Esoteric P03 & D03 vs K07xs or K05xs

[Big Dog RJ]

Thanks for the update GSOphile,

Never heard of that brand, sounds like something from a Sci fi movie, Cybershaft...

Might need to look into it, especially since you're currently an Esoteric owner. That K01XD is a mighty fine piece of gear, including its built in clock. There's always room for improvement, so I guess apart from the G01X, this Japanese brand must be something quite serious.

Will have to see whom I can get through in order to check one out. Will work on my Spore dealers for this one I'm thinking.

Cheers mate, have a good one.
Enjoy those fine tunes!
RJ

 

[GSOphile]

Thanks for the update GSOphile,

Never heard of that brand, sounds like something from a Sci fi movie, Cybershaft...

Might need to look into it, especially since you're currently an Esoteric owner. That K01XD is a mighty fine piece of gear, including its built in clock. There's always room for improvement, so I guess apart from the G01X, this Japanese brand must be something quite serious.

Will have to see whom I can get through in order to check one out. Will work on my Spore dealers for this one I'm thinking.

Cheers mate, have a good one.
Enjoy those fine tunes!
RJ

I
My Esoteric dealer recently bought a top line Cybershaft clock for his personal Grandioso K1X, even though (since Cybershaft only sells direct) he pays what others pay based on the Japanese price and current yen exchange rate.

 

[Nemal1]

I’m thinking of getting the grandioso CD player, but it is now available with a separate optional power supply. My dealer is intimating it is a better upgrade than the grandioso clock (and cheaper) so food for thought!

 

[Addicted to hifi]

Another reputedly state of the art clock brand quite popular among Esoteric player users is Cybershaft, which is sold direct from Japan. This will probably be my choice if I decide to get one for my K-01XD.

Now this is a great sounding player enjoy

 

[Addicted to hifi]

I just bought a luxman d-10X sacd player as a second player.I look forward to doing comparisons with my mcintosh mcd550. I’m sure they will sound very different to each other but not necessarily better than each other.very excited and cart wait to it’s delivered.

 

[GSOphile]

I’m thinking of getting the grandioso CD player, but it is now available with a separate optional power supply. My dealer is intimating it is a better upgrade than the grandioso clock (and cheaper) so food for thought!

My dealer has both a clock (Cybershaft OP21A with separate clock power supply) and the PS1 power supply with his K1X. Says both improve the sound but he feels that the clock is the more impactful. The Cybershaft goes for about a quarter to a third of the top end Esoteric clock's US MSRP. Some are expecting a new top end Esoteric clock soon.

 

[GSOphile]

I just bought a luxman d-10X sacd player as a second player.I look forward to doing comparisons with my mcintosh mcd550. I’m sure they will sound very different to each other but not necessarily better than each other.very excited and cart wait to it’s delivered.

I auditioned a Luxman D-08u a year of two ago and liked it better than my Esoteric K-03X, but it was clear that this model would soon be replaced, so I decided to wait. I'll bet your D-10X is a killer player. Have seen YouTube demo/comparisons of both this machine and the Esoteric K-03XD. Both very good but distinctly different sound.

 

[Addicted to hifi]

I auditioned a Luxman D-08u a year of two ago and liked it better than my Esoteric K-03X, but it was clear that this model would soon be replaced, so I decided to wait. I'll bet your D-10X is a killer player. Have seen YouTube demo/comparisons of both this machine and the Esoteric K-03XD. Both very good but distinctly different sound.

Agree fully on the different sound these to brands have and I definitely prefer the luxman house sound.

 

[Big Dog RJ]

GSOphile,
One question on the Cybershaft, since coming directly from Japan, if there was ever an unlikely event that service was required... then the unit would have to go all the way back and forth to Japan?

In Aus on top of the normal exchange rates, there are heavy duties, taxes and so on, customs don't like when imports are done for some reason, they want us to support local suppliers but there's no Aus based supplier!

This was the very same issue I had when nearly closing on the Kondo Overture amplifier. No local support and was nearly 20 grand for that integrated.

Just thinking about all angles...
Best, RJ

 

[Big Dog RJ]

you have a entry level model. would love to hear how the esoteric flagship sacd player would sound in your system.cheers

If this makes you feel better based on your condition then so be it!

I don't base gear on price... rather on performance. Just had a demo on the Alsyvox with an integrated amp from EC priced at 60grand! That's their "entry model". Then we tried the EC monoblocks priced at half the cost, way better than the integrated. So I'm not sure where or how the entry level is referred to.

BTW, nice one on the Luxman D10X, that's a very fine digital player. It has an extremely quiet mechanism and plays superb! Not sure if you'll like it though in your all Mac line up...

Have a great one,
RJ

 

[GSOphile]

GSOphile,
One question on the Cybershaft, since coming directly from Japan, if there was ever an unlikely event that service was required... then the unit would have to go all the way back and forth to Japan?

In Aus on top of the normal exchange rates, there are heavy duties, taxes and so on, customs don't like when imports are done for some reason, they want us to support local suppliers but there's no Aus based supplier!

This was the very same issue I had when nearly closing on the Kondo Overture amplifier. No local support and was nearly 20 grand for that integrated.

Just thinking about all angles...
Best, RJ

Big Dog,
Good question. Don't know but expect the answer is 'no' since they only sell direct. There are a number of people on this board who really know clocks (e.g., SCAudiophile) and can help you. You will see their names plastered all over the excellent long thread below.

Reality is Cruel : Cybershaft new Ultimate OCXO 10M Clocks Shootout OP20 vs OP17

Cybershaft in Japan recently launches new 10M ocxo clock series : Ultimate clocks & Limited2 clocks. They are extremely hot items in Hong Kong now? http://www.cybershaft.jp/a-products/ultimate1.html Many of my audiophile friends got them already and commented that these new models gave much...

www.whatsbestforum.com

 

[Addicted to hifi]

If this makes you feel better based on your condition then so be it!

I don't base gear on price... rather on performance. Just had a demo on the Alsyvox with an integrated amp from EC priced at 60grand! That's their "entry model". Then we tried the EC monoblocks priced at half the cost, way better than the integrated. So I'm not sure where or how the entry level is referred to.

BTW, nice one on the Luxman D10X, that's a very fine digital player. It has an extremely quiet mechanism and plays superb! Not sure if you'll like it though in your all Mac line up...

Have a great one,
RJ

I think it will sound surberb with my new Mac gear.i will compare them and see how it go’s.

 

[Addicted to hifi]

I agree with you bigdog that your esoteric is surberb value for money but I have always liked the luxman stuff.

 

[Big Dog RJ]

Yes correct G-man,

can't go wrong with Luxman. They've always been consistent with their gear, ranging from integrateds to amplifiers. Even way back in the 70' & 80's Luxman was very unique.

Let us know your findings on the D10X, also give it plenty of time to settle in first. I was told at least 48hrs before critical evaluation. I guess anywhere around the 50hr mark would be a fair comparison.

Best, RJ

 

[Addicted to hifi]

should have the luxman within two weeks so I have being told.i listen to music about 6 hours a day so it makes sense to me to have two CD players plus I get a change in sound this way.not crazy on the white finish,would have liked gold or black better.could be the last CD player I ever buy as who knows how much longer they will be made.cheers to all

 

[Big Dog RJ]

Ah! Those famous last words... will be the last...
we are content for only a moment and sooner or later we've purchased another piece of gear, making those last ever buy statements go off in a poof!

Speaking of last words...
Last weekend had three people over to our place (non-audiophiles & non hifi enthusiasts) just young kids of my daughters age. One's a violinist, one other plays trombone and the other plays trumpet. When I was playing some tunes from Lester Young, Stan Getz and Chris Botti, plus Venessa Fernandez, they came out into the living area and just stood there and listened.

After the session, they all commented wow what a natural sound, as if the musicians are right there in person playing those fine tunes!

That was it! A simple statement coming from non-audiophiles who understand natural tones simply because they actually play real instruments, couldn't have said it any better.

That hit me pronto! I realised that the system has achieved a certain threshold where it's performance is at its best. To further improve again, would be meaningless, as a whole lot of things would require changing, and the vicious cycle begins and those trusted dealers see dollar signs in their eyes...

So with that said, I'm off! Happy as, and I sincerely advice others to just sit back and enjoy what you've got, for whatever your system comprises of is certainly an achievement!

Cheers, and enjoy those fine tunes!
Big WOOF! RJ

 

[Addicted to hifi]

Ah! Those famous last words... will be the last...
we are content for only a moment and sooner or later we've purchased another piece of gear, making those last ever buy statements go off in a poof!

Speaking of last words...
Last weekend had three people over to our place (non-audiophiles & non hifi enthusiasts) just young kids of my daughters age. One's a violinist, one other plays trombone and the other plays trumpet. When I was playing some tunes from Lester Young, Stan Getz and Chris Botti, plus Venessa Fernandez, they came out into the living area and just stood there and listened.

After the session, they all commented wow what a natural sound, as if the musicians are right there in person playing those fine tunes!

That was it! A simple statement coming from non-audiophiles who understand natural tones simply because they actually play real instruments, couldn't have said it any better.

That hit me pronto! I realised that the system has achieved a certain threshold where it's performance is at its best. To further improve again, would be meaningless, as a whole lot of things would require changing, and the vicious cycle begins and those trusted dealers see dollar signs in their eyes...

So with that said, I'm off! Happy as, and I sincerely advice others to just sit back and enjoy what you've got, for whatever your system comprises of is certainly an achievement!

Cheers, and enjoy those fine tunes!
Big WOOF! RJ

I to am at a end.I’m getting older ,now it’s time to just sit back and enjoy.there will always be better but I am more than happy of what I have achieved.life is just to short.

 

[Big Dog RJ]

One more small upgrade... sort of non hifi related. A small gift to the significant other, the good wife! She deserves it, plus mothers day round the corner and it was our 20th anniversary. Jeez, didn't know she tolerated my madness for that long. This was basically the K01XD price tag, I guess that will have to wait. The K07XS is good enough!

Cheers to our better havles! Without them we wouldn't exist!
Woofty woof'n! RJ

 

[Addicted to hifi]

Yep I thank my wife very much. She never says anything.she actually encourages me to buy hifi as she knows how much it means to me.cheers to that.

 

[TDX]

One more small upgrade... sort of non hifi related. A small gift to the significant other, the good wife! She deserves it, plus mothers day round the corner and it was our 20th anniversary. Jeez, didn't know she tolerated my madness for that long. This was basically the K01XD price tag, I guess that will have to wait. The K07XS is good enough!

Cheers to our better havles! Without them we wouldn't exist!
Woofty woof'n! RJ

Good decision. Now she can’t scold you if you upgrade to the Grandioso