Esoteric DV-50: Any cdp's Significantly better?


Is there are anyone out there who has compared the Esoteric DV-50 to a number of dedicated red book only players (or other universal's) and found one that is SIGNIFICANTLY better?

I stress significantly because in my humble opinion the redbook playback (if comparison unit is just a cd cd player only )must be significantly better to justify losing DVD-A, SACD and DVD-Video capability.

I keep hearing there are better one box solutions and being a die hard 2 channel fan I would sell my DV-50 if I found a player in the same price range that sounds significantly better. But every time I do an AB comparision to other well respected units the DV-50 has slayed each and every one.

So far, it has eaten the lunch of the Classe CDP-10, Ayre CX-7, Linn Ikemi, Cairn Fog Vers. 2, Cary 306/300, Arcam DV 27A and CD 33T, Myryad CD 600, etc. It even betters a Sony SCD 777ES/MF Tri-Vista 21 transport/dac combo that I previously owned. I'm only comparing the DV-50 to single box cd or universal players, but I just wanted to mention the Sony/MF combo. I'm sure there are some dac/transport combo's that will handily beat the DV 50.

Some may say that the DV 50 should beat all the above because the of price point ($5,500 vs. average price of $3,000 for the above players). But I disagree since conventional wisdom says that stand alone players (especially with the pedigree of those mentioned above) should produce better redbook than a universal player trying to be a jack of all trades. Only the DV 27A does video plus audio. By the way, I was very impressed with the 27A as just a cd player. Of all the above I would say the Ayre was the best.

Next on my list is the Electrocompaniet EMC 1UP and the Resolution Audio Opus 21. However, I must tell you I am really impressed with the DV 50 and all the great reviews are absolutely true. I've noticed that many people who are using it or comparing to other players are using the RCA analog outs instead of the balanced outs. There is a significant improvement in sound if you use the balanced outs and I'm only interested in hearing comments from people who have compared it against other players using the balanced outs on the DV-50.

My system components are as follows:

B&W N803's speakers & HTM-1 center
Cary Cinema 5 (5 x 200) amp
Anthem D1 Statement pre/pro
Esoteric DV 50
Acoustic Zen Satori Shotgun speaker wire
Nirvana SX balanced interconnects from DV-50 to Anthem
Acoustic Zen Matrix reference II interconnects from D1 to Cary
No after market power cords or isolation equipment

My system sounds great! Those who comment please make sure to specify what specific improvements you heard over the DV 50 and what cdp were you comparing it against.

AVGURU
avguru
My Modwright Sony 999 Review:
Hi All,
I've had the better part of a week now to get my Modwright player warm and toasty as well as somewhat broken-in. I've been playing many discs each day and leaving it on all night in repeat mode to try to get some hours on it. It's changed quite a bit since I first got it. There are a few areas where it is clearly superior to my Linn table and Clearaudio cartridge combo. It's not a direct comparison though. They are very different without one necessarily being better than the other. However, the Modwright is better in several important ways. The soundstage remains huge. It is larger than that with vinyl without smearing the sound elements at all. This is Redbook I'm mainly talking about. SACD ranges from simply more of the same to jaw-dropping magic, depending on the recording.
On the ModWright an ensamble such as the one playing behind Diana Krall on her Girl in the Next Room hybrid SACD is clearly placed next to and behind her in a very definite arrangement. This effect solidified during the break-in process. While the stage is huge, transporting me in my smallish listening room to her venue on the recording, the various human and instrumental voices can be reliably pointed to in space. Moreover, the interactions of voices really strike me as themselves representing distinct purposeful sounds while still allowing me to hear the individual notes within the blend. When Diana sings, or Linda Eder or Michael Feinstein for that matter, I hear the whole voice from my position which seems to be about two rows back. The main voice quality, along with nasal and chest tones, along with pacing and breathing give me the sense of having the artist delivering directly to me what he wants to express. All this time, the other instruments on stage retain their solidity andcontribution to the overall picture.
I've only been once through, at this point, Volume II of Oscar Peterson's remixed SACD series. It is utterly rivotting. You find yourself in a live venue where the trio plays. The plucks of the string bass simply exist in your space off to one side while you clearly and indidivudally hear the hammers in Oscar's piano striking their wires. When the wires are struck, it sets up marvelous resonance in the wood of the piano body which itself drives the next note. On this SACD, the spacial depth is unlike anything I've heard on a home system.You can hear Oscar humming to himself behind the keyboard, you can hear his stool squeak as he turns to make visual contact with his band mates You can hear his nails striking the keys and you can hear snippets of conversation in and around the crowd.
Every disk I"ve played as revealed orders of magnitude more information compared with the best I've ever heard before. The tonal balance is also stunning. I can't imagine wanting to listen to digital sources without tubes in the analog stage ever again. The upper midrange sparkles, but isn't bright. harmonies and overtones go on and on. Bass is extended and articulate. This player does everything right.
The bottom line is that all the effects I've mentioned above come seamlessly together to provide a totally involving and emotional experience.
On the down side, I'm having my suspected weaknesses in the rest of the audio chain made really clear to me. Fortunately, this is a front end I can really work with. I'm going to be needing more moxy in the power amp before too long.
If I get into the position of being part of a shoot out here in the DC area, I"d love to hear some of the other big contenders. For now, at 20% of the price of the Esoteric X01, I'm really hard pressed to worry that the X01 will be a whole lot better. STill if I get the chance I'll be there to hear it. I apologize if I seem a bit too enthusiastic, but this is the most excited I've been about a piece of audio gear in a long long time.
Peter
Hi All,

Thank you all for your replies, you have made me feel at home. I hope I can provide some further thought provoking ideas in the future.
TBG,

I agree about your impatience, I also have the same feeling. But do you know that my initial suggestions above are so simple they take minutes to implement, and you could be revelling in the improvemnents within minutes in some cases. The guys that do the mods are very clever but do not have all the ultimate answers or even the simplest. As a General Medical Practitioner in the UK, I can see a patient regulalrly as well as by my colleagues and not notice that they are insidiously developing Hypothyroidism, until it is pointed out by a person who sees them for the first time. You can be an expect, but it does not mean you are tuned in mentally tothe simplest of things, when your mind and training have led you forward into much more complex realms.

What I have tried to imply is that you guys with the Esoteric DV50, who feel they have the detail but not the 'musicality' or tonality' of some of the mods, are already most of the way to wards the ideal. I believe that once you have extracted the maximum amount of information it is a matter of finely tuning the information into the coherent whole. Just read the very cheap and simple tweaks I have mentioned above.

The simplest is adding in the Tube buffer the musical fidelity x10D. For a $100 you have added a tube in the circuit. The tube in the professional mods simply make the digital signal mor linear. Ok with my method the tube is used after the output stage, and this will be a compromise, but for a small outlay you could mimic the circuits used by the professionals and not wait for months!

I am not saying this will beat what the mod experts are doing, and I do appreciate their work, but you can at least have fun, without destroying your equipment which can give you quick answers. None of the modders have as yet put an output stage in the DV50 you could do a similar feat with the add on box and find out of what value a valve will be in the circuit. I bet it will significantly improve the sound in a silmilar manner to the prior valve/ digital mods.

doc Luke