I believe that even contacting the Esoteric dealer will not get a good solution.
Because the service process of large Japan A/V Manufacturers are not the same as that of small companies in Europe and America, the owner is the designer, and you can get instant service quickly.
i think that thinking is a mistake.
here we are on a hifi forum, talking about what we think is a new product with a problem. as readers we have no idea the exact circumstances for this person and product. so part of this feedback from Windows X is to help him, the other part is for us to learn. was this Esoteric bought new? was it bought used? has the dealer been responsive? has Esoteric been responsive? at this point we are blind to all that. how would a prospective Esoteric buyer feel about not contacting the Esoteric dealer since we expect them not to care. that would be a problem.
large or small manufacturers want to answer questions. sometimes it's simply to educate the customer on how best to get the best performance. so telling the dealer about the problem is an important step to get full enjoyment of the product. the dealer/distributor/manufacturer will know things the end user can't know, and they want end user feedback to be able to improve their product and keep their customers happy.
i've managed a Honda dealership for over 40 years. Honda takes their customers seriously, and i can assure you Esoteric does too. i just purchased an Esoteric Grandioso T1 turntable (double the price of any new Honda). it's a new product and when i had questions that my dealer could not answer, my dealer forwarded them to the distributor, who forwarded them to the support group in Japan, and i got answers. it's a more formal process than my other relationships with my gear builders, but no reason i should avoid it. it makes my ownership experience better.
yes; i don't know those guys in Japan like i know my other gear builders who mostly i know on a first name basis and are on the speed dial of my phone. sometimes they call me. but large companies like Esoteric/TEAC also build great products which deserve attention, and have effective customer support processes in place. if they didn't they would not have become large corporations.
i do respect that as buyers for short lifespan mid-fi and low-fi electronics like TV's and Laptops from large international companies that our expectations of personal service and help is a bit different than expensive high end hifi gear. it's the reason TEAC has the Esoteric division, since they know those type products and customers need a different level of attention for the products to be respected for that market. it's not one size fits all. but it's a mistake for us to generalize about what we should expect. Esoteric is aiming at the top of the market performance and respect, so we should hold them accountable.
bottom line.........is that at this point we don't know enough to judge Esoteric in the Window X situation. but maybe we can find out.