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
AVGURU and all,, my apologies for my last post. It was clearly untimely and unnecessary. I had just missed Charles's much broader, comprehensive, and equanimously worded point of order. I will herewith make a valiant attempt to refrain from starting or intervening on any such metadiscussions any further.
Avguru, One suggestion. Rick Kern does a $300 mod on DV-50's which affects mostly the multichannel board and the power supply. You might want to have him do this given your enjoyment of multichannel sound. I posted this info on two posts early on on this thread but the posts have mysteriously been removed. I have a Rick Kern modded player which I am quite happy with; unfortunately, I never heard it prior to the mods, so if you go this route let us know the difference in sound (same goes for anyone else who has had this mod). It might be a kind of kiss-and-make up for the dirty laundry trashing that has been going on lately in what has otherwise been a wonderfully exciting (awaiting shoutout results) and informative.

On another note, I am curious about the extent to which an interconnect or other tweaks can make up for the sins of the cdp. I mention this because of the enourmous difference in sound the DV-50 is capable of given the right interconnect and tweak. I finally ended up with a HMS Gran Finale II interconnect (with PCs as well) with bybee slipstream filters added to both ends and a Z-Squared Ultra sleeve. The difference between that and my former Cardas Golden Reference RCA interconnects was nothing short of breathtaking (bigger soundstage, significantly better blackness, elimination of all listening fatigue, extension of sound an octave in both directions, clear and pinpoint separation of instruments, etc). I had an entirely new system in effect. I realize that this is all very system dependent but it made me aware of the potential of DV-50 with the appropriate tweaks. Perhaps some cdps do all of this internally and don't require the external tweaks. If that is the case, then one could meaningfully talk about the "potential" sound of a player given some additional tweaking (there are other DV-50 tweak others have commented on in various threads). Hope this makes sense and I hope this thread keeps going since I enjoy reading it every day.
Avguru,

Would you mind posting when your next shoot out is, what's up for audition, and what you've discovered thus far? Also, it would be helpful for the others who were present to post their impressions as well. I thought I saw one such summary early on in the thread. Perhaps another one now would get the momentum of this conversation moving again in its intended direction.
Enjoy the listening!
Howard
Avguru,
I'll have a look for some comments on AG about the SA-11. I came close to buying one just about the time I found this thread which steered me in another direction. Also, and I'd like your comments if you have any, it was about the time I heard the Marantz 9500 up against the Unidisc 2.1. The 2.1 blew it away, but at more than double the price. So, at that point I was wrestling with the idea of doubling my budget for a player unless I could get closer to the Linn sound at less money. I thought the SA-11 might be the ticket to that. I'll be curious to know how your current audition involving the SA-14V2 goes. Do you have any experience with the Linn 2.1 or 1.1? ...and please, if you get a chance to to a shoot out that involves the Modwright and the X01 I'd love to know the result!

Peter
Jayctoy
It's largely from your comments that I ordered the Modwright 999. What a great machine! What do you find warm up time to be like with your 9000? Now that my 999 has been playing discs almost non stop for a little over a week, it is ounding truely marvelous.
One problem in my system is that my ARC preamp takes a long time to warm up and settle down. I keep it on all the time, but a few days ago, we had a power outage that lasted about three hours. It took three days or so for the preamp to get back to sounding holographic with the CDP. I'm wondering how much of that was due to the CDP. It tempts me to look at solid state preamps, but it will take a very special one to get me to leave tubes.
As for Dan, I think he appreciates the mentions he's gotten on this thread. I personally feel he could charge double or more for the current Sony mod and it would be worth the money. BTW, did you get the upgraded power cord to connect the outboard power supply with the transport? It's a nice piece of work, but I never had the earlier one so I can't really compare. I'm currently using an Audience cable on the transport, but I have a piece of Cardas Gold Reference I want to play with to see what happens.

Peter