APL Esoteric X-01


Anyone had their Esoteric X-01 redesigned by Alex at APL. Design 1 or design 2.5?
If so what are your impressions?
Thanks, Greg
gandme
Tboooe,
From what I've heard from the guys at Pass, the 600.5 will speed up those 802Ds, higher gain, more control, not as musical. The 800d and the 802s love big amps.
I just put 4 items on sale to start my angling on a pair of Eggleston Works Andra IIs.
I also like the Audio Physic Avanti 3. The Wilson W/P 7, 8s or Maxxs are great but have no W.A.F. In fact... I do not care for the Wilson Look. It is hard to love a speaker you don't like to look at!
Greg
Well Greg...its a done deal. The 802d sold (in less than 1 day wow!). Right now I am seriously looking at the Usher be-10. I think their berillium mid and tweeter and fast bass response should be a good match with the XA160. I think I have read somewhere that the Ushers compare favorably to the Wilson but without the price (though they still cost $15K) and weird looks. I think the reviewer on Stereophile also recommends the XA160 with Wilsons. So there you have it. I was also considering the Avalon Ceramique but I have heard that the sound is a bit laid back which may not be a god combo with the XA. I think I am going to give the Ushers a try. Worse case I sell them and keep going with my audiophile insanity!!!!!

When do you think you are going to get the Andras?
Tboooe,
Way to go on your sale! I have not heard the Ushers.... heard good things about them.
When Stereophile did their review of the XA-160 they used the Wilson W/P 7s and the Audio Physic Avanti IIIs. Both were recommended matchups.
I ordered my Andras today... so probably 3 to 4 weeks till I see them in my room!
My fedex arrival date for my X-01 is 10/24(back to digital) I have a pair of Kimber Balanced interconnects coming for the Esoteric. My system will be all balanced after this....what ever that is worth..
Greg
I don't have the money for the cd players talked about here, but I definitely would listen to APL's version. I'm the "When is digital going to get the soul of music" person. I really had no hope for digital, as I thought the medium was inherently flawed. One's and zero's describing music? My best music comes from Alex's Denon 3910(my version). It took out my $10,000 analog(circa 1992). I did not believe this was possible. I also want to mention that Alex seems to listen to what you say, and backs it up. Also, I believe there is a discussion about Alex's version of your player on the APL Hi-Fi site.
"When is digital going to get the soul of music?" I just reached to this point last week when APL NWO-2.5, modified from UX-1,arrived. It has now superseded my high-end Vinyl source for enjoying natural music with much more dynamic and extension on both treble and bass. It proves that musical information planted in the CD's, not necessarily SACD, has been as good as, if not better than, that in the Vinyl records.