Esoteric P-03 Universal Disc Transport and D-03 Digital-to-Analog Converter

A Transparent Window On The Source

This description applies primarily to the Esoteric’s reproduction of CD with the upsampling set to 176.4kHz, the best-sounding setting in my system. The top end was the most transparent and open at this frequency. I don’t know if it was my system or sonic taste, but the PCM-to-DSD conversion option was never preferable. It thickened the sound, made the bass woolly, and added a bit of glare. The sound was still good, but the magic was gone.

The ability to turn off the digital filter provided some fascinating listening sessions. Removing the digital filter was like opening a car’s convertible top on a crisp but sunny spring morning; the sound became more open, transparent, illuminated from within, and possessed a purity of tonal color that was breathtaking. Without the digital filter, the midrange had a stunning immediacy that reminded me of the sound of a 300B single-ended triode amplifier. The downside of no digital filter was a bit of brightness and slight etch to the leading edge of transients. On already bright recordings, the result was too analytical a presentation and a lack of ease. On most recordings, however, the slight top-end emphasis, coupled with the advantages described, made no digital filter the setting of choice for pure musical involvement.

Finally, if you enjoy musical performances on DVD, the Esoteric’s combination of world-class sound and state-of-the-art DVD reproduction is compelling. On DVDs with a stereo PCM track, run the D-03’s analog outputs into a controller with Pro Logic IIx or DTS Neo:6 Music decoding and connect the P-03’s HDMI output at 1080p to a 1920x1080 video display and you’re in for an aural and visual treat.

Conclusion

If I had to name on one hand the best-sounding digital source products I’ve heard, the Esoteric P-03/D-03 combination would certainly be included (along with the Spectral SDR-2000/SDR- 3000, Linn CD12, and the Mark Levinson No.30.6/No.31.5). That the Esoteric is also the most luxurious looking, feeling, and operating of the group, and also plays SACD, DVD-Audio, and DVD-Video, are bonuses. Moreover, the Esoteric’s build-quality is as good as it gets, and the VRDS-Neo transport mechanism simply has no peer.

When I discover something new in familiar music—the beauty of a melodic phrase that had not struck me before, a subtle layer in a rhythmic pattern, or an extra measure of expression from the musicians—I know I’m in the presence of a special component. I had many of these musical epiphanies during my time with the Esoteric P-03 and D-03, which is, ultimately, the raison d être of high-end audio. TAS