What to choose?????

The X-05 is twice the cost of the other players the OP stated was is in price range.Slates,did you get a chance to bring anything home for an audition?Keep us posted.

I have the Cary and the bass on this cd player is beautiful.
It has great dynamics and decay. Next on the list is the
Esoteric.

I originally went back to the dealer with the intension of
taking home the Esoteric, he thought I should try the Audio Research CD3 mkII, well it had transport troubles so I couldn't audition it properly.I now have the Esoteric at home and after a full audition I can safely say that there isn't much of a difference the Cary has fantastic smooth bass and it seems a bit softer sounding as the Esoteric has a ton of resolution, and it sounds a bit harder, ever so slight. I could also say the bass on the Esoteric was very good and it was tighter than the Cary. Truthfully, with the right power cords you could get either one of them to sound like the other easily. So now it all comes down to price...

Thank You

If they sound the same and price discrepancy is not huge I would consider the reliability. Which one will give you the least trouble(or most joy)?

IMO, the difference in sound between the Cary and Esoteric likely has a great to do with their respective output impedances. The Esoteric is pretty low, which would explain the bass quality and resolution you describe. I don't know the output impedance of the Cary.

My experience with an Esoteric UX-3Pi has been that power cords have not had a dramatic effect.