Esoteric X-03 vs Accuphase DP-500

Dp500 is a refine , organic sounding cd player. Its very undigital sound & is quite involving. It may not be the most dynamic cd player out there but its not slow by any means. It gets the essence of the music right.
It gives one hours of unfatiguing musical experience.
DP78 is an imprvement of the DP500.It s more detail, mature sounding, more refine sounding as well. Its also tad more dynamic and extremely involving.
I personally havent heard of the X03 yet.

I have had DP-500 at home. This is a very smooth sounding player, which for many may be just too safe and laidback. The bass and timing fell below averange, but HF-extension and air, resolution and soundstage depth are exeptional at this price point IMO.

Using TeeJay's "flavors", one can say that Esoteric is a typical #1 flavor: It revolves around pristine clarity, fine sharp details,speed,very extended top/bottom frequencies,and great PRAT.

Accu on the other hand is more of a flavor #2: it revolvs around a "musical/organic" sense, natural timbres,and an easy flowing liquidity. His "less forward" presentation my give the impression of less detail, but I think in this case its an illusion fostered by their more relaxed/organic manner.

FYI: The players I have directly compared DP-500 to are Krell KAV-280CD, Krell KPS-20i, Krell evo 505, MBL 1531, Accuphase DP-78, Naim CD555 and EMM Labs combo.

BTW - if you can find a deal on an Accuphase DP-78, it is a much better sounding player IMO.

I have heard the X03 and other Accuphase players (but not the DP500). With that being said, if the DP500 is like the 75v or 65v I would say the X03 gives detail and resolution, great bass and imaging. The accuphase will be smooth and nice, but not a lot of resolution, dynamics or detail......quite frankly I dont get Accuphase products....they just dont reveal anything in the soundstage to me and are no better than my 17 year old $100 JVC player. But that is my personal preference for sound, I want to hear everything.