Originally Posted by markc2

my wife liked the Esoteric DV-60 over the Ayre C7 but not over the C5, and liked the EAR cd player over both of the Ayre's. She didn't know the prices.

It's weird with the Esoteric it was like someone left the high frequencies on all the time. The Ayre didn't have that issue. The first thing you notice is the smoothness of the Ayre but that is replaced with just how dynamic it is. For me the Ayre C5 was a lot more addicting than the Esoteric though the Esoteric had a richness of sound that was enticing too.