Dear Mr Robert H, regarding many CD players you'ver reviewed
TOGA -- Sat, 09/19/2009 - 14:04
Dear Mr Harley
I am upgrading my front end. I would like to know that of all the best CD players/DAC that you praised so much,
The Esoteric pairs, Meridian 808.2, Berkley Alpha and Spectral.
1. Is Esoteric still competitive the the last three player/DAC that you've reviewed ?
2. Can Esoteric D03 accept hi-res file from HRX just like Alpha DAC does ?
3. While you wrote P03/D03 was so good in one issue. You also wrote as if it was not very good without G0Rb clock
( TAS180). Please clarify these. Is it competitive without that expensive ext clock ?
4. Do you have any idea how long this pair of Esoteric will be in production ? as they were introduced for quite a long time.
Actually I am also interested in DCS Puccini that JV loved so much, But DCS is less flexible. It doesnt have XLR digital out, its
digital input doesn have XLR and doesnt accept 24/192 too.
Thank you very much.
Best Regards
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The best digital I've heard to date are the Meridian 808.2, Spectral SDR-4000 Pro, Berkeley Alpha DAC, and the Esoteric D-03/P-03/G-0Rb combination. When playing hard-sounding CDs, the Meridian is the best of the group. When playing very high quality CDs such as HDCD-encoded discs from Reference Recordings, the Spectral and Berkeley shine. The Esoteric has SACD capability that the other players don't offer. I never wrote that the Esoteric pair "was not very good without the G-0Rb clock." In fact, my original rave review was of just the D-03/P-03; I added the clock later. I no longer have the Esoteric pair, but I don't believe that it will accept high-res audio on a single AES/EBU cable. I don't know how much longer the D-03/P-03 will be in production.
All these players are different in their functionality. Do you plan to use a DAC to decode high-res sources from a music server?
With Meridian's 808.2, you get the best of both worlds - sound and value. It decodes CD's with stunning realism...and CD is by far the most popular format. Full-band downloads are still rare and not needed, in my view. HDCD is a format used only by Reference Recordings and covers (mainly) Modern classical music - a sound not very popular with audiophiles (vs. Romantic Era, string quartets, etc.).
At $15,000, the 808.2 is not cheap...but it's a lot less than 30-40K. For 2K more you get a built-in preamp - which is of great quality. A must audition, at the least !!
I don't know how much better the Meridian is from the Berkeley. It surely is 3 times more expensive. For those on a budget, My vote is for the Berkeley. You get a pre-amp, a DAC that can decode any resolution, Multiple transports can be added including Wadia i Transport, CD transport, Hard disk Music server. What a package for near state of the art sound! I would at least audition it even if considering the other players. Although if you have or plan to play a big collection of SACD the Esoteric seems like the best option. For the Spectral the most optimum way to go would be to get the entire set of Spectral electronics. Meridian would be a fine machience too if you can hit that price bracket. If It were me I would audition anything over $10K for sure. I wouldn't buy a $15 to $20K car without test driving it, no matter how far I lived from the dealer.
Thank you all,
For Mr Harley,
1. If would be nice for player to decode HRX files. Esoteric D03 manual states that all inputs accept 24/192.Which I'm not sure
how could SPDIF can do 24 bit/192. With the right computer soundcard that output XLR digital signal. I guess D03 can decode
24.192
2. For Meridian player, If you report that it doesnt have very good slam and impact and high dynamic, I dont like it.
3.From TAS 180 page 126 on the right column, There were something like
sound reminiscent of bursts of white noise; with the clock,
that coarse character was replaced by a subtle and nuanced
presentation
The hardness
in the midrange, the glassy “shattering” sound on leading-edge
transients, and the dynamic constriction were all gone, replaced
by a silky smooth yet powerful rendering. Similarly, the string
section’s tone became more “organic”; with the G-0Rb
This made me assume that PD03 without clock sounds even less musical than Cambridge
840C pplayer, as you wrote 840c player made cymbals not like burst of white noise.
Thank you
Without the G-0Rb, cymbals took on a
The Esoteric pair without the clock is significantly better than the Cambridge 840C.
The products you are considering are all quite different from one another. The Berkeley is a DAC only and costs $5000. The Esoteric combination is $45,000 with the clock and plays SACDs as well. The Meridian is a straight CD player.
There are quite a few HDCD-encoded CDs that are note marked as being HDCD encoded. The Pacific Microsonics Model One and Model Two professional encoders are in quite a few mastering studios.
Very few audiophile labels use HDCD for recording - it seems Reference stands alone. Most discs that are "encoded" with HDCD were not captured with it. One example is Billy Joel - *all* of his discs are processed with it, even ones recorded in the 1970's.
Thank you Mr Harley,
Finally I 've placed order on the Esoteric already, expect to invest in clock next year.
This is to replace my ARC CD7 and Cambridge 840C. Hope to get big improvement.
I've try Eso P/D 05 in my system before and I like it.
What kind of cable did you use for word clock at that time ? Is good 75ohm BNC CATV
cable like Belden or Extron ok for this job ? Do I have to use audiophile brand for this clock task ?