Esoteric CD player to buy, please help

I am blown away by my Raysonic 168. AND it has balanced variable tube output. You can dump the Flora, which although excellent, is not balanced

Hello Kiwi,

I too have been following the Esoteric thread & would be curious to know the difference between the P5/D5 combo vs the X-03 SE ?

Thanks for the insights.

Hi Kiwi, could I ask you to comment on differences you perceived between X-03 and P05-D05 combo? And between same combo and X-01 Limited, if you had the opportunity to do that comparison as well. Thanks, GUido

That is correct, the X-05 ups the ante on the SA60 by being a true differential design with a superior transport. Still, the SA60 sounds good on PCM to DSD conversion and thats a trick the X-05 can't do. Neither of course can the X-05 play multi-channel or DVD-A recordings.

I recently replaced my SA-60 and shopped around looking at lots of options both inside and outside of the Esoteric portfolio. Inside the portfolio i auditioned the X-05, X-03 and P5/D5.

What disappointed me about the X-05? It simply did not represent value for money in the sense of being worth the price difference between it and the SA-60. Whilst the price gap between the X-05 and X-03 was greater, so was the audible improvement in sound quality. The X-03 took the resolution of the X-05 up a notch but importantly also added some 'skin to the bones' of the music. The result IMHO was far more rewarding and satisfying.

Kiwi_1282001, thanks a lot for your advise. Well, based on the specs it seems that the x-05 is expanded sa-60. The same DACs( just in dual mode) and output stage. But could you tell me what disappointed you in x-05? Could you describe its sound characteristics. Couple dealers I spoke with saying that there is a little (10%) difference in playing red book cds between x-05 and x-03se.
Thanks a lot.

If you can stretch for an X-03 do it! Its quite a step up from the X-05 in all areas. The X-05 for me was a disappointment. Not a significant step up from the SA-60; the later actually being better in some respects because of its alround abilities including playback all formats (including DVD-A), support for multichannel and scaling of RB to DSD.

Denon1, if you do not mind buying 2nd hand, you may spend more or less the same on a used TEAC X-01 Limited. . . more heavy duty than X-03SE or the 05 model. . . and probably still a superior sound. . . should be under $7K on Audiogon. For new TEAC CDp allow 1200 hours of breakin. . . or you will never know how wonderful any of these amazing devices can sound. And they are very sensitive to power chords. . . I had best results with Purist Anniversary and with Shunyata Anaconda Helix Alpha. . . . and stay away from shielded PCs like the VX variants from Shunyata. . . they suck the very Life out of TEAC CDPs. Guido

I have the xo3se and couldn't be happier--great cdp --just takes time to break in and as I have recently added better ic's pwr cords and new speaker cable the quality of the sound continues to climb --it is easy to blame one componet for something without first realizing that it was the pwr cord or downstream effect that was the root problem --great cdp can't go wrong with it --I believe it is the sweet spot in their line-up --rich

I have to bump it up. Is anybody out there who had a chance to hear both or new esoteric x-05? Please share your opinion.
Thanks.