Esoteric P03 - D03

Thanks Kiwi. Is in my radar for sure. My plan is, first break in the 2 units alone, get familiar with the sound and modes, and then, in a couple of months or so borrow the unit from my dealer. He can lend me one to try out. If I like it, I will order.

For what I've read, it is in my mind doing it. However others say difference is not that big. Want to hear first hand before making the investment, which is quite big.

You seem to have experience with direct side by side among the D2 and the combo. Can you elavorate a bit more on differences and points of improvement, please?

Thanks
Elise

Elise,
The clock - either the G0s or the G0rb will make a nice improvement - it adds a level of refinement to the sound but it is more on the subtle side. I think your plan to initially get the P03/D03 and use the clock in the D03 to clock the P03 transport is the correct approach. Then demo the external clock at a later time. When you do demo it, I'd recommend leaving the clock in for about a week and listen. Then remove it - you should hear the difference and then you can decide if the improvement you hear is worth the additional expense.

As for how the P03 D03 compares to the one box Esoteric players - I did own the X01 and then the X01 Limited models. The P03 D03 is a significant step up - it has a more organic and liquid sound, is more refined, has better resolution, has a wider and deeper soundstage, etc. I have not heard the X01 D2, but I would bet that the X01 D2, while better than the X01 limited, is closer in sound to the X01 limited than it is to the P03 D03.

Hi,
I wish I could answer your questions I never had the X01D2 and P03D03 on hand simultaneously. Here is what I have had: DCS Elgar Plus full stack vs P03D03 vs Wadia 921/931. Then sold DCS. Added Playback Designs MPS5 and compared all three. Added Esoteric UX1 (standalone, as transport, also for DVD-A). There is one disc available in DVD-A and SACD that I tried, a Brahms Symphony 1 conducted by Marin Alsop. They have different sound, not sure if they use the same re-mastered file. I will go back and try again since it has been a while. Sold the Wadia (regret it). Sold the P03D03 (don't regret it). Added Zanden 5000 Signature. Added Boulder 2020. These days, I find the areas that I remark are all very similar between the 5000S, MPS5 and Boulder. Odd since the 5000S is NOS and tube, the MPS is 2xDSD and the Boulder has its own sophisticated digital filter at about 16x. The Boulder has by far the most sophisticated analog section. In any event, I sold the 5000S (still have a 5000 MkIII) and am acquiring an X01 with the original P01 style mechanism so I can upgrade it to D2). If we were to work by the transitive property, one might be able to extrapolate a hierarchy of my preference (and tangentially, the sonic properties).

I had an X01 a long time ago and found it a bit sharp edged and tonally bright. Since then I have changed my thinking and look for mixing and matching based on what I want to hear at a given time. This is likely due to having tried many of the top competitors in my own system, not on audition but paid for, simultaneously and with other variables held constant (preamp, amp, speakers).

Babybear, I will let you know my impressions, albeit based on recall. I only liked the P03D03 set on DSD upsampling; as PCM the sound seemed to have a tinge of tinniness. As DSD, the sound became more (too) diffuse, easier to listen to but with a noticeable loss in image clarity and transient definition. I sold the P03D03 because the MPS5 had the same qualities but with a less diffuse sound that I prefer.

ClassicJazz, thanks for info. Did you try different cables and power cords with it? You are the first person I find that doesn't like this particular Combo, and specially who recalls as an Esoteric attribute diffuse or lacking image clarity. If something I read people actually complaining about too much of the opposite. Anyway, can be system / room specific or a matter of taste, but was just wondering.

If you did not like the P03-D03, why are you willing to try out the D2? Would not trying out a different manufacturer one box solution make more sense?

For what I can be of help here, not having heard the Combo still, there is a chance you may like the D2 for redbook playing, since it uses different DACs than the 03s, and maybe it has a somewhat different sound print. However for DSD, I think you may not like the D2 either: uses the same DACs as the combo but only one per channel.

On the other hand, I had the X03-SE home for some 3 months, and although using different DAC configuration than the D2, the sound was similar in nature (although the D2 is clearly better with a more rich, complex sound). So there is a chance if you did not like Esoteric 03s, you may have trouble with Esoteric digital sound in general. Just guessing but could be worth you give it a long try before you commit?

Best
Eli

Read this thread with interest. I upgraded from the X-01 Limited to P-03/D-03, added the G-ORB clock more than a year later. I've never heard the D-2 version of the X-01, so don't know how much better the D-2 is than the Limited, although the upgrade to Limited was pretty significant. The P-03/D-03 was a dramatic improvement over the Limited, especially in SACD, in precisely the ways you have all noted. But the real point I wanted to make is by themselves the P-03/D-03 did red book best, at least to my ears, with DSD conversion. But the minute I added the G-ORB clock, there seemed something a bit over-inflated about the DSD conversion, which I had never heard before. When I switched to 176.4 there seemed to be something cleaner and more natural about all red book playback. Whether this means the clock so improved 176.4 upconversion that it outperformed the DSD, or uncovered some negative artifact in DSD conversion, I don't know. But just as taking out the clock after listening for a week demonstrates how important the clock is by its absence, switching back to DSD conversion after a week of listening at 176.4 (with the clock) made it clear to me that I didn't want to go back. Anyway, that's what my ears tell me; certainly you have to listen to yours. (P.S. For purposes of completeness of information, I use Stealth Varidig Sextet digital cables between the P-03 and D-03.)