The 3 kings: Esoteric K01,EMM XDS1,Meridian 808.3


For anyone looking for the a top mainstream player, these seem to be the primary choices by major manufacturers that I think will be around to service them for 10+ years. So I just wanted to establish this thread as a central point to compare them or post listening impressions, especially as time goes on and used ones appear at more affordable prices.
rgs92
Well, I wanted to restrict this to the larger established companies with a fairly long history, that is why I left out Playback Designs, and that's the only reason.
Rgs92
Meridian 803 sound is simply surpassed by the other 3 (Esoteric, Emm, dCS).
Don't you think that Wadia qualifies for this list?? If not, what do you think are the negatives of the Wadia sound? thanks.