Esoteric P70 D70 vs X-01 Limited

I'm quite sure the posters who characterize Esoteric products as "cool" or "mechanical" or "clinical" have little or no experience with them. Most likely just repeating the opinion of a friend, incompetent reviewer, or hearing the player for let's say 10 minutes in an unfamiliar system. I've heard almost the entire line and I would not use any of those terms to describe the sonic signature. Here are clearly more reasons to listen for yourself, in your surroundings, with your components, and not rely on heresay.
Thank you.

The original X-01 might have been on the cool side out of the box, but that changed some over time. The upgrade to Limited changes the entire center of gravity of the player from upper midrange to lower. With over a thousand hours on a Limited it is inconceivable that any careful listener could characterize it either as cool or mechanical.

Tboooe, I am not surprised you were not fully satisfied by Esoteric players feeding an amp directly. Even TEAC America prefers to use Linestages with these players. They seem to favor the ARC Ref 3 in particular. On the other hand, this is a very common findings with most high end players capable of driving amps directly. I have heard even the big DCS quadruple stack driving CJ mono amps into Wilson Alexandrias. The sound was all together light and lacked some depth, until a CJ ACT 2 linestage was inserted into the system. Best news is though, that in the case of TEAC Esoteric, only the combo players let you dispense from a line stage. All single box players do require one instead.

I totally agree with the recent comments. I have heard the Exosteric cdps playing directly into amps and I thought the sound was a bit too clinical for my taste (but hey I like it on the warm side of neutral). The advice to get a warm sounding preamp is a must. Some great sounding tube like SS pres are Classe and Plinius. Some tube options are Cary, BAT. Of course there are too many others to list.

Good points Elberoth2. It is worth pointing also out that the TEAC players are all differentially balanced designs. They will shine in systems that are fully differentially balanced. I suggest a differentially balanced linestage like the ARC Ref 3 connected via XLR connectors, or if a slightly warmer sound is preferred, perhaps the VTL 6.5.

All Esoterics have a slightly cooler rendition. Depending on personal taste and a system context, it may sound "mechanical" or just "accurate". But if you like your D70/P70 combo, there is no reason you shouldn't like the X01.

Since getting the X-01 would meen that you also need a preamp, I would suggest getting a preamp first and trying it with your combo. If you find it beneficail (sound wise) you may sell your D70/P70 for X-01.

Mitch7711, my own experience with X-01 also started in NYC, during an audition at a dealer -- Sound By Singer. Yet, in contrast with AudioOracle, I did not find the device to be mechanical at all, but exceedingly musically 'accurate' instead so much that now I am the proud owner of of an X-01 Limited. You will find my own findings at:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ddgtl&1090867688&openfrom&3&4#3
Having said that though, as I am totally convinced that an absolute 'best' player does not exist, I do suggest very much that prior to making a decision you do audition both the X-01 Limited and the AudioAero Prestige. Ensure that both devices are well broken in for your audition. The X-01 in particular does not settle down until you have a little over 800 hours of operations on it.

I wouldn't. I have had much experience with the Esoteric players. They are incredibly well built but sound very mechanical.

When I worked at at top NY dealer the X01 was beatten by a player for less then half the price but which was not made as well.

If you want great get an Audio Aero Prestige. The build quality is good, but the sound quality is great!