Over the past many months I’ve auditioned several DAC’s that i wanted to consider as the replacement for the Estoeric D-02X that I’ve been listening to for the past 5 or 6 years. What I liked most about the D-02X was that it had a great dynamic impact along with a huge soundstage. What I hoped to achieve was to keep the strengths of the D-02X and have something that was a bit more organic sounding. With that said the DACS that I considered seriously were
Esoteric D1XSE
DCS Vivaldi Apex
MSB Reference w. Digital Director
Lampizator
Last year i purchased a DCS Rossini Apex to front end my headphone setup and of course had to try that in my main system to see how it sounded compared to my D-02X. I wouldn’t say that the Rossini Apex was a lot better than the older D-02X but it did present a bit more detail, better depth and was a tad smoother sounding overall. I had the chance to try an Esoteric G-05 clock with my D-02X and compare to the Rossini again and while with the clock it may be been just a smidge better I felt the Rossini would get better with its clock as well so I left the Rossini in the system at that point. Really first up on the big list was the MSB Reference both with and without digital director that I got to demo in my system. Without the digital director I just felt like the sound overall was a bit dark. Certainly very different than either the Esoteric or the DCS but I didn’t feel it was better in any way. I then added the digitial director and while that alleviated much of the darkness that I encountered without it it just still seemed like something was missing and I just wasn’t able to engage with the music at all. At that point I preferred the D-02X or the Rossini Apex over the MSB. I listened to the Select 2 at the dealers showroom and got that same impression of something just not being there so I decided to move on from MSB.
Next up I got to listen to a Lampizator GG3 at home. Texturally that was an amazing sounding DAC. The tonal richness was off the scales which I absolutely loved. It also presented a deeper and more laid back soundstage than my D-02X. Where it started falling off for me was that the size of the soundstage wasn’t anywhere near as large height or width of what I was used to with the Esoteric or even the Rossini. When I heard a Poseidon as the show I also got the feeling that the size of the soundstage wasn’t as large as I liked so I eliminated Lampizator from the auditioning at that point.
Next I brought home a Vivaldi Apex to demo and when I first got it setup and did some casual listening I was in love with the size and depth of the soundstage. It was likely the most detailed of all the DACS I auditioned so at first listen it seemed like it could be the one. The bass response in the Apex was also incredible. Very detailed with great bottom end extension. As the unit got settled in over the next couple of days it had only gotten better so again I was thinking that was it for me. While I was casually listening to the Apex my Esoteric dealer let me know he got in a brand new pair of Esoteric D1XSE’s and wanted to know if I wanted to give them a listen. I agreed so he brought them over and we started to let them break in while I listened to the Vivaldi. While they were totally new out of the box I still couldn’t resists comparing them to the demo Vivaldi I had been totally enjoying and no surprise …fresh out of the box both me and the dealer agreed the Vivaldi was quite a bit better. That said … he just smile and asked me to simply let it play and check back in 200 hours. So, I hooked up and older streamer to the Estoeric and let it rip. That week I continued to listen to and completely enjoy the Vivaldi Apex with all of the depth and spatial separation of different instruments that it could provide. Those that have ever come over to listen know that Mark Knopfler gets played a lot over here and his voice on 5:15AM just jumps out of nowhere with the Apex. Really was stunning. With Dire Straits Iron Hand the bass extension at one point in the song reaches really deep and the Apex delivered. With several classical recordings the clarity with the Vivaldi was stunning and I could hear more low level info with the Vivaldi I think than any of the other contenders.
So after about nearly 10 days of burn in I decided to listen to the D1XSE’s again and see if they had gotten any better. From the very first note I knew that burn it had completely changed my perspective on this unit. it was now super detailed without being bright, had soundstage height and width I had never heard before, very detailed bass (still not as extended as the Apex) but it had a tonal richness that while not quite as harmonically dense or beautiful as the Lampizator units it was very close. If the Apex provides a really deep and laid back presentation the Esoteric does it differently … it presents a more holographic soundstage that comes out into the room more. The Esoteric has decent depth (not on pair with the Apex) but gives you the feeling you are in the music or at the very least very close to it. Some will not like this presentation … I do. Over the next couple of days I almost went crazy weighing the pluses and minuses of each of these dacs meanwhile the D1XSE’s just kept improving day by day to the point where to me at least its strong points Soundstage size, tonal richness, presence outweighed the benefits of the Apex which were bottom end extension, depth and detail. One more thing that I was noticing was that as I listened more and the D1XSE’s just became more rich and beautiful sounding especially in-the midrange, I began to feel like the Apex’s were missing some of the magic sonically. Some have called them analytical or sterile. I’m not sure I would say that but I felt something was definitely missing harmonically when either compared to the Esoteric D1XSE or a Lampizator unit.
So the Apex went back to the dealer and I bought the D1XSE as they best fit the sonic signature that I like. Huge holographic soundstage, rich tonal density, great sense of space and air, along with very detailed bottom end extension. Once I made the decision and bought the Esoteric my dealer received the G1X clock which while my toy piggy bank was depleted for now I still wanted to know what the future could hold. Would it be a small incremental improvement that would require hours of mental gymnastics to make a decision? No … honestly if you buy the D1XSE’s even though they have upgraded clocks in them already … the G1X should just be considered part of the purchase. Within seconds it was apparent the clock makes almost every aspect of the D1XSE better so while it will have to go back for now … it will be making a return trip later this year for sure.
Clearly this is my take based solely on my personal tastes and opinions and others may/will feel differently based on what attributes they feel most import to music reproduction. Honestly based on the system and listener preferences I could see any of these DACS making someone totally happy … it’s just for me the Esoteric D1XSE’s totally filled the bill. I’m done! For now … LOL
Cheers!
George
Esoteric D1XSE
DCS Vivaldi Apex
MSB Reference w. Digital Director
Lampizator
Last year i purchased a DCS Rossini Apex to front end my headphone setup and of course had to try that in my main system to see how it sounded compared to my D-02X. I wouldn’t say that the Rossini Apex was a lot better than the older D-02X but it did present a bit more detail, better depth and was a tad smoother sounding overall. I had the chance to try an Esoteric G-05 clock with my D-02X and compare to the Rossini again and while with the clock it may be been just a smidge better I felt the Rossini would get better with its clock as well so I left the Rossini in the system at that point. Really first up on the big list was the MSB Reference both with and without digital director that I got to demo in my system. Without the digital director I just felt like the sound overall was a bit dark. Certainly very different than either the Esoteric or the DCS but I didn’t feel it was better in any way. I then added the digitial director and while that alleviated much of the darkness that I encountered without it it just still seemed like something was missing and I just wasn’t able to engage with the music at all. At that point I preferred the D-02X or the Rossini Apex over the MSB. I listened to the Select 2 at the dealers showroom and got that same impression of something just not being there so I decided to move on from MSB.
Next up I got to listen to a Lampizator GG3 at home. Texturally that was an amazing sounding DAC. The tonal richness was off the scales which I absolutely loved. It also presented a deeper and more laid back soundstage than my D-02X. Where it started falling off for me was that the size of the soundstage wasn’t anywhere near as large height or width of what I was used to with the Esoteric or even the Rossini. When I heard a Poseidon as the show I also got the feeling that the size of the soundstage wasn’t as large as I liked so I eliminated Lampizator from the auditioning at that point.
Next I brought home a Vivaldi Apex to demo and when I first got it setup and did some casual listening I was in love with the size and depth of the soundstage. It was likely the most detailed of all the DACS I auditioned so at first listen it seemed like it could be the one. The bass response in the Apex was also incredible. Very detailed with great bottom end extension. As the unit got settled in over the next couple of days it had only gotten better so again I was thinking that was it for me. While I was casually listening to the Apex my Esoteric dealer let me know he got in a brand new pair of Esoteric D1XSE’s and wanted to know if I wanted to give them a listen. I agreed so he brought them over and we started to let them break in while I listened to the Vivaldi. While they were totally new out of the box I still couldn’t resists comparing them to the demo Vivaldi I had been totally enjoying and no surprise …fresh out of the box both me and the dealer agreed the Vivaldi was quite a bit better. That said … he just smile and asked me to simply let it play and check back in 200 hours. So, I hooked up and older streamer to the Estoeric and let it rip. That week I continued to listen to and completely enjoy the Vivaldi Apex with all of the depth and spatial separation of different instruments that it could provide. Those that have ever come over to listen know that Mark Knopfler gets played a lot over here and his voice on 5:15AM just jumps out of nowhere with the Apex. Really was stunning. With Dire Straits Iron Hand the bass extension at one point in the song reaches really deep and the Apex delivered. With several classical recordings the clarity with the Vivaldi was stunning and I could hear more low level info with the Vivaldi I think than any of the other contenders.
So after about nearly 10 days of burn in I decided to listen to the D1XSE’s again and see if they had gotten any better. From the very first note I knew that burn it had completely changed my perspective on this unit. it was now super detailed without being bright, had soundstage height and width I had never heard before, very detailed bass (still not as extended as the Apex) but it had a tonal richness that while not quite as harmonically dense or beautiful as the Lampizator units it was very close. If the Apex provides a really deep and laid back presentation the Esoteric does it differently … it presents a more holographic soundstage that comes out into the room more. The Esoteric has decent depth (not on pair with the Apex) but gives you the feeling you are in the music or at the very least very close to it. Some will not like this presentation … I do. Over the next couple of days I almost went crazy weighing the pluses and minuses of each of these dacs meanwhile the D1XSE’s just kept improving day by day to the point where to me at least its strong points Soundstage size, tonal richness, presence outweighed the benefits of the Apex which were bottom end extension, depth and detail. One more thing that I was noticing was that as I listened more and the D1XSE’s just became more rich and beautiful sounding especially in-the midrange, I began to feel like the Apex’s were missing some of the magic sonically. Some have called them analytical or sterile. I’m not sure I would say that but I felt something was definitely missing harmonically when either compared to the Esoteric D1XSE or a Lampizator unit.
So the Apex went back to the dealer and I bought the D1XSE as they best fit the sonic signature that I like. Huge holographic soundstage, rich tonal density, great sense of space and air, along with very detailed bottom end extension. Once I made the decision and bought the Esoteric my dealer received the G1X clock which while my toy piggy bank was depleted for now I still wanted to know what the future could hold. Would it be a small incremental improvement that would require hours of mental gymnastics to make a decision? No … honestly if you buy the D1XSE’s even though they have upgraded clocks in them already … the G1X should just be considered part of the purchase. Within seconds it was apparent the clock makes almost every aspect of the D1XSE better so while it will have to go back for now … it will be making a return trip later this year for sure.
Clearly this is my take based solely on my personal tastes and opinions and others may/will feel differently based on what attributes they feel most import to music reproduction. Honestly based on the system and listener preferences I could see any of these DACS making someone totally happy … it’s just for me the Esoteric D1XSE’s totally filled the bill. I’m done! For now … LOL
Cheers!
George
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