Oppo Vs Esoteric

How much "better" one component is over another is totally dependent on your system, your ears and your sonic priorities.  Depending on what the listener values, there may be no advantage to buying a more expensive player.  For me, the better players offer more natural instrumental and vocal timbres and a better general illusion of realism.  But that means nothing if you don't hear it.  Frankly, the only way to really know is to demo the two players side-by-side.  Or just buy an Oppo, break it in for a few months and take it to an Esoteric dealer and compare it to something much more expensive and see if the differences mean anything to you.  Best of luck. 

I agree with most posters here,having owned several Esoteric now for 8 or 9 years and heard OPPO stock and modified...thers no comparison,none,

I have a K-03 and an Oppo 205. As others have said, there's no comparison. The K-03 is far more detailed and realistic sounding to my ears. 

I'm auditioning an Oppo 205 upgraded by Exemplar Audio in my system right now and I'm really impressed......Although I have not heard Esoteric 

OP....I have an Opp 105 which I use as a transport into 2 DACs, the Mytek Manhatten and the Bryston BDA 3.  Both DACs clearly smoke the native Oppo DAC.  I have never heard Esoteric but when I listen to high Res Downloads or SACD with Oppo/Bryston combo or the Mytek for Redbook, it's hard to imagine how it could be any better