I have an Esoteric UX-3 in one system and a McIntosh MCD301 in another system. I much prefer the Esoteric as it seems truer to the music, but the McIntosh is very smooth sounding and even poor recorded cd's sound listenable. It's a toss up and either player you mentioned will be a big step up from the Oppo.
I am a McIntosh person, have two Mac power amps, two Mac preamps and a Mac tuner, but when it comes to digital I would not consider Mac, there are better choices out there and for a lot less cost.
Thanks for posting that . Im using two Mcintosh MC 252 amps through a Krell KCT pre Amp with B&W 800D speakers and I was thinking the same thing . I like Mcintosh for their amps but not so much for their digital products . I bought the Mcintosh MCD 700 player when it first came out in the eighties then purchased a Mcintosh MVP 851 later on and my oppo 95 sounds better than the MAC . Ive also had tons of problems with my Mcintosh players . They have not been trouble free for me over the years . Im still deciding between the two players Mcintosh MCD 550 or the ESOTERIC 7X
Zora ,the Esoteric 7x is one of Esoterics entry level player and is a light weight example of Esoterics line, if your budget is for a new 07x you could look into a used Esoteric O3 which is head and shoulders above the sound quality performance of esoterics entry level players or look into another high quality brand Do your home work .
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