AudiogoN Forums: Esoteric DV-50: Any cdp's Significantly better?

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 (Threads | Answers | This Thread)

11-06-04

Responses (1-50 of 933)

Click title to read one, or click date to read all below it.

11-06-04 Pretty nice ht system ya got there... as for your question- ... Sutts

11-06-04 Gnsc statement modified wadia 861 se Mejames

11-06-04 I have not done the comparison but it would be interesting t ... Glide3

11-06-04 It is a great paler..especially for the price ( i formerlly ... Drhst20

11-06-04 Well if anybody reading this in the seattle area has a dv-50 ... Mem916

11-06-04 About a year ago i compared the dv-50 to the meitner dac6/mo ... Mikelavigne

11-06-04 It took me over a year, listen to different players every ch ... Sinosin

11-06-04 I have compared the dv-50 directly in my system with the exe ... 711smilin

11-06-04 Hey 711smilin, how do you combine your ss. ht, with 2ch t ... Oldpet

11-07-04 What the heck, i'll chime in again. dv-50 lasted 3 months in ... Reb1208

11-07-04 I have used the dv-50 as a cdp for about 8 months and it has ... Springbok10

11-07-04 Oldpet, i have 1 bellogotti rack with b&k 507 avr/5 klipsch ... 711smilin

11-07-04 If we are comparing esoteric dv50 with much more expensive u ... Guidocorona

11-07-04 My findings on esoteric x-01 are posted at: http://forum.aud ... Guidocorona

11-07-04 First of all, thanks for all the responses that i got. i re ... Avguru

11-07-04 Avguru and 711smilin, i, for one, hope you two get together ... Tvad

11-07-04 Avguru - seems that you'd already decided your player is the ... Rex

11-07-04 Avguru, just fyi, here's a link to the 6moons exemplar deno ... Tvad

11-07-04 Avguru, you may want to add the krell sacd standard to your ... Guidocorona

11-07-04 Avguru, email me, i live in wilmette, i would love for you t ... 711smilin

11-07-04 Avguru, i like the flexibility of different filter this play ... Sinosin

11-08-04: Avguru
Rex,

I don't think I said the DV 50 was the "best" anywhere in my thread. I just pointed out the players that I've compared it to and IMHO I think it sounds better than those. You ask why I even bothered to ask for opinions? I did because I wanted to know if anyone else had compared their DV 50 to the players I listed (or players in the same price range as the DV 50 or those I listed) and if so what conclusions did they come to. Its very possible that my ears are prejudiced after owning one for 6 months. Or maybe I'm hearing things that others don't.

I find it very interesting that everyone whose responded to my thread keeps pointing to players that are twice the price of the DV 50...or they mention dac/transport combo's that are really expensive. I explicitly put a disclaimer in my original thread that I HAD NOT LISTENED NOR COMPARED THE DV 50 TO DAC/TRANSPORT COMBO'S as its not a fair comparision. Of course, a Levinson, Goldmund or DCS Verdi Stack combo will handily beat the DV 50. We all know that. I was looking for another player (not necessarily a universal) in the same price range of the DV 50 which is signficantly better.

So far, from the responses that I've received it doesn't seem that anyone has any suggestions. I have yet to hear anyone come to the defense of any of the players I've mentioned. And keep in mind these players are not chopped liver...these are great players, especially the Ayre CX 7, the Arcam CD 33T and the Electrocompaniet. It just so happens that everyone participating in this thread seems to be fortunate enough to either have the funds or the means to realistically set their sights on the best of the best in terms redbook playback. For the average audiophile (such as myself) even purchasing the DV 50 at $5,500 is a stretch.

So right now, based on the limited responses I've received, it seems that there are no other players (either stand alone or universal)in the $5,550 price range or less that equal the DV 50 in redbook performance. If that's not the case, I'm open to suggestions. I don't know about you guys, but I'm finding regular redbook cd playback to be exciting and there are a bunch of cd's that are really well recorded out there that sound absolutely gorgeous when played on some of the top digital front ends. It goes to show that cd's came out before their time (recording lables were more interested in lowering their costs and fattening the bottom line) than improving the sound of music. Its only been in the past 6-8 years that digital playback technology has been able to develop to a level that it can now really exploit and showcase the virtues of cd's.

I am quickly losing my interest in SACD and DVD-A and I could easily live with a top-notch redbook player and just buy a cheap universal like a Pioneer or Denon when i'm in that rare mood to hear an SACD or DVD-A disc. I really feel that when cd is done right (both in the recording and playback) it gives up very little to SACD if anything at all. SACD is too hit or miss..some discs are very good and others are just average. I have both Norah Jones and Diana Krall's latest cd's in both redbook and SACD and I hands down prefer the redbook version on both. I even listened to the SACD versions of both on the Krell SACD Standard and Classe Omega and still prefered the redbook version. Both of those listening sessions were done at a dealer, not my home.

Any redbook cd player suggestions please let me know.

AVGURU
Avguru (Threads | Answers | This Thread)

11-08-04 Um...i'm going to humbly point again to the exemplar denon 2 ... Tvad

11-08-04 Tvad, i've already sent 711 smilin and e-mail and i'm hopin ... Avguru

11-08-04 Avguru, you jump to conclusions when you state: this couldn ... Tvad

11-08-04 Tvad, when i wrote that line i was actually laughing! don' ... Avguru

11-08-04 Avguru, what the heck are you pissing in the wind about? i ... 711smilin

11-08-04 I already tried to clue him in on that "fact". he ... Reb1208

11-08-04 Avguru, you seem to have heard krell sacd standard in a sto ... Guidocorona

11-08-04 Another machine (redbook only) worth looking at is the audio ... Guidocorona

11-08-04 Avguru, that's quite a list of units you've ab'd to your dv- ... Ggil

11-08-04 Given hp's review of the lector 7t and some posts that seem ... Maineiac

11-08-04 Maineiac: i was wondering when someone was going to suggest ... Russellrcncom

11-08-04 Audition the audiomeca mephisto iix cd player. for me it is ... stefan@

11-08-04 I've heard the dv 50 in two systems. i think it does a fine ... Larryi

11-08-04 Russellcncom, i don't think that the lector can play sacd. ... Maineiac

11-09-04 Hey guys, thanks for keeping this thread alive! people are ... Avguru

11-09-04 Since your d1 seems to have a quality dac and can take a dig ... Kana813

11-09-04 Hi, peter here guido's friend. i have yet to hear a dv50. ... Pscialli

11-10-04 Can anyone else chime in on their experience with the dv50 a ... Jose21

11-10-04 Jose21 - i auditioned a dv-50 in my system to see if it woul ... Rex

11-11-04 Avguru baby, got the 3910 in, wow can't wait for you to hear ... 711smilin

11-12-04 Avguru have you compared linn unidisk to the esoteric dv50s ... Pedersen

11-12-04 Yep. if anyone has been able to compare the dv-50 to the lin ... Drobbins

11-14-04 On the subject of the dv-50 as a transport, it's pretty good ... Mgottlieb

11-14-04 Mgottlieb, are you using teac esoteric x-01 as a transport ... Guidocorona

11-15-04 Guidocorona: i use the x-01 as a transport with the dcs unit ... Mgottlieb

11-15-04 Fair comment mgottlieb. next question that comes to mind is ... Guidocorona

11-15-04 Guidocorona: hard question. i found the verdi amazingly cle ... Mgottlieb

11-16-04 Mgottlieb - have you demo' the goldmund 18d? i haven't been ... Jmpwme

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