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
Steve, I will probably be able to pick your APL,
,I might ask AVguru also, because it would be nice,
to have more players there.There will be more ears
too,If plan change, I will let you know.
Brian & others involved in the upcoming shootput. (really don't like the term shootout since we have a common goal, hopefully). Anyway, I've been watching this thread with much interest. Besides myself there'll be many waiting for your results to be reported.
I should mention that I'm a big fan of both the EMM and APL products. I own some of both with plans for more.
I would like to make one suggestion if you have the Emm gear there.
Since some are balanced and some are single ended designs, would it be possible to have balanced and single ended systems to compare the various machines?
For instance, Alex tells me the 3910 is a single ended design and sounds better hooked up that way. On the other hand the EMM gear is a balanced design and may (or may not) sound better hooked up with XLR's. I run mine balanced and havent't really tried RCA's as even my Gryphon amp is balanced and XLR's are recommended.
It's possible that the APL might win in a single ended system and losing in a balanced and visa versa for EMM.
This would help all of us make a more educated decision for our particular systems.
I know this complicates things more and will take more time but it will give clearer more defining results.

I can join you guys on the 19th if there's a spot available. I can add the latest Audio Aero 24/192 DAC to the mix if there is any interest to hear it. Anyways, I am certainly interested in the performance of the modded units if nothing else. Hey Brian, how big is your "sweet spot"??!

Mark
Northbrook
711

I think everyone would prefer to hear one of Alex's latest mods...which would be the APL 3910. I think that's only fair to Alex. It's my understanding that you have already sent that unit to Alex for the upgraded clock...is that correct? Are you suggesting Jactoy or I pick up your older APL 1000 for inclusion in the shoot-out? If so, I'd prefer to wait until you get the 3910 back. When we did our last audition at your home I thought both the Exemplar and the APL 3910 were superior to the 1000.

FrankG

First of all, I think we should probably conduct the shoot-out at David's house (the guy who owns the Meitner gear). Or, over Brian's at Essential audio. I too have doubts that QA will allow us to do a massive test on their showroom floor. Plus, QA does not have an XO1 nor will they in the very near future. In the case of the Meitner (since its such an exceptional piece of gear) I'd prefer to put it up against Esoteric's very best. The UX1 is not quite at the level of the X01.

We probably could get away with taking a couple of the modded units up to QA to compare against the UX1 which (I'm keeping my fingers crossed) is supposed to arrive this week. That would be a separate, smaller shoot-out that would not draw the ire of QA. Plus, they already know I'm waiting for them to get the UX1 to compare against a couple of modded units so it shouldn't be a problem. As a matter of fact, I'm hoping we can do that this Saturday. 1Markr, Jactoy, Brian, 711, David...are you guys up to it?

Regarding single-ended vs. balanced, I agree that we should hear each player as it sound best. But the other problem we will run into is Jactoy's modded Sony sounds best going direct to the amp (bypassing the pre). My understanding from Jactoy is there's a pretty big drop-off in performance in going out from the rca's.

711's APL sounds pretty good thru the single-ended rca's (it beat my DV 50 handily in this configuration) but I think (not sure) his unit also can go direct to the amplifier and sounds better this way. In the past 711 has been so confident in his machines ability to beat others he really didn't care how it was configured so for him it may not be an issue. I don't know what configuration would be more advantageous for the Kern modded Sony. To thge owner of the Kern please let us know.

Some of you may feel differently but my system serves a dual purpose for both HT and 2 channel music. Additionally, I've already invested in a top notch pre-pro that I'm very happy with and not inclined to get rid of anytime soon. Therefore, I'm not interested in using a cdp that produces its maximum performance going direct to an amp.

Furthermore, I am a fan of multi-channel music (Jactoy's unit does not do multi-channel) and I want a unit that sounds glorious in both 2 channel and multi-channel.
I would hope that either Brian or David has a pre-pro that accepts both single ended and balanced inputs. Being a dealer I can't imagine that Brian doesn't have such a pre-pro and for that matter an amp that handles both.

I guess the point I'm making here is that its going to be very difficult to to a completely fair and apples-to-apples comparision that appeases everybody because everyone's music priorities may not be the same.

Personally, I don't feel the use of an amp with balanced inputs is that critical. For those machines that are clearly mfg'ed to sound better balanced (Esoteric and Meitner) I'm more concerned about making sure we have a pre-amp or pre-pro that has balanced inputs. The connection to the amp is of less importance (unless the amp is also fully balanced). I will also make sure the same balanced intrconnects are used for each unit.

Should Brian or David not have a pre that accepts both configurations I have no problem bring my Anthem D1 Statement pre-pro to the party. It is generally considered to be one of the most transparent and top-notch units availabletoday. It accepts balanced digital (AES/EBU),XLR, optical (Toslink), single-ended rca's, digital coaxial...basically any connection known to man! My amp (Cary Cinema 5) also has both single ended and blalanced connections and I could bring that if necessary.

1Markr

Yes, we always have a spot for serious audiophiles! Additionally, the Audio Aero is very well respected as both a stand-alone cdp and a dac and I would love to see how it fares in our shoot-out. We could audition your dac using either the Meitner or my DV 50 as the transport. The Meitner will probably be the better pairing.

AVGURU
Mark, you gotta get here early! :-) Seriously, anywhere is great; the middle is a little better. No beaming. You guys can play musical chairs if you like.
Brian