EXPIRED Esoteric X-03SE

MGO · May 26, 2023

This Esoteric X-03SE hasn’t missed a beat and is working flawlessly. Remote and all original packaging.

Esoteric’s VRDS transport has never been surpassed.

XLR and RCA analogue out, optical and co-axial digital output. Also has clock input.

In their review 6 Moons Audio granted the Esoteric X-03 a Blue Moon award for competing against established benchmarks at 6 times its price in the Redbook arena. Srajan was particularly impressed with the tonal density the X-03 exhibited, almost on par with his Zanden DAC/Drive reference, but with added dynamic and bass weight. Three years later, this player has undergone a set of modifications justifying its graduation to Special Edition status, a change of name to X-03 SE and a $1000 increase from $7200 in 2005 to $8200 (USD = $12,600 AUD) today.

… The X03SE is a fantastic player and at its price, the sweet spot in Esoteric's line. That was true 3 years ago when it earned a Blue Moon award and remains true today. Upgrading to the P05/D05 and doubling the investment will reward those who value accurate rendition of subtle tonal hues, transparency and undistorted treble purity over PRaT and tonal density. If you can't afford the P05/D05 like me however, rest assured that the X03SE is very close in almost all aspects and in some actually superior.

… When the X03 was first introduced, it had very little competition in build and musical qualities, certainly none at its price. Things since have changed somewhat. Competition in this segment of high-resolution CD/SACD one-box players below $10,000 has grown fiercer today. The X03SE still leads on build quality and its VRDS transport remains without peer. The 60lb player weights as much as the P05/D05 combined - or as much as a Marantz SA7-S1 stacked on top of a Cary SACD-Pro. It feels as though it'd last forever. McIntosh offers a credible alternative in this segment with the MCD500. Its $6500 sticker and quad differential DACs are compelling and I was pleasantly surprised by its musical progress over the brand's prior attempts. Yet from current experience, none of those machines offer the fantastic combination of X03SE virtues to retrieve the lowest-level information on discs that are so critical to reproducing the ambiance of the recorded event.