What to choose?????

See if you can take all three home and see for yourself.

all of the above get great reviews, i'd pick the esoteric, which is built like a friggin' tank and handles video as a bonus--even if you're currently planning to use it just for music, you'll have a piece that will play every format and will last forever. i wish i had your choice...

I agree with Nickt.See if the dealer will let you audition them with your equipment over the weekend.Better to hear them with your stuff in your room.Good luck.

Toss up. They're all good.

Audio Research is the line I would lean towards based on limited personal experience.

I vote for the Esoteric and agree with Tvads comments... but in the end it's what your ears and wallet justify and you room and system tell you. Try all three if allowed. Cheers

of the 3 the one with the most potential,a modded Esoteric.A good tech knows some stuff that us brick and moter guys dont.Then I can sleep a little easier knowing I dont have to be searching for that answer.Is my soarce capable of delivering the sound?Are off the shelf pieces at their very best in sound.IMHO no way.A couple minor tweeks You could have a great player.Kyle @ RAM of riverside,ca answered all my questions.A great web site.A lot of info Good luck

Thanks guys for the advice, I'll try to take all 3 home, if not, it will have to be one at a time. Truthfully, I was leaning towards the Esoteric.

You might also look at the Esoteric X-05. Has the terrific transport.

hello, to my opinions,in your selection..i pick the X05.. the X05 is good for all around,equipments and all type of music for long run,,the other ones are in personal tastes, for what you may like, good luck

The X-05 is twice the cost of the other players the OP stated was is in price range.Slates,did you get a chance to bring anything home for an audition?Keep us posted.

I have the Cary and the bass on this cd player is beautiful.
It has great dynamics and decay. Next on the list is the
Esoteric.

I originally went back to the dealer with the intension of
taking home the Esoteric, he thought I should try the Audio Research CD3 mkII, well it had transport troubles so I couldn't audition it properly.I now have the Esoteric at home and after a full audition I can safely say that there isn't much of a difference the Cary has fantastic smooth bass and it seems a bit softer sounding as the Esoteric has a ton of resolution, and it sounds a bit harder, ever so slight. I could also say the bass on the Esoteric was very good and it was tighter than the Cary. Truthfully, with the right power cords you could get either one of them to sound like the other easily. So now it all comes down to price...

Thank You

If they sound the same and price discrepancy is not huge I would consider the reliability. Which one will give you the least trouble(or most joy)?

Hi everyone, thanks for the responses,
I decided to buy both, for my main rig and my second system.
Along with the credit I had plus I traded in my 2 existing CDP's,it made feel like I bought one and got the other for free. It just made sense.

Thanks Again