esoteric products


Hi Goners!

With the recent purchase of controlling shares of TEAC, Gibson Int. has been on quite a tear solidifying both the instrument, pro and home audio areas of they're growth!

With a consolidation of Onkyo, among others, they have been quoted as saying that Esoteric accounted for only 1.9% of the audio division of TEAC!!

As to the future of Esoteric they again stated that the brand "will have to mature and evolve on it's own"...

With the core group of USA market and matinence people accepting other jobs outside of the TEAC group then, even if Teac still pledges to support the upgrading and repair of the units how long can it be before Esoteric does a nose dive?!!

Is this the reason EVERYONE is dumping they're Esoteric gear? Looks like a dead end for the GRANDIOSE line...

Your thoughts,

Azjake
128x128azjake
The k01x has be for everyone palate.

It just a player that does everything very well. It has dynamics and solidity in tone and very detailed.

Their are many players/dacs which may be sweeter, may have a more romatic female vocals which cost much less.

Over the years of owning many others player, imho, esoterics does have the sonic foundation pretty spot on and one should tailor ones sonic preferences with cables and associated equipment to win my vote overall.

I actually did not care for the old esoteric series at all, was it too neutral, on the extreme cold side? But not so for the new k series, its an easy match with a wide range of equipment and sound fantastic!
Fully agree. The K series sound fabulous and is built like a tank to last a lifetime. The only problem is that the dac section would need regular hardware upgrades and this cannot be done by the manufacturer a la Ayre products. Also, the transport mechanism will fail one day and I am keeping my fingers crossed that it would last at least 10 years. If it does, as a transport, it is a keeper for both redbook and sacd. When the dac upgrade bug smites, I would probably go with the Bricasti M1.
Axes anyone?It's beyond me why anyone (besides a tacky competitor)
would cast aspersions on the corporation or the generally fine products? I doubt they would appreciate a fine car either. I'm sure some would prefer the sound of Oppo, it's what they're used to. :-) To each his own. Red wine Sangria please, with brandy thanks.
I think a valid point has been raised in this thread, which is, the resale value of Esoteric products has plummeted dramatically in a short space of time. This is a fact, not mere casting of aspersions.
Current owners of Esoteric gear would be understandably anxious. Be that as it may, whatever the reason could be, it does not bode well for potential owners of new Esoteric products. Current owners like myself, who will have to upgrade one day, have no axe to grind. I have at any rate, resigned myself to an upgrade path as laid out above.
It may also be better to wait until the MQA dust settles. Turnover time for digital products burn so fast and furious with each passing day that to commit anything north of 20k may not be a prudent investment for digital nowadays.
This hobby for most of us is all about value for money. I doubt any of us who post here regularly are cost-no-object hobbyists. That we compare different components in different price bands indicates that we are essentially looking for value.
"03-16-15: Ptss
Axes anyone?It's beyond me why anyone (besides a tacky competitor) would cast aspersions on the corporation or the generally fine products?"

I think you may be missing something here. No one's bashing Oppo. This is a statement from one of the other posts.

"Today's top of the line Oppo decks beat anything in the esoteric line.
Buconero117 (Threads | Answers | This Thread)""

And my answer to that was this.

"I find it highly unlikely you took an Oppo and put it next any Esoteric player, let alone the entire line. So, the only reasonable answer would be that you're guessing. (Reading magazine reviews and looking at spec sheets don't account for listening experience.)
Zd542 (Threads | Answers | This Thread)"

The only way that comment would be valid is if the poster tried all of those components, and rated them accordingly. It has nothing to do with Oppo. If the same thing was said about a different brand, I would have made the same comment. I have nothing against Oppo. They make great equipment and have an excellent reputation. I might even buy the new headphone amp/dac they just came out with.