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EMM Labs vs. Esoteric X-01

Hi All,
I have had the EMM Labs CDSD and Dac6e for about a year. I've been really intrigued by all the press about the X-01, so I bought a used unit off Audiogon. I'm beginning the process of comparing the two units in SACD and Redbook playback. For now, it will all be 2 channel, until I get my multichannel back up and running.
As I realize that this is an issue of taste more than anything else, I will try to avoid hyberbole. My quick, initial impressions is that they are more alike than different, particularly in SACD mode. In Redbook, it's a somewhat different story. The Esoteric is a superlative Redbook player, with rock-solid imaging and a real sense of space. The Meitner, while it sounds very good, isn't nearly as detailed. One of my favorite tracks is on Emmylou Harris' Spyboy album, "The Maker". On the Esoteric, one can sense and even feel Emmylou in the middle, with the percussion section just behind her. There are 2 musicians on either side of her, playing guitar and Banjo (i believe). You can feel all the percussion that goes on. The Meitner doesn't have nearly the defined sense of space that the Teac presents, but Emmylou's voice sounds just great. It also doesn't present that deep percussion that one can feel in your chest.
FWIW, the rest of my system is an ARC Ref3 preamp, a Boulder 2060 stereo amp and Dynaudio Evidence Temptations, backed up by a REL Studio 3 subwoofer. All the cabling is Nordost Valhalla. The room is heavily treated.

More to come later.

David Shapiro
deshapiro

Showing 2 responses by tbg

tbg
5,263 posts
 
Kana813, thanks for the heads up. I was unaware of other clocks, but read the 6moons review too quickly to further react.

Guiidocorona, Fred seems to hold your opinion, saying that he thinks investing in a Halcyonic active isolation base may be more cost effective. I still hope to hear the Esoteric clock with a X-01 on the Halcyonic.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Fred and another friend whose audio opinions I greatly respect caused me to try the Esoteric X-01 Limited Edition. I am very happy that I tried it.

I had a EMM Dac6 and the EMM modified Phillips SACD 1000 some time ago. While I hardly found it brittle and harsh, I also found the less expensive Allen Wright moded Sony 3000 at a fraction of the price to be indistinguishable from it, as Fred will confirm. I have not heard the recent generation of the EMM gear, but it would surprise me were it to be better than the Esoteric X-01 LE.

I should say that the Esoteric responds very well to being on the Halcyonic active isolation base as well as to using IsoClean fuses to replace it 5 fuses. I also use Audio Tekne carbon feet between the Esoteric and the Halcyonic. I don't even want to think about the Esoteric clock but do hope to try it as Fred did. Fred did not say whether he is buying one, but I suspect I know the answer.
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