ESOTERIC X-03 VS. AYRE C5XE

The mods were performed by RAM. They offer a bunch of varieties. Mine has got the US $ 1.190,00 (budget upgrade). I once heard (not in my system) the fully loaded DV-50 S with their US $ 2.790,00 statement upgrade and it simply blew away the two contenders (stock) Wadia 861 SE and Esoteric UX-1. By the way: the modded DV-50 S replaced my Accuphase DP-67 and Audio Aero Capitole MK II - and I never looked back..

Frankpiet, as the TEAC UX-1 is an AV multichannel player, it was never optimized for 2 channel audio. It is well known that its 2 channel audio performance is not state of the art. It would make more sense to compare these modified devices with the X-01 or the X-01 Limited, which are 2 channel machines. have you ever performed such a comparison?

Guidocorona: it seems like we could open up a private chat ;) I mainly compared the DV-50 S to other multichannel machines as it is multichannel too. I did compare the modded DV-50 S to my previous Accuphase DP-67 (which I find is quite sterile and uninvolving - though great resolution) and to my previous Audio Aero Capitole MK II SE (which is musical very pleasing but lacks image stability, dynamics and base line). The modded DV-50 S has it all. Never looked back but my next step up will be an Esoteric UX-3 SE or UX-1 (of course I´ll add mods sooner or later) to solve some possible shortcomings.

I,too, own an Esoteric DV-50 with the "budget" mod by ram. The improvement is amazing, and for about $1,200 bucks, a DV-50 with this mod is very hard to beat.

For SACD playback, why no mention of the unique complete SACD module mods by Allen Wright's Vacuum StateElectronics?
These received rave reviews over a year ago in Audio Perfectionist Journal and Positive Feedback Online.They are for specific two channel only Sony models SCD-1 and its internal twin the SCD-777ES plus the lighter weight 9000ES that also has DVD video output. The final updates(level 5+) of these mods were reviewed recently in Positive Feedback and offer a value priced quality alternative for owners of these models. Uniquely these mods
allow instant comparison with the untouched stock module and its stock outputs! I own these units as well as the Esoteric DV 50s mentioned in this thread.