| Columns Retired Columns & Blogs |
November 24, 2009 - 4:50pm
#1
Luxman D-06 cd player vs. Esoteric X-05?
| Loudspeakers Amplification Digital Sources | |
Analog Sources Accessories Featured | |
Music Columns Retired Columns | |
Show Reports | |
Features Latest News Community | |
Resources Subscriptions |
© 2024 StereophileAVTech Media Americas Inc., USA
All rights reserved
I think Luxman D-series SACD/CD players are a bit too new for too many to have heard them. I've read enthusiastic reviews of the D-08 and D-05 in Japan's Stereo Sound. D-08 was on the Grand Prix list of '08 components in that mag.
Thanks.
I heard the Esoteric X-05 in a very revealing system today, and I was very impressed. Unfortunately I cannot audition the equivalent Luxman in my city.
Regards,
Mark
When you're talking about players at that price point maybe a road trip is in order.
The Audio Excellence Award 2010 recipients were announced in Japan. The Luxman D-06 cdp received a Silver Prize, and the Esoteric SA-50 a Bronze:
http://www.phileweb.com/ranking/aea/2010/english.html
Regards,
Mark
I will bet you that the new SONY SCD-XA5400ES will sound better than either one of them...for $1500!!!
I have personally compared the SONY to my AYRE C5xe ($6000) and it is FAR better, and also compared it head-to-head with 3 other players costing from $3000 to $8000. The SONY sounds better than all of them.
I know...I know...a $1500 player can't possibly sound that good!
All I can say is...don't spend your money until you hear it, or you will be sorry later!
I couldn't believe it either, but it's true. Sony has done something truly amazing here.
commsysman, how is the Sony SCD-XA5400ES better than the Ayre C5xe? Better soundstaging, timing, imaging, resolution etc?
How's the Esoteric X-05 compared with the XA5400ES and the C5xe?
The Ayre was the best I had heard when I bought it 3 years ago, but the Sony is simply better in every respect.
Three examples:
Classical piano pieces have something very close to a "live recital" sound through my system on the Sony. The Ayre , while not sounding bad, never delivers that level of realism and dynamics.
Cello and string bass have an exaggerated fullness through the Ayre (a slight "boominess", one might say) that is not quite realistic. The Sony gives the perfect balance of body sound and string tone...very realistic. On one recording of mine, for example, the plucked string bass does a solo during a classical jazz piece, and on the Ayre it seems to "jump out" at you in a way that is striking but unrealistic. The balance between the instruments is more realistic and natural on the Sony (much closer to the LP of the same performance).
On jazz brass solos, such as Miles Davis in "Sketches of Spain", the Ayre makes the instruments just a touch "reedy" or slightly harsh, while the Sony gives a more natural "live' sound (especially on the SACD, which is even better than the LP Version I have; though this thing has been repeatedly remastered, so...hard to compare...).