Universal Players vs. Dedicated CD/SACD Players

Hello Jafant
If you go with the Esoteric players you will want to get into one of the"X" versions. They are a step up from the older ones. K-O1x or like in the product line. The Absolute Sound just gave the K-O3x high marks.

Agree the new X series looks sweet, but the K-05 that are listed now are at very reasonable price. It may be worth the time compare them, it's a shame that Esoteric does not allow an upgrade path for existing owners. 

Quote:

"....
12-17-2015 12:02pm
In my experience, dedicated CD players have better redbook performance than similarly, or even somewhat more expensive multi-format players..."

"....initforthemusic
17 posts
01-29-2016 8:05am
No contest. A quality dedicated CD player will annihilate the Oppo/Cambridge universal players on redbook playback...."

+1


I have the ARCAM FMJ Blu-Ray player for multichannel (movies and audio)
I have the REGA ISIS Valce cdp for 2-channel.

Verdict: As good as the ARCAM is, the performance superiority of the REGA for 2-channel red book cd audio is  not even close: the differences  are not subtle.