New Esoteric P02 D02

Thanks...I have Cedric M.'s contact info and can share that in return; he is now the one and only Tech Support guy for Onkyo/Integra that tends to Esoteric. He's a great guy but I sense he is overloaded. Ping me on in-mail and I'll send you his email address and gladly take Scott's in return. I'd love to hit the lottery and go with the P1/D1 however I remember Gurvey telling me prior to the P02/D02 being released that something 'special' was coming and like the 03 generation at the time, that unless you can justify the extra expense for the 01s fully decked out to get that last .001%, that the step down would NOT disappoint in the least, particularly for SACD (he was right then, and I think he's right even after his departure on this point). He was actually the one who recommended checking out the G-03X to fill the gap after I sold off my G-0s clock; he told me that to his ears, the upgraded OCXO clock brought the right level of precision while still preserving musicality, etc....I love it when some of these manufacturers get candid and 'open the kimono' a bit to their own thoughts on the stretch-expense factor. Reminds me of a key conversion with Tom Maker from Edge; I was at a point where I could have gone with the NL Signature Monos (more pricey than what i have) but Tom told me he felt, his best and most current work was in the NL 12.1s and unless I was fixated on monos, that I should save some money and go with the NL 12.1s. When something like that happens, that persons gains a huge amount of respect in my book. Anyone willing to leave a good amount of $$$ on the table (particularly when the purchase is direct) by sharing an opinion like this is usually, if not 100% of the time, giving the best advice you can get....

On the AERIS, I spent a year tearing my brain apart over making the change from the purest analog chain (with digital source) I could put together at the time and the moving to a config that would insert an A-to-D-to-A processor into the circuit as well as demanding overall 3 more power cords and another set of interconnects. I did a lot of listening and commenting for AERIS prior to getting them on quite a few occasions, all at Legacy with Bill while he was going through the various post-intro changes that resulted in the final and current shipping config (ultimately many changes in the bass/sub-bass section were introduced, the passive radiator, upgrade in amount of amplification in each tower, etc...). I finally got past the whole "bringing new complexity to the rig" issue and am so glad that I did. I loved the FocusSE's, they punch far above their weight-class as the boxing term goes but what the AERIS bring in terms of increased presence and many other things with that open-air top-end is something special to say the least. No looking back now, the bar has definitely been raised. All this said knowing that I have not even tweaked the speaker with the XILICA proc; it's still using the "AERIS_Normal" curves that Bill ships with the speaker. I have a mic-kit, mic-preamp, etc...all ready to go. Next step now that the 02s are in, is the mic the system and work with Bill/team to get custom curves for my room and setup. FUN!!!

Footnote: The Kimber Y-cables that come with the AERIS are of extremely good quality; the Y cable is necessary to split the 2-channels into 2x2 so that there is a duplicate of both the L and R input analog signal. I did see a SUBSTANTIAL up-tick in performance, musicality, etc...by going with a custom-built Y-cable (thanks to David Elrod) to match my existing interconnects; it's something I would suggest to anyone who owns AERIS to match your interconnects.

As as aside, Bill told me he uses 4 instead of 2 inputs on the XILICA to allow him the greatest degrees of freedom for designing the curves on the AERIS (time, frequency-related, changes, etc...can be made separately on L and R input copies independent of each other, the XILICA then puts the next effect together for L and R and sends it out to the speakers. I heard it both ways (2 inputs versus 4 to the proc) and what is possible with duplicated inputs and separate tweaking on each is impressive....

Hi Tom, what is Scott Sefton's function/position at Integra?

He was given the responsibilities of Tim Crable, as he retired. He told me that corporate was grooming his official fit in the there new program, but to contact him with anything I needed. I had an issue with my G-01 clock, it would not lock. The music would play, but the clock wouldn't stabilize. So after a lot of back and forth, and a call to the East Coast director of operations for Integra, they sent me a brand new clock, which was the right thing to do. After inserting the clock into the system I couldn't critically listen without it. Scott was a big part of the transaction.

Hi Tom, This is good to know... does this mean that Scott is Esoteric Sales/Marketing/Operations manager for Esoteric at Integra?