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Esoteric DV-50: Any cdp's Significantly better?

Is there are anyone out there who has compared the Esoteric DV-50 to a number of dedicated red book only players (or other universal's) and found one that is SIGNIFICANTLY better?

I stress significantly because in my humble opinion the redbook playback (if comparison unit is just a cd cd player only )must be significantly better to justify losing DVD-A, SACD and DVD-Video capability.

I keep hearing there are better one box solutions and being a die hard 2 channel fan I would sell my DV-50 if I found a player in the same price range that sounds significantly better. But every time I do an AB comparision to other well respected units the DV-50 has slayed each and every one.

So far, it has eaten the lunch of the Classe CDP-10, Ayre CX-7, Linn Ikemi, Cairn Fog Vers. 2, Cary 306/300, Arcam DV 27A and CD 33T, Myryad CD 600, etc. It even betters a Sony SCD 777ES/MF Tri-Vista 21 transport/dac combo that I previously owned. I'm only comparing the DV-50 to single box cd or universal players, but I just wanted to mention the Sony/MF combo. I'm sure there are some dac/transport combo's that will handily beat the DV 50.

Some may say that the DV 50 should beat all the above because the of price point ($5,500 vs. average price of $3,000 for the above players). But I disagree since conventional wisdom says that stand alone players (especially with the pedigree of those mentioned above) should produce better redbook than a universal player trying to be a jack of all trades. Only the DV 27A does video plus audio. By the way, I was very impressed with the 27A as just a cd player. Of all the above I would say the Ayre was the best.

Next on my list is the Electrocompaniet EMC 1UP and the Resolution Audio Opus 21. However, I must tell you I am really impressed with the DV 50 and all the great reviews are absolutely true. I've noticed that many people who are using it or comparing to other players are using the RCA analog outs instead of the balanced outs. There is a significant improvement in sound if you use the balanced outs and I'm only interested in hearing comments from people who have compared it against other players using the balanced outs on the DV-50.

My system components are as follows:

B&W N803's speakers & HTM-1 center
Cary Cinema 5 (5 x 200) amp
Anthem D1 Statement pre/pro
Esoteric DV 50
Acoustic Zen Satori Shotgun speaker wire
Nirvana SX balanced interconnects from DV-50 to Anthem
Acoustic Zen Matrix reference II interconnects from D1 to Cary
No after market power cords or isolation equipment

My system sounds great! Those who comment please make sure to specify what specific improvements you heard over the DV 50 and what cdp were you comparing it against.

AVGURU
avguru
jayctoy's avatar
jayctoy
3,968 posts
 
just want to add, the Hovland amp is a solid state,
12K, my Sony is a S9000es Modwright, not the XA.The
cables use at the dealer were Kubala.The Thor monos
are worth 17K, and the preamp 12k.The room tweak at
the dealer is worth 15K, well filter.All of us enjoyed
the shootout.
abrahavt
101 posts
 
When Dan Wright gets around to modifying a Denon 3910 it would be interesting to throw that into the mix.
pscialli
80 posts
 
AVGuru,
Just to be sure I know which Sony you are praising (they have some similar model numbers, I assume you are talking about the SCD-XA9000ES that has a list price of $3000. Is that right? That one has a great review in Stereophile of 12/03, Atkinson I thinkk. I've since read some other reports which highly praise its SACD performance but are not so thrilled about it's Redbook performance. Can you add anything to your description of it; especially with respect to Redbook?
I'm also wondering if you've heard the Linn players, Unidisk 1.1 and/or 2.1. I heard the 2.1 head to head with the Marantz 9500 and your comments re. Marantz seem to be on target. However, The 2.1 is 3X the price. I liked the Marantz pretty well, but the Linn was lots more detailed. I'd love to hear the SA-11 up against the DV-9500 for comparison sake.
Frankly, I'm close to ordering the modded Maverick from Underwood, but, perhaps I should revisit the Sony. All this is making my head hurt...in a good way.
reb1208
518 posts
 
Don't be so "envious", my nirvana never lasts too long. I'm already thinking about the next machine.(s) Nice write up. Glad you mentioned the importance of warm-up time. Ideally, a cd player should be left on overnight to sound optimum. Some players even continue to change sound over several days (ala- wadia) The SA11 is much more detailed, transparent and sparkly than previous Marantz units, from what I am told. Again, after it is warmed up. When I had DV-50, it sounded great until 5 hours warm-up time had passed. At that time, the sound became quite full and rich. High freq extension and detail lost air/transparency. That type of sound just drives me crazy. I'm not willing to accept that for 5K or 3k for that matter. It is more a critical view on the cd medium than any particular player. Just about every cd player I have ever heard tends to sound a bit midrangey and closed in on top. When you test SA11 again, be aware that there are 3 filter options and a noise shapper on/off. This player tries to mimic the delicacy and nuance aspect of recorded music. This type of sound (there are other players like this) usually comes along with a softer bass. They do this so that the bass energy does not cover up the detail. When I compare cd players in my system, it is always against the turtable. In almost every single case, the turtable is more open and extended on top. So far, only Wadia and this new Marantz sound even more open. The Wadia didn't cut it because it sounded skeletal and amusical IMO (bass and prat were also weak on wadia). I enjoy your enthusiasm and look foward to seeing what machine you ultimately settle on to replace the Teac.
avguru OP
116 posts
 
Jactoy,

Thanks for adding needed detail about the dealers set-up. Regarding the Thor mono's, remember we disconnected those and did the majority of our listening with the Hovland Amp. Is that correct? Also, how much did the Thor pre-amp cost? I don't remember. Finally, sorry about the spelling of the cables/interconnects.

You are correct that they had many room treatments (echo busters, bass traps and others). So you can say the listening tests were were under almost ideal room treatment conditions.

Jactoy, please feel free to add any comments you may have regarding the listening tests. People on this forum are probably tired of just hearing my comments/observations!

AVGURU
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