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

The Quest for the Best Continues!

You all will be happy to know that my local Esoteric dealer has informed me he SHOULD HAVE the UX1 in house by tomorrow evening. This is a demo unit that has already made the review rounds to several well known av mag's. As such, the unit will be well broken in. My dealer has decided to buy it as his floor demo.

Of course, yours truly will be there Saturday morning for a listen. Unlike 711, I like hearing a player in a multitiude of systems (or at least another one besides my own) so I can make sure the sonic characteristics I'm hearing are not biased or system dependent. However, I definitely agree with 711 that when it comes time to making a purchase I would never buy before auditioning in my own system.

I have spoken to Jactoy (he being the lucky owner of the glorious Wright modded Sony) and he has agreed to join me if time permits. Don't know if we will be able to directly AB his unit against the UX1 on Saturday, but if not we will do it on Wednesday when he and I both have plenty of free time to do so.

There are couple of other people in the Chicago area who are following this thread but are not really actively participating. (Mr. Northbrook, Mr. Elgin where are you)? Don't be shy...please do join us for a spot of Earl Grey tea, scones and a fantastic listening sesssion!

Be on the look-out for my shoot-out sometime next week!

AVGURU

Avguru and Jayctoy: If you go back and look at everything I've said, I have never claimed that anything I have or have heard is the best there is or can be. Usually what draws a comment from me is someone else's suggestion that something is "the best" or really gets what's on the source. And this skepticism extends to reviewers as well: a friend of mine who distributes a couple of well known and pricey products assures me that if you saw the listening rooms in which many reviewers listen to new products you wouldn't believe a word they say. As to specific questions:

1. I have heard very few modded products, but I have no reason to believe that a talented modifier can't work wonders with a stock product, most of which are built to a price point. If a manufacturer wants to sell something for $2000, but would need to charge $2200 to sell it with a better internal component and therefore chooses not to use it, why shouldn't a modifier be able to put one in, charge you $500 for the mod, and achieve better sound? [Of course, the problem is, is it better or just different? There are tradeoffs, remember.]

2. In fact my Classe Omega SACD player was in actuality a $12000 reworking of the $5000 SONY SCD-1, and was noticeably superior in every respect. Was that a modification, even though done by a major manufacturer? Depends how you define modification. I heard some mods of the SCD-1 and they were pretty good, but did they come close to the Classe? Not hardly. But the starting point of all of them was an absolutely superb transport mechanism.

3. Would I buy a real modded unit? Maybe, but it would have to be a modification of a stock unit I would have considered buying anyway, and for me that means the build quality would have to be very good. I have heard people rave about the sound of components which were lightweight and flimsy and supposedly sounded good despite their construction, but I've just never heard one I liked--something was always compromised about the sound as far as I was concerned.

4. Hello, where on earth did you ever get the idea that I own anything I wouldn't consider replacing? Certainly not from me. When this thread started back in the 19th century I had just replaced my Classe with an X-01, mainly because I had just received DSD-capable versions of the dCS units, and had listened to the Meitner gear on someone else's system, and wanted something that could do in SACD what dCS and EMM had accomplished without having to put up with what I didn't like about their respective transports. So three of my four digital components are new this year, and the fourth is eighteen months old. Of course, there are limits. Some time next year the three-box Esoteric digital system is going to role in, for about $40,000, and of course I'll want it. But no, I'll have to do without; for now I'm through. Life is full of hardships, I'm afraid.

5. What do I like best about what I've got? That it sounds more like what I hear in the hall, at least in kind, than anything I've heard (which I can afford, if I suck it in hard enough) so far.

6. Me a guru? No one is a guru who doesn't understand how things work, and for all I know there is concrete and spaghetti in them thar boxes. I know what I like, and I don't confuse that with anything else.

All from me, I think. This thread has been fun, but it's getting old.

Mgottlieb,

Thanks for your response. It was very thorough. Sorry you feel the thread is getting old. The feedback I'm getting is that its one of the best threads going with more and more people hopping on and adding their comments! Can't tell you how many phone calls I and other members have received and exchanged because of this thread.

Please don't take my remark "digital guru" seriously. I was just having fun! I only said it because it seems you have owned and currently own some of the best digital gear of anyone on the thread. When I say "best" I'm speaking in relative terms of price and the fact your gear is generally considered to be the best on the market today. I wanted to hear your opinion because you've owned some of the best gear so you have first hand knowledge of its performance.

Stay with us, MGottlieb. We need your open minded and unbiased viewpoint...as well as your constant reminders that no one really knows what sounds best or what a cd "should sound like".

AVGURU

There will be more Shootout on CDP,Brian from Essential
Audio is opening His House for us Chicago boys, who
is willing to have fun,A guy who own the Rich Kern,Sony
Mod is requesting to compare his sony mod,I already
Email Brian, the invitation is accepted,in two weeks,
.His system is very good, Iam excited to hear,
the Sony with Soundlab, blowtorchh pre amp,and JC1,
TGaudio cables.This time the SonyModright involved in the
shootout is equip with upgrade unbilical cord, its silver,
its not burn in yet. Fun..Fun...Here we go again.Thanks
Bon

Mgottlieb,

Bravo on your post, well said.