Esoteric SA-10 SA-60

Hello all, I am considering either of these players. Any opinions on which one sounds better? Or any ideas on an equal?

mnewman5602-25-2008 1:01am

cmk Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 397 posts 02-28-2008 at 04:30pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete Somehow Esoteric units sound "different" from other manufacturer's digital sources. There's more detail and a certain musically "correct" balance which I attribute primarily to their transport/lens mechanism.
mnewman56 OP Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 6 posts 02-29-2008 at 11:59pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete Thanks for the input everyone. Budt, what was your experience with the MFA5? Did you have a failure or just bad sound. Also I will audition the SA-60.
fidelio101 Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 7 posts 03-03-2008 at 09:42pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete I auditioned the MF and the Esoteric SA-10. There is no comparison. The SA-10 sounded superb. And even though it doesn't have tubes, it sounded more "tube-like" than the tubed MF. I mean that in a good way. My amp and pre-amp are MF so its not like I don't care for their product; but there is no comparison. Go Esoteric!
budt Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 157 posts 03-03-2008 at 10:57pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete I never had any reliability issues with the MF5. It had alot of phasing issues I guess would be the best way to describe it. The imaging seemed to be all over the place. Other owners I talked to confirmed my findings. Perhaps their other products are better.