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
carmantom
17 posts
 
Jayctoy

You are exactly right. I bought my APL 3910 as the result of this thread and the experience of those on it. It was a crapshoot except for the information received here. That was a lot. There will always be hype for any product, but much less here than the manufacturers. For the most part I found most people's intentions here to be clean. That was to find the best CDP they could. I'm not sure anyone could go wrong with most of the products mentioned on this thread. Except of course for the unmodded DV-50 (too expensive for what I now know exist). That was my only listening comparison. I can tell you this, I told my wife (for the 1st time ever) this piece will always remain. Even if I put together a whole new system, it will be around the APL 3910 That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Tom
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Tom, I often I remember saying that. I would predict that in less than two years the APL will be long gone. I too cannot imagine anything better than the Exemplar 3910, but already there is talk about the Denon 5910. Especially on digital forever is about 6 to 8 months.
fmtien
47 posts
 
"I told my wife (for the 1st time ever) this piece will always remain."

LOL!!! did your wife actually believe you? you don't know how many times i've told my wife this...needless to say, she never believed me for a second. :-)
jayctoy's avatar
jayctoy
4,203 posts
 
Tom I agree with you,As of now I will keep my Sonymodwright
I have the same feeling like you.Will I replace my Sony
in onother 3 years? The answer is No.Even if there is a
new one.It does not give you a guarantee, that it will
match your system, or its musical than what we have now.
ehfm
13 posts
 
Lazarus28 - You know, if you look at what I wrote, I don't believe that I claimed to know all the nuances of each player. That would be an arrogant statement. But, and here's the thing: YES, I did reach a definitive conclusion last Saturday, in the context of a particular system, between the three players.

It seems to me that without the ability to reach conclusions about what you are hearing, why would anyone bother with this hobby?

Before I opened my own wallet, I would want to listen to these players again in different systems. And if it were possible to borrow each player for a month and listen to it in my own system, that would be great. But listening even for a hour to these players is still better, in my opinion, than buying the unit without *ever* having heard it.

I made a judgment about what I heard on a particular day. If your point is that I may have reached a different conclusion about particular aspects of each of these players had I the opportunity to listen to each for a couple of months and been able to try and switch out the associated components, well o.k., I wouldn't disagree with that.

Tom has done a good job defending his modified DV-50; I wanted to step up for the Modwright unit. I would encourage anyone interested in obtaining a new CD/SACD player to try and audition the Modwright, however you go about it.

- Eric
More to discover