Your response to the X01-D2 may vary depending on the voicing of the remainder of your system and the choices you make with respect to a power cord, isolation and interconnect. In my case, I replaced an existing X01 Limited Edition and could not be happier. Several suggestions: (i) the isolation feet that are provided with the unit are very good but not as good as the Finite Element cerabases which work very well with the Esoteric, particularly if the unit is sited on a Finite Element stand; (ii) the Esoteric really works well with the top of the line Mexcel 7N power cord which mitigates a slight tendency of the unit to sound dry and overly analytical; my guess is that the top of the line Shunyata's would also work well; (iii) the unit sounds best running in balanced mode into a true balanced preamp; and (iv) again the top of the line Mexcel 7N balanced interconnects are an extremely nice match for the unit. Given that Acrolink and Esoteric are related companies in Japan, it is not surprising that a certain synergy exists. By the way, try the various decoding options. They all sound different.
