New Esoteric P-05/D-05
Oct 3, 2007 at 8:40 AM Post #31 of 91
I heard the P05 and D05 a few months ago at a dealer and A/B it with a X-01 unlimited. Same detailed and analytical esoteric sound signature. You get a lot of box for your money there. The transport didn't seem as robust or high quality in the P05 if I remember correctly. Not sure about the pricing in the US but my dealer was selling the combo for LESS than the X-01 LE.


The Accuphase DP800 DC801 combo beat the pants off it (and IMHO the P03 DO3 as well)
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Oct 4, 2007 at 7:26 AM Post #32 of 91
Quote:

Originally Posted by insomniac /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Are all of the recent Esoteric players like this?


I would think so Alex indicated to me that only the original X-01 was superior via balanced over single ended at least for the single box players. The two box solutions might be a totally different story...

As for the APL players. Yeah the latest version is the NWO 3.0 GO is 30k which includes a brand new UX-1/X-01 limited which will be gutted everything taken out except for what spritzer mentioned. If you already have one of those players (UX-1/X-01/UX-1 Limited/X-01 Limited, limited or not doesn't matter since everything which makes a player Limited aka second edition gets ripped out anyways ;p Only difference between NWO'd UX-1/X-01 is the ability to play dvd-video and dvd-audio) the mods are 19k. And if you have the previous version which utilized a different set of tubes for output stage and the 24 bit (Not 32 bit) dacs the AK4396... the upgrade is 4k.

The redesigned unit is fully discrete/transformer coupled with the finest custom hand-wound iron/custom made capacitors etc etc. and has a host of features digital input/squeezebox interface/usb flash drive it can record or play off of/fully functioned pre amp that can be remote controlled/video section left intact and player can be boot without that section powered on.

Alex posted some pictures recently of the latest dac boards with the 32 bit chips they look like this (20 DAC chips per channel in dual differential config). http://www.aplhifi.com/DAC/32DAC1.jpg

All hand populated SMD. To put parts in perspective:
http://www.aplhifi.com/DAC/32DAC2.jpg
http://www.aplhifi.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=660

He says the whole assembly takes him roughly a week per. I've seen the old AK 4396 version of that assembly in person and its only more impossible looking in person (Like writing on a grain of rice) you see those two silver wires that connect each board in the corner closest to us. In actuality they are of a gauge that you normally associate with voice coils. Ori told me about this guy in Campbell, CA (Near us) he had resolder a K1000 voice coil once... and if you've ever seen the thin version (There is a thick version of the K1K voicecoil that foo_me has in his cage modded one somehow) well it takes some pretty ridiculous soldering skills to do. This entire assembly on par with or beats that out in soldering ridiculousness.

Having heard the finished product... very jealous of Neilvg who is getting one. But to be completely honest, I think its more than slightly overkill for headphones. Hearing it with my Qualias/SDS was the first time I thought this source will have information that no headphone rig can reproduce particularly in the areas of soundstage/imaging which I feel only speakers or I guess maybe the K1000 can do (And I've heard pretty much everything except for Omega 1/Taket H2)... besides the other stuff i.e. resolution/texture/tone/detail that only a very few headphones will be able to keep up with. Not that my vaguely transportable rig (SS-1 was too big to haul around, but I don't think that could have pulled out all the NWO's potential either though it would have been a little closer mmm well executed solid state imaging/soundstage with qualias) sounded bad with it, it just couldn't scale to fully match it which I felt it could do in the past with the EMM Labs SE stack and the stock UX-1. Pretty nutty player. I'm definitely going to go with one of his more budgeted products until I have a room large enough to justify the level of speakers that would justify the 3.0 GO redesign.
 
Oct 4, 2007 at 7:39 AM Post #34 of 91
Yeah. I wish my wallet could do the leap. There's a guy selling his NWO 2.5t on the forums, but I doubt the price cut will be enough even then ;p Lower end product seems to make more sense anyways, or that's what I keep telling myself.
 
Oct 4, 2007 at 7:50 AM Post #35 of 91
Quote:

Originally Posted by Icarium /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I'm definitely going to go with one of his more budgeted products until I have a room large enough to justify the level of speakers that would justify the 3.0 GO redesign.


Hehehe.. What on earth are you planning???
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Good post man..
 
Oct 4, 2007 at 8:05 AM Post #38 of 91
Yeah there's between 2-3 versions at least of the VRDS-NEO. Though there's someee indication that x-01/ux-1 transport might be different from p-01 but Alex says that isn't so and I'll buy into since the alternative is depressing!

X-03/UX-03 use one lesser variation and it's also the version they license out. I don't know if the P-05 uses that or the one in the P-03 which may or may not be different from the X-03/UX-03. If they are different both of those are aluminum/steel hybrids and supposedly one notch down. The X-01 D2 (Latest version) uses the P-03 transport as well so no longer is in the same territory as the players below.

The UX-1/X-01 use a solid steel/magnesium platter one which Esoteric never licensed out (Supposedly if they did or could be tricked into selling you one for replacement reasons it'd be 6k for just the transport) and the P-01 probably uses the same one.

Like Esoteric's site says this in reference to the P-01 Transport: "Equipped with ESOTERIC's most advanced VRDS-NEO mechanism evolved from the critically acclaimed X-01. Rigidity and vibration-resistant ability is improved by the use of a half inch-thick solid shaved-aluminum mechanism base plate." Evolved from + that aluminum base plate would indicate two things: 1. It is different from the X-01 (And the UX-1) 2. Aluminum base plate is >> all steel version? So it's really confusing. Maybe all the models use slightly varied transports.
 
Oct 4, 2007 at 8:52 AM Post #39 of 91
Thanks Icarium, your posts were very insightful!

EDIT: If the transport in the X-03 is the only one Esoteric licenses out, then am I right in thinking that the dCS Scarlatti Transport uses that exact VRDS version?
 
Oct 4, 2007 at 9:52 AM Post #40 of 91
Could be milk. I once saw a list of companies using the VRDS transports. I wish I could find it again. They were all very very high-end brands, I only remember mark L, off the top of my head. Ic says 6k but that same article mentioned 3k, but that was definitely for the licensed version. Okay. Time to go to badminton...
 
Oct 4, 2007 at 8:21 PM Post #43 of 91
Yeah the licensed out version (dCs/Wadia and some others I think) is 3k should be the same as goes in the X-03/UX-3. The 6k price for the non licensed version was quoted to me by Alex who I thinkk asked Esoteric if he could purchase them via their partnership. Given that I got my player (Licensed Distributor Demo model) for 6.5k, 6k makes it not worth it at all ;p
 
Oct 4, 2007 at 8:34 PM Post #44 of 91
Quote:

Originally Posted by Icarium /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Yeah the licensed out version (dCs/Wadia and some others I think) is 3k should be the same as goes in the X-03/UX-3. The 6k price for the non licensed version was quoted to me by Alex who I thinkk asked Esoteric if he could purchase them via their partnership. Given that I got my player (Licensed Distributor Demo model) for 6.5k, 6k makes it not worth it at all ;p


Wadia and Spectral used the older VRDS drives while dCs uses the new Neo-lite. I'm not sure about the new Spectral player though.

That 6k figure is also for a minimum order of about 100 units so that isn't really a cost effective option. Still I know why Esoteric does it as their own players are selling quite well and why give the competition access to the best drive out there.
 
Oct 5, 2007 at 4:12 AM Post #45 of 91
Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Wadia and Spectral used the older VRDS drives while dCs uses the new Neo-lite. I'm not sure about the new Spectral player though.

That 6k figure is also for a minimum order of about 100 units so that isn't really a cost effective option. Still I know why Esoteric does it as their own players are selling quite well and why give the competition access to the best drive out there.



I don't think the Spectral 4000 uses the newer VRDS drive unit. A very nice transport by the way.
 

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