Rbyington711
"A CD is a spinner and a laser so what does a 12k Esoteric do that a $1,200 Marantz doesn't."
I own Esoteric's P-05/D-05 set up as well as a P-0s. I also have a Theta Jade. The Theta is really good, but at its' best, maybe 85% of the Esoterics.
So, if you have to ask, you'll never know.
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A CD is a spinner and a laser so what does a 12k Esoteric do that a $1,200 Marantz doesn't
There's more to making music than making the little silver disc spin around and pointing a laser at it. The quality of the transport matters, and most importantly, what happens to the bits and bytes after they are read by the laser matters the most. The digital bits need to be converted to an analog signal, which is what separates the wheat from the chaff.
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@rbyington71
"A CD is a spinner and a laser so what does a 12k Esoteric do that a $1,200 Marantz doesn’t."
I’m not going to waste any time explaining the differences in specific components and the fact that there are a plethora of machines that I haven’t listened to or maybe not even heard of as there are components that either do not or rarely ever make it to our shores(I have a Romanian audio buddy who fills me in on that stuff who really knows much more about that kind of equipment). Kind of like being mildly a car buff; knowing about Ferrari, what a 911 GT3 is, and then finding out that there is a world of Koenigsegg’, Pagani’, Fractal mathematics used in design(Rimac), and a host of other small independent companies or even large businesses, Volkswagon, Ford utilizing small teams of creative engineers pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in auto design, so in audio. The same passion exists in audio, actually almost anything in life you can say that about where someone out there has a better way of expressing that kind of passion. My $80.00 CD player gives me some part of, some flavor of, a taste if you will, even if it’s a minuscule bit of what a top tier component can do, but it is not the same thing. In some ways it betters, well sort of, kind of my mid-level machine that’s much more than the eighty-buck player. But that’s a whole other discussion and I’d be typing all day.
I know that it might be difficult to be able to listen to a wide range of systems, and products in parts of the country and given enough time auditioning them to get a real handle on what’s what. I have been into this hobby since high school, that would have been the seventies and even in the last few years I still am learning new things. Some of the most important things I learned was to be a better listener; not just to music but people as well. Also to trust my own instincts. My initial reaction to a product tends to be the right for me, even if I figure it out later. I always liked Linn and Naim's audio advice to sales staff doing demos of any equipment. You do the best demonstration you can and if the customer doesn’t hear those differences in components you’re demonstrating, don’t try to shove it down their throats!
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The Esoteric K series XD have stunning DAC’s.
Since the SE series is coming out you can get A K01 XD very close to your budget.
I had the K01 XD but decided on trading for the N01XD SE since I was not playing CD’s at all.
For me the Esoteric was a better sounding dac than the Aurender A20 I have.
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As mentioned above I have the Playback Designs Mps-8 and I don't think you will find a better one box solution!
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@maxdukecapone
What are you thoughts of the N01XDSE? I recently traded in my XD for the XDSE and could not be happier.
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K01x owner here. Sounds great, happy. No desire to change it.
Disadvantage of Esoteric.
1) Constant planned obsolescence, every 2 years a new model which devalues the “older” players
2) only 1 service center in US (Los Angeles)
3) Repairs are expensive. My player did not read discs right outside warranty = new transport and $3.5k in repairs.
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@bwguy
I did not get a chance to an A/B test of the XD vrs XDSE but the Esoteric discreet DAC was definitely one of my better purchases! Roon is also new to me and I’m loving it as well.
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I have the Esoteric K-01X. I directly compared it to the top of the line Marantz, and the dCS SACD player, which I think was the Puccini, or Rossini. The Marantz and the dCS were awful by comparison, although I don’t remember exactly in which ways. I really enjoyed the sound quality from the Esoteric….until I upgraded my vinyl. Now the Esoteric sounds awful by comparison to my vinyl set up. I haven’t even listened to CD/SACD in a couple of years in my home system.
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I have personally owned the Totaldac Triunity Dac and Metronome Calypso Reference Transport combo prior to downsize to the Esoteric K-01XD and extremely happy with the musical performance of the unit. The new redesign transport and dac in the Esoteric XD are absolutely amazing with warmth and precise that any previous generation including the Grandioso K1 can’t even compete. IMHO purchase the K-01XD and happy for life!
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LOL Lots of rationalization in this one!
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I own the folling Oppo BDP 83 - old but sound great
Oppo BDP 105D Plays everything but 4K Blue Ray Movies -Sound and looks amazing.
A Sony 1000 ES player - Also great sounding
Also A Sony 9000ES for you vintage Guy
But the most interesting on is the Alesis Masterlink ML 9600 High Difination Master Disk recorder - - It has a built in hard drive recorder and a CD Disk burner - so you can make copys of a friend cd that you would like to have.
And finaly the surprise of them all the lowly Gemini CSMP 1500 cs player that has a pitch control and cues the cd to the start of siginal - It sound remarkably good - I would say crazy good for the lowly price of 219.00 brand new on Amazon
I also owned a 4 box DCS cd system - the happiest day of my audio life was when I got it and even better when I sold it -GO FIGURE. After listening to all kinds of esoteric players - I decided to pay more than 2K for a SACD pllayer is insane.
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Thanks for the info people! Keep it coming!
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Rbyington711
"A CD is a spinner and a laser so what does a 12k Esoteric do that a $1,200 Marantz doesn't."
Do some reading on the VRDS system Teac developed. Tech and Esoteric are the same company FYI.
also for those that question Esoteric servicing they are an upscaled division of Teac.
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Just to be clear on what higher end players can do, I have owned three ModWright modified palyers: Sony 999es, Sony 5400 and the Marantz SA 8005. They were better with each update. However, the Esoteric K-03XD beats every one of them as well it should.
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No one mentioned Yamaha? I have owned my Yamaha CD-S2100 for some six years now and it has operated and sounded flawlessly. I expected it to sound fantastic with SACD but wasn’t prepared for how it reproduced Red Book CD. It may not weigh as much as an Esoteric at 35+ pounds, but then it “only” costs $3000 currently directly from Yamaha. My listening is done through a Luxman L-590AxII Class A integrated and a lovely set of Sonus Faber Maxima Amators and a good set of balanced interconnects. With the savings you can buy an awful lot of discs. Or a very nice turntable 😆.
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porchlight1, Have you compared your Yamaha to any of the Esoterics mentioned?
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I have been reading old reviews, the number of available SACD players dwindling over time.The Luxmans, the Esoterics, the Audionets, and Yamakas and Marantz players seem to be well regarded.
Anyone have any Luxman vs Esoteric personal experience?
Anyone heard an AUdionet player?
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caphill
Thank you for so decisively setting the record straight on the lingering Esoteric versus Marantz. There will always be those who inspite of lacking the budget to purchase truly TOTL luxury items, will nonetheless take backhanded shots at those who can. Petty envy and jealousy....
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gthirteen
Where are you on purchasing a CD/SACD player? Update me.
Happy Listening!
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