Esoteric P5/D5 Opinions please

Yada, here is the link:
http://www.asahi-kasei.co.jp/akm/en/product/ak4397/ak4397.html

Cmk, the reason why I think the x03se and xo1ltd is the sweet spot comes down to price vs performance. You will be paying a lot to get only a bit more performance (to my ears anyway). Dont get me wrong, the d2 is a great player and if you can afford it, go for it. But if you want to consider value and are willing to give up 5%, then I would get the X03se or X01ltd. Just my two cents.

Tbooe
What do you get more as you move up from the X03se to the X01Ltd?

Do the separates make a bigger deal than a single box unit? Separate power supplies, less noise, etc...

cmk, going up the one box players I heard better separation of instruments, more detail, and tighter bass. Of course the improvements are subtle. I am not sure if separates has that much advantage over a well designed one box player. Remember, now you have another set of cables to worry about. If I did not need digital inputs, I would have stuck with a one box player and get a great clock.

Tboooe, thanks.

My initial impression of the P5D5 is:
Its an extraordinary combo. Powercords/digital cables and interconnects all play a part on the sound, as does footers. There is a kind of darkness/silence between the instruments, separation is on a different level from other CDP/DAC combos.

This combination is the best digital front end I've heard, there's nothing to add, nothing to subtract. It does not emphasize detail, highs/mids/bass, things appear separate and distinct, allow you to follow each sound. It does give very good decay, in this area alone, it stands out from others. When you play piano music, you would like to hear the varying tones from the initial strike of the hammer, to the harmonics, and this TPT/DAC combo does this so well. Folks pay big bucks for good pianos, and this does reproduce piano correctly.

Will be doing some further listening to get a better feel of its capabilities over the next couple of days.

It would interesting if you could compare the P5 with the P3 using the same D5 dac.

I agree that cables make a difference. I am in the process of changing out power cords. I have found some that helps to improve the sounstage, dynamics, and detail.

Good luck. I look forward to reading more of your thoughts.