Have your say & ask the experts

Ok I am looking for help on this one. I have been trying out the 760 but have been curious about the 5000ES. I have the 5400ES receiver.

How do they compare. I know the 5000ES is the best buy, but for CD playback how would it compare to a dedicated cd player?

Is the 760 really close in terms of sound quality, and Picture? I am really happy with the 760 for everything i played through it, but I guess I was thinking that I could return the 760 and buy the 5000ES and use it for CD's and Blueray's and DVD's.  Or the other way would be keep the 760 and buy a dedicated cd player if it isn't a big upgrade going to the 5000es.... any help would be great. thanks

Well look at it this way, is the £600-700 extra going to give you 2 or 3 times better picture quality and audio, because essentially that is the extra cost?

 If you have the chance to test/demo you an judge if the outlay is worth it. But if you are happy with the 760 I would think a better outlay would be in a decent CD player around th £400 mark. The 760 has class leading picture and sound for Blu-ray, and all of these players usually upscale very well so BD and DVD is well catered for. I would argue a decent CD player would be a better upgrade...

I'd second the suggestion re getting a demo (ideally at home, but definitely with your/a 5400 receiver). Depending on the display in question, i'd expect a noticeable increase in picture performance, but the biggest upgrade should be sonically, which is just what you're after. The 5000ES and 5400 in tandem is an awesome combo. Dig out some well-known BDs, DVDs and CDs and have a good long play.

Yes, a separate @£300 CD player will bring more musical benefits, but I get the impression you're trying to cut - rather than add - boxes. Give it a whirl! 

Thanks Clare, Will and Kage.

I have picked it up and will do a side by side comparison. My TV is a Pioneer 720P 1080i. 8th generation if my memory serves me right.

What would be your recommendation for a CD player?  I didn't mean to narrow my choices to a one box choice. I just thoght I would be able to at this price level. I guess I was wrong.

Boca:

What would be your recommendation for a CD player?

There's quite a few 5 star CD players around the £400 mark. The choice of which would come down to your personal preferance of how you want the music to sound, Pioneer & Cambridge Audio are likely to have a more forward and exciting sound, whereas Marantz may give a slightly warmer, smoother presentation. Personally, I prefer the a more forward presentation and that's why I would consider buying a secondhand Cyrus CD6SE. Plus this could be upgraded still further at a later date by adding a secondhand Cyrus PSX-R power supply, you'd be surprised how much more weight and presence these add to Cyrus components. Don't forget to factor in a set of good interconnects, a favourite of mine is the DNM Reson with Eichmann bullet plugs, although this combination may be too forward, depending on what sepakers you're using.

Having said all that, whilst I'm confident you'd notice an improvement with a secondhand Cyrus CD player, it may be overkill by using it with an AV amp. As good as I'm sure the sony is, I suspect it probably equates to no more than a £500 stereo amp at best.

Thanks pete32, are you using the cyrus with your Yamaha Z7?

Boca:

Thanks pete32, are you using the cyrus with your Yamaha Z7

No, unfortunately all my Cyrus kit, mono blocs and all went a few years ago now. Apart from SACD & DVD-Audio, I've ripped all my CD's to lossless and play them back from my PC via a modded DacMagic through the Z7. Whilst I appreciated having a quality CD player, I found I wasn't listening to as much music as I wanted. I've got a varied taste and would be up down every track or so to put another CD on. With WIndows Media Centre I can create playlists from the sofa as my listening mood takes me.

Who knows, I might add some Cyrus amplification in the future. Those little balck boxes sound great and you can fit quite a few of them on a shelf! There's always a plentiful supply of Cyrus kit available secondhand.

ok, I have been home demoing the  Sony BDP-S760 vs 5000ES on my Pioneer 50" 720p screen. 

PQ - I can't tell that much of a differance. The black scenes look ever so slightly more detailed. I can't say any more because I kept going back and forth between players. I am not sure maybe their is a bigger difference with a 1080p screen.

SQ - Big improvement. bass notes and highs were much more detailed and extended. sound stage was widened also. center channel was clearer.

gel:

Don't home demo's cost a lot of money? Who does them and what are the rules with them?

If you're in good terms with a hi-fi dealer, you can get the equipment loaned out to you for home demo for free. It's in the dealer's interest to keep you happy, because home demos are usually asked by the audiophiles & cinephiles. These are the very customers who tend to change their AV equipment more often than most others who're satisfied by what they have.

Does anyone know if the 5000ES can become dvd region free?

Boca:

Does anyone know if the 5000ES can become dvd region free?

There is some kind of hack with a Logic Harmony remote...