Is the "tray error" issue on an Esoteric X-03 CD player worth fixing?

Did the Esoteric CDP have a digital input?  If it does then you could try using the DAC in the X-03 with the Vault.

  I have to say that going from an Esoteric CDP to the Vault was a curious recommendation on the part of your dealer.  It was no doubt motivated by the dealer need to sell the Bluesound.  I think that if the X-03 had been functioning, and if you had done side by side comparisons between it and the Vault, the latter would not have fared well.  The Vault is a good budget entry into streaming, and I used a Vault 2 for several years , but it usually sounded a bit veiled compared with midfi sources and worse as you ascended the price ladder.

  If you saved your CDs, then your question boils down to whether a better transport into the Esoteric DAC can be had.  It would be reasonable to start with the old CDP if it can be easily fixed.  There were threads here a bit back on the difficulty servicing Esoteric products but they may be easier to fix now.  Your dealer should be able to help since he apparently is an Esoteric dealer (and imo he owes you one for conning you on Bluesound.).  If it is to much trouble or expense then consider a new dedicated transport to pair with the Esoteric DAC, and it doesn’t have to be an Esoteric 

See this thread:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/esoteric-k01x-sacd-player-tray-error-message

If I were you? I will fix it. Esoteric players are top notch . Unfortunately lens do give up. Why I bought extra lens for my Marantz SA 10 and my Ruby sacd players. 

I actually have been very happy with my Bluesound as a unit since buying it five years ago. It wasn't a big expense then, which was great, but I found it worked really well with my combination of two Apogee Duetta Signatures, two Vandersteen 2 CEs and two Vandersteen 2Ws that are part of my system. I certainly didn't feel "conned" by any stretch then, and don't feel so now, either. 

Had my CD player not needed a repair at the time, would I have made the switch then? That's a tough call. The time investment to burn 600-plus CDs isn't something that is done in a couple of hours. Once I did that, though, the tough lifting was done. I also love the functionality to control the Vault from your phone or desktop computer, and interface on both is so much more advanced than just a typical CD player. Then when I upgraded from my 2012 Camry to a new Corolla this year, the car CD player I had in my old car went bye-bye, with the new car having none. Having already made FLAC files of all my music, I simply copied the library onto a massive USB thumb drive, and now have access to my full library in the car at all times, which was a rather seamless switch.

But if the combo of the X-03SE and the D-03 DAC seem to tease me as a nice combination, to where I ask myself if it is worth the time and money to repair the X-03SE. I certainly think pairing them would work. The DAC has a pair of XLR inputs that aren't being used with the current configuration, and the X-03SE has its pair of XLR "Audio Out" connections. I'll just need to invest in a second pair of new XLRs (not just one pair, as is the case).

Right now, I have a coaxial connection being used with the Vault and the DAC, which is working very well. I certainly can tell an added floor and ceiling in terms of the range of the heights and depths of the lows and highs in my music, using the DAC, instead of just the Bluesound. 

So far, I hadn't used the Vault for any streaming, only having used the CD-created library to play from. But adding on streaming is something that I am considering to add as a feature with my Vault in the near future.

I recently purchased a Mark Levinson 333 as my main amp (an amp I had for four years a number of years ago, before it got damaged so significantly, that the cost and risk to repair caused me to sell it as-is, for a little $ back, and replaced it then with a new Classe CA-2200. In terms of a slight step down, I felt that happened to a certain degree when I made at switch, but couldn't find a 333 on the fly to switch to then. I've had the Classe for 13 years. For the last couple years, I increasingly was looking to buy another 333. Just purchased one a few months ago. The Classe now serves to amp my Vandersteen 2CEs, with the 333 amping my Duetta Signatures and 2Ws. Hearing that combination again was a noticeable enjoyable bump up, to where I was like, "Ahh, this is familiar..." with a smile on my face. 

I hadn't really been thinking of fixing the X-03SE at first, until I came upon the used D-03 DAC. If the sound with it makes for an impressively even nicer package, with that part of my system, that is what makes me curious.

Thanks jayctoy. I appreciate the comment. I guess I will be keeping my eye out for a possible repair of the X-03SE in the near future, and get it done when I cross paths with someone who is skilled enough and willing to do that work.

Dr. Bond, thanks for that link. Just sent you a message with a quick question.

A little trick I have been using on my Dell desktop CD drive which is also gear stripping is to insert a thin tip knife into the edge of the tray, but rather than attempting to pry the drive open which is futile, I instead "flick" the tray edge with the knife. For some reason this works at opening it. Also, after doing a few flicks the CD tray will go on a spree of opening the normal way. Additionally, it is sometimes better to pry the bottom side of the tray. How long this will keep working is anybody's guess. In the meantime, I am looking at exterior drives for my Dell.

The Esoteric D-03 DAC is a very nice DAC. Like your dealer pointed out, far superior to the Blue Sound DAC. 

I use an Esoteric DV60 player as a transport and an Esoteric D-05 DAC, the pairing sounds amazing. I would suggest that you have your nice X-03SE repaired, and then use it as a transport for your DAC. You will get much better SQ than from the Blue Sound. 

I have 2 x Nodes controlling different zones. The newest generation model is in my main system. It was a huge upgrade adding an MHDT external DAC followed by an external linear power supply for the Node streamer. I highly recommend getting an external DAC and LPS. Both are mediocre in the Node. Once replaced you get a package that punches way above its total investment.

Thanks daveyf for the advice. I will look to see about incorporating the X-03SE into my system, once I can find somone who can repair the unit. That, I imagine, will take some doing. I'm rather impressed with the D-03 DAC and the sound it adds to my system, versus just the Vault 2i. 

drbond

How is your K-01x performing these days? Did you send the player to TAP Electronics for the Tray fix issue?

Happy Listening!

acaamano

Keep me posted as you fix your X-03SE player. It will be worth the expense.

Happy Listening!

daveyf

Nice to see you are still enjoying your DV-60 player.

Happy Listening!