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ESOTERIC X-03 VS. AYRE C5XE

I am looking for an SACD player with great redbook as well.
My price range is $5000.00 with a $7500.00 maximum. It seems nearly impossible to hear the Esoteric X-03 along
with the Ayre C5XE. I'd prefer to buy after hearing both together. Has anybody out there heard the two together, or
personally owns either and can venture their opinion as to the quality of sound that each produces?
kjl

Showing 4 responses by guidocorona

guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
The only thing in common between the DV-50 and the X-03 is the brand. DV-50 is an older universal design, which does not even have the TEAC VRDS transport, but an apparently very average OEM transport. X-03 is essentially a scaled down X-01, including a simpler/lighter version of the flagship VRDS transport.
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
Which Teac Esoteric model did Mr. martin compare to the DCS stack?
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
Yes, there appear now to be SE versions of the UX-3 and X-03 available in the US. Please see:
http://www.teac.com/esoteric/X-03_SpecialEdition.html
As the X-03 and corresponding SE version are natively optimized for audio, they would be more appropriate to compare with modded universal players whose modifications have also been optimized for audio.
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
Frankpiet, as the TEAC UX-1 is an AV multichannel player, it was never optimized for 2 channel audio. It is well known that its 2 channel audio performance is not state of the art. It would make more sense to compare these modified devices with the X-01 or the X-01 Limited, which are 2 channel machines. have you ever performed such a comparison?
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