ESOTERIC X-03 VS. AYRE C5XE

I,too, own an Esoteric DV-50 with the "budget" mod by ram. The improvement is amazing, and for about $1,200 bucks, a DV-50 with this mod is very hard to beat.

I totally agree with Sylinnian. I had a DV-50, and had it modded by Refrence Audio Mods. It was better, but when I borrowed an Ayre C5XE, it simply blew the DV-50 away. I am impressed with its performance on every digital audio format, and am really pleased with its "redbook" standard CD playback. Another thing I have not heard mentioned is its ability to deal with "problem discs". It has played such discs flawlessly, including some that would skip tracks, or make static-like noises on certain passages. It is simply a great universal player, and quite unique. I wonder why is is so rarely discussed in this forum.