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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
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.
skreich OP
20 posts
 
Tboooe,

I don't think I got a direct message from you, at least not by this name. You can contact me at steven.k.reich@gmail.com.
tboooe's avatar
tboooe
1,009 posts
 
Steve, emailed you.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
" I have also heard some scattered stories about the Esoteric transports being noisy."

That's true. It depends on which one you get. I don't think any of their current models are noisy. My Wadia 850 had a noisy transport but my 861 and SE upgrade are both silent. Just to be clear, the noisy ones are only noisy when opening and closing, not during play.
fplanner2000
616 posts
 
The K-01 KILLS the K-03 - its not even close. Better everything, from power supplies to transport to DACs, to internal clock, etc. Some of their lower-priced transports are occasionally noisy, which usually is a stray ball bearing or mis-aligned tray. Easily silenced by their factory - customer support is very strong as well. I have a K-03 in my office and a P-02 at home and both are dead quiet. Ux-1 is sometimes a little noisy - it has been heavily modified.

Also, not sure if you realize that Esoteric transports spin at 4x the speed of CD's (and most other players) in an error-correction read-ahead buffer system. The superior build quality allows them to do that for their higher-end transports.

To me, the choice would not be Accuphase vs Esoteric, but rather which model of Esoteric to get. :-) Good Luck
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