Esoteric P5/D5 Opinions please

I'm not disputing value for money but if you're really concerned about that, then a GNSC Statement Wadia 861se is the way to go; it'll outperform the Esoteric one boxes (and hang with the P-03/D-03) and can be had used for the price of a X-03se.

its hard to believe a cdp that costs as much as the X-03se can be considered "value conscious". In my opinion it is a very good player and can easily be the pinnacle of digital playback for most people. In fact, a cheap $50 cdp from Best Buy can be SOTA and completely adequate for most people!

>>its hard to believe a cdp that costs as much as the X-03se can be considered "value conscious".<<

Actually it's not hard to believe given the context of the other products mentioned here to include the P-05/D-05, X-01D2, P-03/D-03, X-01LE.

In that regard, the X-03SE should appeal to the value conscious buyer.

I hope that helps.

audiofiel

would it be safe to say that in ranking, the best would be:

p3/d3
x01 d2
x01 le
x-03 se

Does x-03 se capture around 80% performance of the p3/d3 ?

Does x-03 se capture around 80% performance of the p3/d3?

Not even in anyone's wildest dreams. I would say it's maybe 50-60%.