Are New Sony SCD XA5400es Players Still Available?

Very interesting as a always found the Esoteric CD sound to be very thin, digital sounding and not my cup of tea.

it looks like there is a difference of opinion regarding the relative performance of the sony and esoteric players. this is another example of the adage: "spend more and you may not get more". you don't always get sonic improvements by spending more money.

You can get the Esoteric DV-50 on Audiogon around $1500, use. That is how much I paid for my on Audiogon.

"You don't always get sonic improvements by spending more money". I agree with Mrtennis in this statement. Each company price their products differently whatever the reason is, may be their brand is more popular or well known..etc. Company A is aproximately 5-10K different does not mean it will sound better than Company B. For instant the Sonus Faber Stradivari speakers sound less details than Revel Salon 2. The love of music and the quest for that perfect sound never end. It's an expensive hobby.
I found this website rated all the Hifi equipments maybe it will help or use as a goby in deciding which equipment one should purchase. The website is http://www.excelia-hifi.cz/top.html Click on the top 1000

Such encyclopedic numerical listings are nonsense since they cannot convey the significant qualitative differences among the products. Besides, there are errors in the product listing.

Kal