100ES, all of which have been in our family of ‘Truth’ mods.
We have received numerous awards and reviews for all of them. The
5400ES represents the pinnacle of our ‘Truth’ mods.

Our previous SACD Vacuum tube stage mods
have challenged and bettered $20K+ digital sources, according to
reviewers and customers. We have compared the modified 5400ES to the
previous modified Sony 9100ES, modified Slim Devices Transporter and
stock 5400ES. The ModWright Sony 5400ES simply takes digital playback to
a new realm of sonic realism and musicality. There is a more open and
refined presentation, substantially larger soundstage and sense of the LIVE
performance. Placement of instruments and performers is spot-on. When
you close your eyes, the performance expands in full dimensionality. The
lack of noise artifacts and jitter simply allow music to ease and flow
into the listening room.

Our four-prong approach addresses weaknesses inherent in every
digital source, based on sound engineering, listening and experience:

• Power Supply Quality.
• Mechanical Vibration.
• Jitter.
• Analog Stage Quality.

We provide a dedicated tube-rectified external power supply for the
Vacuum tube analog stage. Power quality is improved for sensitive DACs,
digital processing and laser tracking/servo circuits. We employ mass
damping of both transport and chassis to reduce vibration. The master
clock is replaced with Audiocom’s Superclock 4, powered by our own
dedicated clock power supply with heavy filtering, to significantly
lower jitter levels. Most importantly, we replace the stock
feedback-ridden op-amp based analog stage with our own direct-coupled
6SN7 triode-based differential tube gain/buffer stage, serving balanced XLR and RCA outs.

The power supply is the heart and life of any audio product. Music
is produced by the manipulation of voltage and current, to ultimately
drive speaker transducers to produce audible sound. The very same
electron that travels down speaker cable to driver, originates in the
power supply.

Because of this we are serious about power supply design. First off,
we provide our own external high-voltage tube-rectified power supply
for the new 6SN7 Vacuum tube based balanced analog stage. The supply is
housed in an external steel enclosure, tethered by a 5ft umbilical,
keeping radiated noise and magnetic fields as far as possible from
Highly sensitive digital and analog component stages. The supply is
tube-rectified (5AR4) and choke current regulated, with dual-discrete SS
voltage regulation circuits for the cleanest possible high-voltage
supply. This design has evolved from that used in our first SWL
9.0SE preamp to our LS 36.5 ($5K balanced preamp), including
technologies developed in our PS 36.5 supply (for our $9K 2-box balanced
preamp). At ModWright, we bring the solid engineering of our
manufactured products, to all of our modifications.

Digital power supplies are improved by the lowering of raw power
supply noise and filtering high-frequency artifacts right at the
critical pins of the DAC, laser, motor and
servo/focus/tracking circuits. One source of jitter IS power supply
noise and poor power supply quality. Because we provide our own analog
stage and remove all op-amps from the signal path, the stock analog
supplies are not used. There are however, separate supplies for the DAC, digital processing circuits, laser, and motor control. The internal clock circuits and, VERY
importantly, integrated circuits that provide focus, servo and tracking
functions for the laser, are also addressed. We painstakingly optimize
all digital power circuits, to provide the best possible performance.
This includes upgrading to fast recovery diodes and use of Nichicon and
ceramic decoupling capacitors in critical locations. All of this has a
profound effect on jitter levels and hence overall sonics.

Mechanical vibration is yet another source of jitter, which we
address by mass damping the transport itself as well as the stock lid
and enclosure. We use sheet damping material on the lid and other
resonant portions of the metal enclosure. At the drive itself, we use
very-high mass damping modules to lower the resonant frequency of the
drive to well below the effected frequencies.

The greatest source of jitter however, is the master clock, which we
also upgrade. In addition to extensive on-board voltage regulation and
power filtering, we further isolate the clock by providing our own
dedicated power source with heavy regulation and supply filtering. The
clock, while critical, is but one essential area of improvement in the
quest for ultimate sonic realization.

Lastly and most importantly, we replace the stock feedback-inherent
op-amp based analog stage and associated electrolytic coupling caps with
our own Vacuum tube analog stage. Op-amps are used for active I-V
conversion, gain, and buffering in the stock unit. Electrolytic coupling
capacitors are also used for DC blocking, throughout the stock
circuitry. We replace all of this with a fully balanced, pure passive
I-V stage, direct-coupled into a differential 6SN7 triode gain/buffer
stage with a single ModWright capacitor in the signal path. XLR outputs are fully balanced and RCA
outputs receive the SE component of the balanced signal. Even the
headphone circuit is fed via the same Vacuum tube circuit, into a SS
buffer to allow for headphone impedance matching. All analog signal
outputs are non-phase-inverting.

This new tube circuit is an OTL (output
transformer-less) ‘mu’ stage variant, that is fully differential and
optimized for the 6SN7 tube. The use of the highest quality Tantalum and
Takman Carbon Film resistors in the passive I-V stage and other
critical areas of the signal path offer the most natural and musical
sound. This circuit represents significant breakthroughs in transparency
and EXTREMELY low noise. The use of SS
constant current source and buffer circuits, combined with a perfectly
voiced 6SN7 Vacuum tube gain stage allow for the best of both tube and
SS technologies, using devices according to their strengths. The Vacuum
tube serves to amplify voltage, while SS devices provide current
regulation and buffering. Vacuum tubes are best for amplifying VOLTAGE and SS devices are best for amplifying CURRENT.

Why Tubes? What About Maintenance? Why The 6SN7?

Vacuum tubes are best for amplifying VOLTAGE and SS devices are best for amplifying CURRENT. In a line-level circuit such as this -opposed to an amplifier, tubes require virtually no maintenance.

We chose the 6SN7 for its sound and general popularity among people
who love tubes. It ended up being the tube of choice for our Transporter
mod, of which we sold hundreds of units!

The tubes are purposely driven VERY
conservatively to give 10,000-12,000 hours + of tube life. The circuit
is fully auto-bias, therefore no maintenance required. We chose tube
rectification simply BECAUSE IT SOUNDS BETTER!

Recommended Tube Upgrades for the Sony XA-5400ES Mod:

• Output Tube: Sophia Electric 6SN7 – Galen Carol Audio
• Rectifier Tube: Mullard, Amperex or Phillips ‘GZ34’

The only capacitors in the signal path, used for final DC blocking,
are our own metalized, oil-impregnated poly capacitors (M – Series)
that we designed and have manufactured to our exacting standards. These
are used extensively in our own products and modifications. The MWI
(ModWright Instruments) capacitors are quite simply the best quality
available, period. They provide the right balance of body and musicality
without sacrificing detail or resolution. Given the necessary
capacitance value, our Teflon capacitors (T – Series) would not be
feasible here.

We at ModWright have focused all of our engineering and listening
experience into the Ultimate Truth mod for the Sony 5400ES. Addressing
Power, Vibration, Jitter and Vacuum Tube Analog Stage design, we have
succeeded in transforming the Sony XA-5400ES CD/SACD player into a
digital source that is the equal of any, regardless of price.

Warranty: 5 years for all ModWright work.

If you are trying to decide which company to choose for your Sony XA-5400ES, consider the following:

Engineering experience, service, quality, value and a holistic approach to the transformation of this fantastic player.

I thank you for taking the time to read this and I welcome your call
or email with further questions. Our customers and their satisfaction
come first. Our reputation for service and quality speaks for itself.

Original mu stage design credited to Alan Kimmel.

Because of the high demand, a start date for the modification must be scheduled. We require a 50% deposit to confirm a reservation. Our list is growing and we are planning accordingly, to insure a 2-week in-shop time to complete the work.

PLEASE NOTE:

ModWright Modifications are only available factory direct. All MWI (ModWright Instruments) manufactured products are offered exclusively through our dealers.

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It is best to call David and visit: www.weinhartdesign.com with questions
in Los Angeles Showroom 310-472-8880 or on my cell after hours and
weekends 310-927-2260 any time from 10AM - 10PM.

Weinhart Design has lots of other items new and used and if you're in Los
Angeles or visiting please accept my invitation to experience our World
Class Audio Showroom and please visit our web site @ 
www.weinhartdesign.com

We are always interested in purchasing quality Audio and Video items, LP collections and most quality trades are welcomed.

All sales out of California are State Sales Tax exempt.

California State Sales Tax of 9.5% applies for items picked up or shipped to a California address.

We accept payments by Bank Wire Transfers without fees and is the only
form of payment on all sales out of the U.S. and Canada. We prefer this
method of payment and also makes shipping to addresses other than
billing agreeable.

VISA,
MC and Papal are gladly accepted within the U.S. and Canada as long as
the charge is approved and shipping to the billing address on record and
adds 3% to cover costs for VISA or MC best to call David.

Please call me directly in my world class showroom in Los Angeles weekdays @
310-472-8880 or any reasonable time on my cell including weekends @
310-927-2260 and I can answer your questions and help you with all of
your new and pre owned needs.

More special Items from this seller or go to our web site: www.weinhartdesign.com

                                                  

Visit the Weinhart Design The AV Experts Audiogon E-STORE

 Changing the Way You Listen, 

         
          David Weinhart 
       Weinhart Design, Inc.
         President & CEO
 [email protected]
   www.weinhartdesign.com
 The Audio and Video Expert
2337 Roscomare Road, Studio #1
 Los Angeles, California 90077
    Showroom) 310-472-8880
       Cell) 310-927-2260