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Esoteric X-01 Limited or new D-03/P-03

I’m torn between a new X-01 Limited or the new D-03/P-03 combo. If I went with the D-03/P-03 combo, I would start off with the D-03 and add the P-03 later on. The X-01 uses the tried and true Burr Brown 1704 Dacs and converts DSD to 88.2 kHz PCM. The D-03 on the other hand uses Analog Devices AD1955 Dacs and can do the following: DSD>DSD, PCM>DSD, and PCM>PCM (upsampled) and not sure about DSD>PCM. The P-03 utilizes the latest VRDS-Neo transport although there are probably not many differences to the one used in the X-01 Limited.

Even though the X-01 was just updated to “Limited” status, it is still an older based product, whereas the D-03/P-03 was just released to the U.S. market at CES 2006 where it received some very positive press.

Any thoughts, comments, or more information are welcome.
Thank you.
cdw57

Showing 9 responses by guidocorona

guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
Thank you Dittersdorf, how many hours of playback did you put on the P01/D01 before sending it back?
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
GLAI, yes the upgrade to Limited is available in at least some geographies, like the US. Call TEAC America for details.
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
mgottlieb, the answer is yes, in the next several weeks Teac America will start accepting upgrade orders from current X-01 customers. I heard somewhere that the upgrade is quite complex and may involve perhaps 100 parts.
CDW, I can only echo some of the comments already made. . . let your own ears do the walking. Don't worry too much about the technical alphabet soup inside X-01 and P03/D03, but trust your own eventual opinion of the sound of these critters.
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
And here is the URL for the Soundstage review of the X-01 Limited:
http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/esoteric_x01_limited_followup.htm
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
I should like to point out the Babybear has more recent information on the upgrade path from X-01 to Limited for current owners. The bottom line is that TEAC America is in the process of sorting out matters technical and they are currently in fact-finding mode. No definite ETA on the upgrade process is available at this time.
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
GLAI, all question on Esoteric products upgrades are answered at:
http://www.teac.com/esoteric/AudioUpgrades-X-Series.html
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
Dittersdorf
, by all means, please do give us more details. And, were you comparing the original X-01 with the P03/D03 combo, or were you comparing the X-01 Limited with the combo?
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
TVC, you can expect your X-01 to improve subtly up to 1200 hrs of operation.
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
Dittersdorf, you are correct. Some Esoteric transport assemblies seem to be mechanically quite noisy. While the annoying crunckling&chuggering does not affect the sound, TEAC America has been more than forthcoming to address the issue with customers that have complained of noisy units. Before you give up your P03/D03 combo, you may want to contact TEAC in Germany, or elsewhere in the EU, to determine if the problem can be addressed, and perhaps the transport subassembly can be swapped with a quiet one, as it seems to be frequently done in the US.
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