SACD/CD Drive Mechanism Replacement


Greetings!

I apologize in advance if this is a stupid question…

I’m  considering purchasing a used SACD/CD player.  I’m concerned that at some point the drive will give out. 
 

If I bought a replacement drive for it right away and just stored it; can anyone install it when the time comes, or must the original manufacturer do it?

 

I appreciate your help!

Best wishes,

Don

no_regrets

@jafant  My original thoughts were to buy a very nice SACD/CD one box player.  I was considering something along the lines of the EMM Labs XDS1 v2 or XDS1v3 or a Playback Designs model.  Both of which, if I recall correctly utilize Esoteric's VSOP drive mechanism.  If I am not mistaken, Esoteric will no longer sell these drives to other manufacturers or to consumers.  They will only use them in Esoteric gear.

I'm still trying to decide what will be the best route for me to follow.  Analog is my first love for the recorded medium and I will not be giving that up.  I have a lot of money invested in the analog set up and vinyl records; and to my ears it sounds amazing.  I am investigating the digital side of things as I am aware it has come a long ways over the years and I am discovering that there is a lot of great music that I am missing out on that is not available on vinyl.

Best wishes,

Don

 

no_regrets

You cannot go wrong with Esoteric, EMM Labs nor Playback Design for CD/SACD needs. 

 

Happy Listening!

Don,

You can use a phone to control your streamer if you don’t have an IPad. But, wow… not owning an iPad I can’t fathom that, we have about seven and most get hours of use a day. But that is a different story. Start with using your phone.

 

Getting a high end DAC as a starting place. Great idea. You can use your old transport, and for that matter you can use your MacBook as a streamer. With a really good DAC that will sound very good. It’s not going to compete with your analog rig, but it should sound very good. Lots of discussion here about using PCs because they can sound good and folks start claiming (without experiencing) you don’t need a streamer… after all there is a PC processor in it… until they experience one (or one in a good system), then jaw drop and they switch sides. I was reluctant at first (although not vocal) until I bought my first one… and that was the end of me ever using a PC.

 

On DACs… like analog… there are some detail scraping ones that will get you incredible detail an unnatural sound. You want a high end audio DAC that is natural and musical… if it is a high end one that is well reviewed as musical, it will have the detail. I really love my Audio Research Reference 9, very musical and natural. Used I am sure you can find at $5K

@OP Sorry to be pedantic, but the Esoteric mechanism you are referring to is the VRDS not VSOP - which is a cognac designation.

Around the time (or slightly before) when  Esoteric replaced the VRDS with the Atlas, they stopped supplying transports on an OEM basis.

I was looking at your system and you might be surprised at how an Esoteric K03-XD SE sounds compared to your Naim CD player and Linn LP12.

I could suggest what the differences might be but you should listen for yourself.

@yoyoyaya  I appreciate your post!  I very well could be wrong about which transport it uses.  I was solely going off of what I had read in the various reviews of the EMM Labs XDS1 SACD/CD player where I had read it uses Esoteric’s VOSP vertically-aligned optical stability platform.  As it is mentioned in 6moons Audio  https://6moons.com/audioreviews/emm/1.html ; in the Enjoy the Music review https://www.enjoythemusic.com/superioraudio/equipment/0410/emm_labs_xds1.htm; on the Audio Aficionado forum https://www.audioaficionado.org/showthread.php?t=42683 ; as well as on other forums.  Someone could have gotten it all wrong and all the others may just be parroting that mis-information for all I know.  I'll also freely admit that I am very ignorant when it comes to all things digital.

I have read amazing things about the Esoteric K03-XD SE!  If I remember correctly, there are people who actually prefer the sound of that player over that of Esoteric's more costly models... which is very high praise indeed wink.

As I had mentioned earlier, I am in the very beginning stages of trying to decide which route to go down and I am keeping a very open mind with all of this... so I truly appreciate yours and everyone's advice and willingness to share your thoughts,  experiences and guidance with me.

I would love to be able to hear the EMM XDS1 v2 or the Esoteric K03-XD SE in my system!  However, seeing as I would be buying used, I don't know how I could manage to do that without buying both and then selling off one or the other.  Sadly, I don't know that I would be able to do that.

Have you been able to compare the K03-XD SE with other players side by side in your system?  If yes, I'd love to hear your thoughts about the comparisons that you have been able to experience.

Best wishes,

Don