Hi SJ,
I haven't tried any of two players you mention. I did own an Esoteric X-03SE before the ZZ8 and it simply wasn't in the same league. It ticked all the audiophile boxes but was astonishingly not emotionally engaging, at least to my ears. Beautiful piece of engineering, but I let it go without a regret.
A shop in the UK who used to sell both the Zanden and the Bow said they were uncomfortably close sound-wise.
JB
I haven't tried any of two players you mention. I did own an Esoteric X-03SE before the ZZ8 and it simply wasn't in the same league. It ticked all the audiophile boxes but was astonishingly not emotionally engaging, at least to my ears. Beautiful piece of engineering, but I let it go without a regret.
A shop in the UK who used to sell both the Zanden and the Bow said they were uncomfortably close sound-wise.
JB