2. digital
  3. 1099737755

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
dbld
297 posts
 
Gee...Thanks Alex :-)! Something to shoot for down the road for my DV-50 I guess.

Does your DV-50 mod effect the multi-channel aspect of this player...or the video?

Dave
aplhifi
515 posts
 
Guidocorona, yes, 711 Smilin will eventually have a demo unit, or may be AVGURU will wolunteer with his Teac. The first DV-50 just went out to Texas so you will hear about it soon...:-)

UX-3 supposedly comes with the real VRDS transport. It is universal machine so it plays everything. I would assume that, just like the DV-50, the UX-3 will have "Display off" and "Video off" so I am not concerned about any interferrences.

Since DSD stream is not allowed out of the SACD players, I am not interested in any other format they convert SACD for digital transmossion, so I do not care for external DACs. Also, why you would like to re-clock? Are you going to be running a production studio with "house clock" so you need to sync the UX-3 to it?...:-) The other case would be If you have high jitter clock in your given Digital machine so you need to re-clock it. Tell me what you think; is it better to have a killer clock to begin with or it is better to re-clock? So, I do not care about the re-clocking either...:-)

Regards,
Alex

aplhifi
515 posts
 
Dbld, sure, just let me know when you're ready.

The mod affects just the Stereo RCA outputs. Sorry, the Balanced output gets disabled too.

Regards,
Alex
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
Thank you Alex, but why UX-3 instead of the slightly cheaper X-03? Does UX-3 offer you--as a developer--some advantages?
Concerning clocks I can only report hearsay: the Verona is said to improve significantly the sound of the DCS stack. Only by inference I hope that would extend to the Teac clocks, and of course to your new internal clock. Would the Teac clock be better than your killer clock or viceversa? I have no idea, of course. Perhaps our Iron Audiofools in Chicago will tell us one day which clocked CDP will "Reign Supreme!" That is why this amazing field is so much fun, even vicariously!
jose21
93 posts
 
I would first and foremost like to thank Steve (711smilin') for pointing me to this direction and Alex for such a great mod. I'd also like to thank AVGURU for starting this thread.

After speaking to Steve a few times, I came away with the impression that he is nothing more than an enthusiatic person, generously willing to share his knowledge and experience. Maybe bob47 and Jes45 should have spoken to him first before making their comments. Or maybe they should demo the 3910. I also know Bon(Jactoy) from conversations last year.

I was able to demo the DV50S a week before the 3910 arrived. While the video was excellent, 2ch was not up to par with my PMDT/Audio Note 2.1x bal dac combo, even when using the balanced outs. The 3910 bettered my previous combo around the 25 hour mark. I can't wait for 300 hours. I won't even attempt to write an extended review. I cannot say it any better than AVGURU, but musicality, depth and holographic imaging really comes to mind. There were a few things I liked more about the DV50S. Build quality and looks for one thing (hey, at least I admit it). DVD soundtracks thru the digital out seemed a bit more dynamic and punchy. User interface is also smoother with the DV50S. Maybe Alex will work on the digital issue next ;-)

Thanks again Alex and Steve. I am smilin' with you.
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