mikeg
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- May 4, 2002
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I need to correct a conclusion, regarding the Esoteric SA-10 CDP, that I previously reported in posting #46 of the following thread: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showth...esoteric+sa-10
I reported that the Esoteric SA-10 provided inferior performance when playing Redbook (i.e., regular) CDs, while its performance when playing SACDs was exceptional. I based these conclusions on my comparison of the Esoteric's performance to that of an Exemplar modded Denon 2900 CDP.
After further testing, I now believe that the Esoteric's performance, when playing Redbook CDs, is slightly superior to that of the Exemplar modded unit. And, as I previously reported, that the Esoteric's performance, when playing SACDs, is substantially superior to that of the Exemplar unit.
My previous use of DiMarzio ICs with both CDPs may be the reason that the Exemplar unit performed better than the Esoteric, when playing regular (i.e., Redbook) CDs. Perhaps the DiMarzio ICs altered (i.e., actually diminished) the sound quality of the Esoteric unit. But, when I used ICs produced from high quality microphone cable (Markertek.com, cat. # SC3RR & SC3XXJ), the Esoteric's performance when playing Redbook CDs was superior to that of the Exemplar modded CDP.
I reported that the Esoteric SA-10 provided inferior performance when playing Redbook (i.e., regular) CDs, while its performance when playing SACDs was exceptional. I based these conclusions on my comparison of the Esoteric's performance to that of an Exemplar modded Denon 2900 CDP.
After further testing, I now believe that the Esoteric's performance, when playing Redbook CDs, is slightly superior to that of the Exemplar modded unit. And, as I previously reported, that the Esoteric's performance, when playing SACDs, is substantially superior to that of the Exemplar unit.
My previous use of DiMarzio ICs with both CDPs may be the reason that the Exemplar unit performed better than the Esoteric, when playing regular (i.e., Redbook) CDs. Perhaps the DiMarzio ICs altered (i.e., actually diminished) the sound quality of the Esoteric unit. But, when I used ICs produced from high quality microphone cable (Markertek.com, cat. # SC3RR & SC3XXJ), the Esoteric's performance when playing Redbook CDs was superior to that of the Exemplar modded CDP.
