Ckoffend -
I am new at this so I am not as articulate as many.
What I noticed with the SA-10 was what I would describe as greater extension and more air in the highs. Cymbals seemed to trail off longer for instance. My best description would be to say that compared to dvd-player to dac1, the SA-10 was like someone had taken their foot off of that second pedal on a piano (the one that muffles everything) or that a guitar player had taken his pick hand off of the strings. It was quickly and unmistakably noticeable and likable. Not one of those things that one is pretty sure they hear after a long listen. I ran generic balanced interconnects from the dac1 and the esoteric into the MA6900, qued up the same song on two burned disks and flipped from one to the other. I am sure that my methods were not scientific, but it seemed clear enough.
By contrast, when I did the same thing with the Resolution Audio player, I could not tell the RA and the DAC1 apart. Not at all.
At the moment, I have a Cambridge 840c on order. What the heck. If it isnt the best choice I can return it. I will also buy a used AYRE C7xe to try. It doesnt have my digital input but it can also be had used for a lot less than the Esoteric or the Resolution Audio. And it looks like 4 or 5 of them sold on this site in the past week so I dont feel like I would be sticking my neck out that far if I didnt like the player.
I had contemplated going to visit the nearest Ayre dealer, but he is 75 mi away and I would have to bring my speakers and the Cambridge player to compare and at the end of the day I wouldnt spend the money on a new one anyway so it all seemed a bit dishonest.
We will have to see. The Cambridge gets here next week. I figure I will give it another week to run in a bit and by then there should have been some more of the Ayre players listed for sale.
If the Esoteric turns out to be the best choice for CDs, I will most likely go find one. It just seems like a big decision to me and I want to hear a few others before I settle.
I am new at this so I am not as articulate as many.
What I noticed with the SA-10 was what I would describe as greater extension and more air in the highs. Cymbals seemed to trail off longer for instance. My best description would be to say that compared to dvd-player to dac1, the SA-10 was like someone had taken their foot off of that second pedal on a piano (the one that muffles everything) or that a guitar player had taken his pick hand off of the strings. It was quickly and unmistakably noticeable and likable. Not one of those things that one is pretty sure they hear after a long listen. I ran generic balanced interconnects from the dac1 and the esoteric into the MA6900, qued up the same song on two burned disks and flipped from one to the other. I am sure that my methods were not scientific, but it seemed clear enough.
By contrast, when I did the same thing with the Resolution Audio player, I could not tell the RA and the DAC1 apart. Not at all.
At the moment, I have a Cambridge 840c on order. What the heck. If it isnt the best choice I can return it. I will also buy a used AYRE C7xe to try. It doesnt have my digital input but it can also be had used for a lot less than the Esoteric or the Resolution Audio. And it looks like 4 or 5 of them sold on this site in the past week so I dont feel like I would be sticking my neck out that far if I didnt like the player.
I had contemplated going to visit the nearest Ayre dealer, but he is 75 mi away and I would have to bring my speakers and the Cambridge player to compare and at the end of the day I wouldnt spend the money on a new one anyway so it all seemed a bit dishonest.
We will have to see. The Cambridge gets here next week. I figure I will give it another week to run in a bit and by then there should have been some more of the Ayre players listed for sale.
If the Esoteric turns out to be the best choice for CDs, I will most likely go find one. It just seems like a big decision to me and I want to hear a few others before I settle.