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Last CD player?

Earlier this year, I bought a Bryston 4BSST2 power amp and a Bryston BP26 pre amp.  Recently I purchased a pair of PMC fact 12 speakers.  Both produced a marked increase in sound quality.

My source at the moment is a Meridian 588 cd player, which is about 12 years old.  The transport was repaired about 2 years ago, and some capacitors replaced.  I play only redbook cds, but I may look into downloading hi-rez files later.

I am wondering if buying a new cd player would produce another big improvement in sound quality.  My budget is between £5,000 and £10,000.  I have read glowing reviews of the Moon 650D and the Esoteric K05x and K03x.  The latter is rather at the extreme end of my budget, and I am curious if it is hugely better than the K05x.

I am trying to build a see-me-out system, so durability is important.  The gear I bought earlier has a 20-year warranty, which inspires confidence.  Esoteric products have a warranty of just 1 year.

I would be grateful for any opinions or suggestions.

Thanks,
Paleo12
paleo12
soundsrealaudio's avatar
soundsrealaudio
756 posts
 
Paleo

I heard the M2Tech at the RMAF in the same room as the very expensive Esoteric and it is not expensive. Might be a good idea to take a listen, you could contain keep it for five years or so, I know I could. Keep the Melco in mind as well. 2K here in what we were accustom to calling the USA. That and the little Buffalo CD burner will replace your CD player and improve the sound as well. M2Tech is made in Italy. : )
paleo12 OP
40 posts
 
Today, I listened to the Esoteric K03x at a dealer about 40 miles away.  I was impressed by the sound stage and the separation of the individual instruments.

The dealer said there isn't a K05x in Britain just now I could listen to.  Has anyone compared the K05x with the K03x?  Is the latter substantially better than the former?
jafant's avatar
jafant
19,602 posts
 
Thanks! for the update- paleo12

are you still going to audition a Macintosh and Sim Moon 650D ?
soundsrealaudio's avatar
soundsrealaudio
756 posts
 
Paleo

The K03 was a pretty good sounding CD player. I was a dealer for them. Never had the K05 in my shop.
I still like the idea of a DAC and the  2K Melco.

paleo12 OP
40 posts
 
Hi,

Since Monday, I have been trying out the Esoteric K05x, and I am very impressed.  I hear things I never heard before; the level of detail is amazing.  Also, the sound stage is large and very precise; I can hear where the different drums are in a drum kit for example.

The only mild disadvantage is this: with some older recordings (the Crosby, Stills and Nash album for example), there is some harshness about the voices.  I spoke with the dealer, who said that Esoteric cd players need about 200 hours to run in, and that this harshness will disappear.  He said also that there is some compromise involved here: the level of detail the player can produce has some disadvantages with poor recordings.

Has anyone had any experience with the running in of Esoteric cd players?  Does anyone have any views or the settings for filters and oversampling when it comes to playing poor recordings?


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