Average Rating: 3 out of 5 No. of Reviews: 1 RRP: £629.99 Year: 2004
Description: Product of the year Hifi Choice - November 2003 ES multi-channel.
Super Audio CD player.
Twin R core transformer.
Super Audio CD/CD Text/CDR/RW.
Music calendar Analogue, optical and coaxial digital output.
Gold plated terminal 32 step program.
REVIEWS
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Weaknesses: Not as good on SACD as you would think!
Overall: Having had a MF 3.2 CD player for some time now, and after reading so much about the benefits of SACD I thought I would invest in a SACD Player. So after some Internet research I decided on the Sony SCD-XA9000ES but unfortunately this would not be as £2000 was more than I could afford, so I decided on the SCD-XA3000ES as it was better suited to my pocket and it still was Sony's ES range. The SCD-XA3000ES is a quite heavy machine at 8.2 Kg and has a simple layout. The machine has gold plated phono plugs arranged for 2 stereo and separate 6 channel surround sound analogue outlets but with no digital SACD i link. It has the standard digital phono and optical outlet that only caters for CD playback. After buying the Sony second-hand on ebay for £310 and installing into my system, comprising of a MF Nu-Vista pre-amp, MF 3.2 Power-amp, MF 3.2 CD player and Monitor Audio S6 speakers with Nordost Blue Haven speaker cable and Black Rhodium Opera interconnects I started to listen to my favourite tracks.
My first impressions where mixed, SACD play back sounded good with detail and finesse but not as much as I expected. (All listening tests are in stereo) Using the Sony and my MF as sources,As I have The Best of Roxy Music’s SACD, and Flesh and Blood on Regular CD, I played the track "Over You" simultaneously switching between the two machines and was surprised that the CD version sounded much brighter and harsher, and wondered if it was due to the formats or mastering! I then tried the Pink Floyd track "Money", again the SACD version and CD version, and the result could not have been more different, the balance was very similar on both machines if not identical and proved that mastering was the cause of the difference heard with the Roxy track. After listening very carefully it was apparent that SACD had the edge on sound quality with better dynamics and resolution especially with more complicated passages, and the Sax solo had better timbre and the vocals where that bit clearer with better acoustic. Timing and control of the base register sounded more realistic, and all this was confirmed after several hours of listening to various tracks. The Sony has what I would describe as a slightly dry clinical sound that would benefit from some warmth. The Sony has the same overall balance for CD play back with perhaps a bit more warmth and would comment that sound quality is good but nothing special and my MF defiantly has the edge here. In conclusion the Sony SCD-XA3000ES is a fine machine that performs well with SACD and is clearly the superior format with arguably better resolution but not as much as I thought it would have! And it didn’t trounce my MF as I had expected. Unfortunately I am unable to try in 5.1 surround sound where possibly this machine could come into it’s own. An other factor to consider is my systems amplification and Monitor Audio speakers that I do admit can sound a bit hard and in time I hope to change.
The SCD-XA3000ES is defiantly worth considering if up-grading and will be a plus for its ability to play SACD as well as regular CD's. If you can afford the 9000 I would hark a listen first before investing.
Performance
60%
Build
80%
Value
60%
Overall Rating
67%
MY REVIEW
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Average Rating: 3 out of 5