Esoteric P5/D5 Opinions please

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.

Hi Tboooe
I've just committed on the P5D5, almost knew once I took it back, if it sounded good, it was not going back to the shop. Well it sounded more than just good.

Digital system anciliaries:
P5 sits on top of the D5 which rests on Nordost Ti Pulsar points. Currently using Slinkylinks XLR cables as digital interconnects in DUAL mode, one each for L and R channels. Powercords are AudioMagic Powerdrive on the P5 and the Illusion(pure silver) on the D5. Interconnects are the AudioMagic Sorcerer 1m RCAs to the ModWright SWLP 9.0se preamp.

Esoteric settings:
I experimented with the upsampling, 2x/4x/DSD, set on the P5, then on the D5, the later providing the additional upsampling to DSD. The PLL was always set to the PLL2 as this sounded obviously better. While the 4x upsampling is very good, perfectly listenable for CD, it soon becomes clear that the D5 sounded best when upsampled to DSD, the 32bit processor providing more air and a more coherent soundstage.

After the last post, I tried out a wider range of music, including pop, rock, and orchestral music. THIS is the way digital should be done! One could have loads of fun switching between the various modes on the D5 from the comfort of the chair with the remote. Ultimately I decided to just stick with the DSD upsampling for the bulk of my listening, unless I wanted a bit more "punch", then I'd switch to FS4x.

Where the P5D5 excels are separation, air, and dynamics. Have you ever wondered why so many orchestral recordings sound congested, or lacking in dynamics? Well with the Esoterics, the orchestra is given its full measure, the instruments spread out well beyond my speaker/room boundaries, basses and typani hits have impact. Triangles have sparkle and air/reverb around them. Grand pianos sound like the real thing, listening to each, you are able to tell their different characteristics apart from each other. A Bluthner sounds different from a Steinway grand. BTW the Mari Kodama recordings of Beethoven sonatas on Pentatone SACD are simply sublime.

At the end of the day, their attention to detail is evident in the music reproduced. I suspect its the VRDS Neo mechanism which gives them the edge over the competition, and while digital technology will edge forward, their ridgid clamping system and the linear laser tracking system is simply superior.

Glad this got bumped back up. I just talked to an actual dealer regarding his impressions of the P-05/D-05 and he felt it was better than the X-01 D2 and, frankly, close enough to the P-03/D-03 that Esoteric might be stealing sales away from itself, particularly with the recent price hike on the P-03. Having said that, it's definitely in the mix for me as my next source based on my experience with the P-03/D-03.

Does anyone know if you can have TWO digital sources hooked up to the D5? I am thinking of this unit as well and looking to have my PC run into the DAC in combination with the P5. From the looks of it it seems to have only the dual inputs or the coax, but question is can you have both hooked up at the same time and toggle between them?