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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
avguru OP
116 posts
 
711,

Didn't know you were back in town. Good to see you back on the forum! I've had the UX1 at my home for the past few days and will be taking it back tomorrow. I was going to bring it to your house for a shoot-out with your newly modded 3910 but Alex told me he has it again for a small modification. I guess you'll be recieving it by this weekend or the early part of next week. We'll get together (all of us) as we originally planned.

Regarding spending $$$'s, I'm not eager to take a chance (and potential bath) on a modded player unless I can hear it upfront and know I'll be happy for a long, long time.
I'm not looking to buy a modded player and then flip it after a short period of time. I want to buy a player I can be happy with for 3-5 years. Once I find that player I will be off Audiogon for a long time and just enjoying the music!

I need to hear your new modded 3910 as I felt Jactoy's Sony Modwright 9000ES was superior (i.e more musical)than both your Exemplar 3910 and the APL 3910. An even more attractive option for me (in terms of $'s) is to have Alex mod my DV 50.

I'm hoping to make a business trip to Houston in the next two weeks where I can hear the DV 50 Alex just modded for Jack.

We'll talk soon!

AVGURU
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
Fab review AVGURU! Just from memory, do you have a feel on how UX-1 is different from X-01? If you consider the moded DV50 keep in mind that at least at this time Alex is disabling the XLR balanced outputs. He is using 2-channel RCA outs only. Multi-channel and video may be disabled as well.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
aldavis
202 posts
 
avguru,
The ux1 audio is the same as the upcoming ux3 and x03.I'm guessing that the x01 will 'fill out' some with twice the chips.I'm really looking forward to your x01 ux1 comparison.From what I'm hearing from you, however,your love of musicality I bet you'd be happiest with a tube output stage what ever your ultimate choice.Other things may change the extraction of info but a tube output will change the sonic signature.If a "musical sound " is what you want it's an option.APL apparently does a nice job with these .Just a thought.I'm thinking about a ux3/tube mod option myself down the road.I currently own the dv 50 and share your feelings.
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
Aldavis, I suspect you may be correct about X-01. By the way, may I ask you to put one space-char after each period? I am using a speech synthesizer to read the text and the poor creature cannot use your periods for prosodic control unless you do follow each with a space. If you heard it, it sounds like 'stream of consciousness.' Thanks, Guido
avguru OP
116 posts
 
AlDavis,

Thanks for your response. I wish I could say for sure that the X01 was "fuller sounding" than the UX1. I know both are voiced on the brighter side and not as warm as the DV 50.

I auditioned the X01 on a really warm system (see my previous review) and that may have hidden some of the issues I heard with the UX1. In talking to Marc Michelson at Soundstage (he reviewed the DV 50, UX1 and X01 side by side) he told me he felt the X01 was about 20% better than the UX1 which is a lot of improvement when talking audio.

What I do remember is when I brought my DV 50 to the dealer for a direct comparision to the X01 it tore it a new "you know what" and I was flabbergasted at the differences. Not even close. The UX1 was also signifcantly better but I didn
't leave that demo with the same "overwhelming feeling of superiority" that I did when I demoed the X01.

Yes, you are correct that I am particularly enamored with tubes right now. The best non-tube digital just seems (imho) to get better at doing the things audiophiles love to talk about: soundstaging, imaging, increased detail, etc but still fail to sound more musical.

When I say musical I'm not talking "analog" sounding. That's easy to achive even in a digital cdp. All you have to do is voice the player more towards the mid-range, eliminate some of the detail and soften up the high's by rolling them off. Some of the high end Marantz players, Lector, etc know how to perform this trick very well.

I don't want to just "hear" the music sound better or more analog. I want to "feel" it...the emotion, palpability, etc. I want images to feel as though they're right in front of you. Peforming for you in person. Tubes can do that.

I want very much for the Esoteric to take me where I want to go because I love their products, technology, build quality, etc. But at $13,000 a cd player should do more than what I heard from the UX1. Right now, I haven't heard anything close to the modded players other than the DV 50/Audio Aero Capitole Dac combination I alluded to at the end of my last post.

That sounded unbelievable but I didn't get to hear it on a variety of music..only jazz. But if it sounds good on all types of music that may be the route I go. It would give me the superior redbook sound I'm looking for while keeping the ability to play the high rez formats. The DV 50 sounds very good in SACD and DVD-A (not as good as the UX1 or X01) but I could live with it.

My only problems/concerns with the modded players has to do with the re-sell value and some of the quirky operational features (built-in digital volume controls, disabling of some features/functions and most of them sound best direct to the amp. I like having a pre/pro and don't want to see it rendered useless in 2 channel).

AVGURU
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