Esoteric D-05 D/A & X-03SE--still worthwhile?
 

hi..i was looking at preowned a D-05 D/A and an X-03SECD player.

my guess is about 10years old?

the asking price seems reasonable.

are these units outdated? this is not to ask if they are "good" anymore.

but with the vast improvements over the last decade do these devices compete with similarly priced items today?

( i guess the used price range is a couple or so thousand )

thanks for your time

mike

Hey Mike, This is a really hard question to answer. The Esoteric units are built and packaged extremely well. They are beyond reproach. So if that is what you are looking for, these are great choices. Digital playback has really evolved in the last several years, so a state-of-the-art unit that is 10 years old may no longer be competitive with other similarly priced newer equipment. Ultimately if they have a sound you love, go for it, understanding that digital years are a lot like dog years. DAC's in the $2000 price class today will seriously outperform DAC's that are ten years old and cost 10x as much. Tom

thanks for the input Tom...yeah, i have some tough choices...

All good options
 

Mike,
The good news is that there are no bad options! 10 yo Esoteric gear was way ahead of the curve when introduced and still holds its own. More contemporary gear may outperform it slightly but may not be built as well or last as long. That, and if you choose the Esoteric gear you are in a good bargaining position as time is on your side - it will never be worth more than it is today. Happy hunting.

Tom

Go for it .... Esoteric X-03se is an excellent CD player and a sensational SACD player. The Esoteric DACs from the X series sound great. I had the X-01/D2 for a couple of years and it was a great sounding player... and it was 5.1 channel, so I could listen to multi channel SACDs which sounded great on it. If the X-03 does 5.1 go for it for sure ! At a couple grand you can't go wrong sound wise, feature wise it may not measure up !

thanks again guys,,i will let you know what happens