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Accuphase or Esoteric?

I am getting ready to pull the trigger on a new CD player. I've had an Accuphase DP-78 that sounds wonderful, but has developed some mechanical issues, so I think it's time for a new player. I've been offered a great deal on a new Accuphase DP-600, but also very good deals on an Esoteric K-03 or K-01. The only one of any of these I've heard is the K-03. I have a friend who has one, and we auditioned his against my Accuphase side by side, and found them roughly equal in sound quality, although they were different and we preferred one or the other, depending on what was playing. I'm interested in whether anyone has heard the Esoteric against the Accuphase, and also how much better the K-01 really is. The Absolute Sound review was pretty unequivocal, but I never know what reviewers are thinking, and there is a big price difference. Any advice would be very much appreciated.
skreich
pbnaudio's avatar
pbnaudio
1,613 posts
 
Why a CD Player ? Why not a iMac with a external drive for ripping your cd's then a USB DAC. Recently changed from playing CD's to this solution not looking back at all.

Best of luck

Peter
ramy
141 posts
 
I have the accuphase 800/801 combo and the Esoteric K-01.The esoteric I have installed less than a month ago,it is fantastic far Superior to the Accuphase K-01.The esoteric has many options for playback and takes a while to break in.I strongly recommend the Esoteric,the sacd sound fantastic on it.I also feed the digital output of the meridian Sooloos to the Esoteric great,also the analogue output of the Meridian 861v6 into the esoteric with the Sooloos downloads as the music source,major improvement.
denon1
343 posts
 
Never heard Accuphase, but esoteric k-01 is great player. Besides having great red book and SACD playback, its a great DAC and very good pre-amplifier. It is about 15% better than K-03 in sound. But one need great speakers and amplifier to really hear its potential. If you buy it, have patience to brake every option for at least 300-400 hours before jumping to any conclusions.
skreich OP
20 posts
 
The rest of my system is pretty good including the cabling. As I've been using an Accuphase player for the last 4 years, and love its organic, slightly warm sound, I'm just a little uneasy about ending up with a player more on the analytic/sterile side. I have also heard some scattered stories about the Esoteric transports being noisy.
tboooe's avatar
tboooe
1,009 posts
 
I've had the X-03 and P-03 and never had issues with noise. I would also not characterize the Esoteric sound as analytical at all. Clear, clean, with just a hint of warmth.

BTW, Skreich I sent you a direct message. Not sure if you got.
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