Opinions on the SACD playback of Esoteric DV-50.


Harry Pearson says he thinks the SACD playback of the Esoteric DV-50 is "...less than stellar." I have owned one for slightly less than one year, and find its SACD performance to be quite good, and better that my previous Sony SCD 777ES. Any thoughts on Harry's verdict?
irishdog

Showing 1 response by rex

Sjh32 - I use an SCD-1 as a transport to a 360S, so I have a pretty good understanding of the level of excellence you expect.

I have directly compared my SCD-1/360S combo to an Esoteric DV-50, in my system. With SACD there were differences between the SCD-1 and the DV-50. Both were good, neither one was a clear winner. There were several things I liked about the DV-50's SACD playback, but nothing so stellar that I felt the need to buy one just for SACD.

With CD, there was no contest. The DV-50 is a good CD playback system, the SCD-1/360S combo is an outstanding CD playback system. No comparison whatsoever.

If Redbook is your primary focus, and your current setup is your benchmark, you would not be satisfied with a DV-50.