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Esoteric X-01 Limited or new D-03/P-03

I’m torn between a new X-01 Limited or the new D-03/P-03 combo. If I went with the D-03/P-03 combo, I would start off with the D-03 and add the P-03 later on. The X-01 uses the tried and true Burr Brown 1704 Dacs and converts DSD to 88.2 kHz PCM. The D-03 on the other hand uses Analog Devices AD1955 Dacs and can do the following: DSD>DSD, PCM>DSD, and PCM>PCM (upsampled) and not sure about DSD>PCM. The P-03 utilizes the latest VRDS-Neo transport although there are probably not many differences to the one used in the X-01 Limited.

Even though the X-01 was just updated to “Limited” status, it is still an older based product, whereas the D-03/P-03 was just released to the U.S. market at CES 2006 where it received some very positive press.

Any thoughts, comments, or more information are welcome.
Thank you.
cdw57
mgottlieb
334 posts
 
Does anyone know if Esoteric is doing an upgrade for X-01s to Limiteds?
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
mgottlieb, the answer is yes, in the next several weeks Teac America will start accepting upgrade orders from current X-01 customers. I heard somewhere that the upgrade is quite complex and may involve perhaps 100 parts.
CDW, I can only echo some of the comments already made. . . let your own ears do the walking. Don't worry too much about the technical alphabet soup inside X-01 and P03/D03, but trust your own eventual opinion of the sound of these critters.
fcrowder
191 posts
 
They have not as yet started any upgrades, but are in the process of trying to identify what their cost for doing the update will be and how they will accomplish this work. They have a good handle on the parts cost but not on the amount or difficulty of the labor involved. It is likely that a significant amount of labor will be involved.
babybear's avatar
babybear
106 posts
 
Yes, Esoteric is working on doing an upgrade for X-01's to X-01 LE's. I spoke to them thru my dealer about having mine upgraded. They do have some of the upgrade kits in stock, but are not yet ready to do an upgrade as they are awaiting training from Esoteric in Japan to insure they can do the upgrade properly. There wasn't any timeframe in place yet.
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
And here is the URL for the Soundstage review of the X-01 Limited:
http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/esoteric_x01_limited_followup.htm
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