ESOTERIC X-03 VS. AYRE C5XE

Phous, at least from what I can see from the review, the build quality of the Lexicon seems to be on a very high level. Besides, Lexicon is no small company, but belongs to Harmon, as do Mark Levinson and Revel. In all fairness to the Esoteric, it should be mentioned that there is a new, SE-version of the X.03 in preparation, I think this was mentioned over on sixmoons.com

Compared standard DV-50 S to C-5xe and UX-3 and RAM modded DV-50 S to standard C-5xe and UX-3. Conclusions:
C-5xe vs. standard DV-50 s: better resolution, liquidity, detail retrieval a bit more aire (Ayre); better focus, tighter bass, better macro dynamics + a tad more warmth (DV-50 S). C-5xe vs. UX-3: slightly more transparency and liquidity with C-5xe other parameters (imageing, bass, dynamics, etc.) UX-3 is better. Modded DV-50 S vs. C-5xe and UX-3: modded DV-50 S wins hands down (10 sec. of listening will prove that). Hope this helps. My configuration can be looked up in the virtual systems corner.
rgds.

Yes, there appear now to be SE versions of the UX-3 and X-03 available in the US. Please see:
http://www.teac.com/esoteric/X-03_SpecialEdition.html
As the X-03 and corresponding SE version are natively optimized for audio, they would be more appropriate to compare with modded universal players whose modifications have also been optimized for audio.

Frankpiet, I own a esoteric DV-50 S what mods do you reccomend and who does these mods? Thank ARF

I would consider Wadias new CDP'S , if like any thing old of past, they certainly will be awsome...