ESOTERIC, WADIA -- How do they really sound?

Since it has been years since I had a Wadia product, I cannot really say anything comparing the Esoteric and Wadia products. I do have an Esoteric X-01, however. I have always thought that the top Teac transports are the best perhaps with the exception of the JVC unit in the Reimyo. I have had a series of these transports including in an early Wadia.

I have found nothing approaching the Esoteric X-01 for sacds, which is a surprise for me as it uses PCM rather than DSD for decodig. For redbook, however, while the X-01 is quite good with driving dynamics and a great sound stage, ultimately using it as a transport only into my Exemplar Extant is more musically satisfying.

I don't think the fact that reviewers are divided means much, and I endorse trying to hear the units first before buying. I too was in the circumstance of not being able to hear before buying. I was, however, able to rely on opinions of others I trusted. I think such a network in this era of declining dealerships is a must. Reviewers and postings here and elsewhere are still fraught with uncertainties about whether you can trust their ears, tastes, and systems. Certainly, even a brief reading of posts will tell you there is no consensus on anything. Venture forth alone or find someone or some you trust.

Esoteric X-01 owners: thanks for your input; however, this model is too expensive for me. I'm looking for a unit that retails up to max $7,000, at a used price.

That said, I understand the X-01 & X-03 use the Teac VRDS transport. This is considered the most rugged, advanced transport in the world. I'd love to have it, but the price of admission is too high. Of course, just because a player uses this transport doesn't mean the unit will have the best sonics in the world, because there are so many other design factors involved.

That's what gets me. You spend so much money on this stuff, and then the designs are still not executed to the top level of sonics achieveable.

A couple of people have stated that they found the Wadia to have some issues with glare and with high frequency rolloff. I do know at least one reviewer stated that their Digimaster algorithm cuts off the highs quite abruptly, thinking this is what causes some possible issues in the highs.

I'm not limited to Esoteric and Wadia. However, many units that cost a considerable amount are made with very mediocre drives, which I think is ridiculous in these price ranges. At even the $4,000 level, I think there is no excuse, other than greed, not to use a very high quality, metal mechanism.

I wonder also about the Levinson 390S. I have heard of people having problems with the Levinson units, but I have also heard that they have cleaned up their act and actually improved the sonics of their products.

Greed is very difficult to judge in a capitalist society. If your price is too high, you will sell none and go out of business. Lenin argued that there was an intrinsic price, but that of course is communism. I would have loved to pay only $1000 for the X-01, but unfortunately none were available at that price.

"Greed is good"
Gordon Gecko
Wall Street

Saxo, a ceiling of $7K for a used X-01 is not unreasonable. There appear to be two such units listed now on Agon: one of them lists for $6.1K. If you got it and then you did not like it, you should be able to unload it at a very similar price.