Esoteric's sensational SACD/CD player wins our 2024 Temptation Award

It would be easy to write off any new stereo disc player as anachronistic in this streaming-dominated age. However, that isn’t how we see things. We know many of our readers still have huge CD collections and want to get the best from them. And right now, we can’t think of a better way to do it than on Esoteric’s magnificent new K-05XD SACD/CD player. At £11,650 / $12,000 / AU$15,000, it comes in at the top-end of the market – but hey, such quality always costs. And this is the Temptation Award, after all. Tempted, then? You might well be after reading what this talented machine can do.

Rather than simply buy-in the mechanisms from OEM suppliers, as most other companies do, Esoteric has gone down the bespoke route for the K-05XD with its proprietary VRDS transports; the initials stand for Vibration-free Rigid Disc clamping System.

This has always been more than mere marketing guff. In essence, it involves clamping the entire top surface of the disc in a bid to eliminate any resonances and flatten any slight warping so that the laser and its servo mechanism have an easier time when reading the digital data. In theory, this should result in better sound.

This player’s digital-to-analogue section is rather tasty too. Rather than use off-the-shelf DAC chips, as the majority of the competition still do, Esoteric has designed its own circuit that works with FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array)-based algorithms to ensure compatibility with 32-bit/384kHz PCM hi-res files as well as DSD512 music streams. MQA is also on the menu.

The pay-off for such engineering speaks for itself as soon as we listen to the K-05XD. This player has a wonderfully clean and organic presentation that feels 'just right.' The presentation is as neutral as they come but also avoids charges of sounding sterile by communicating the warmth and emotion in recordings. There is no sense of harshness or over-emphasis on the leading edges of notes. It's very pleasant indeed.

The musical backdrop is beautifully defined and superbly organised, too, with every element distinct and precisely placed while still coming together as a convincing musical whole.

Our in-house reviews team particularly loved the CD player's spacious and neat soundstage, devoid of clutter. "Instruments are layered with care and locked into position even when the music becomes demanding," reads our Esoteric K-05XD review. It elaborates, referencing the playback of Stravinsky’s The Rite Of Spring on SACD: "The Esoteric’s impressive ability to dig up low-level details shines through in the convincing way it places the orchestra within the recording venue. There is nothing showy here, no attempt to make the recording sound more impressive than it is. Just a pleasingly accurate rendition of the original recording."

Whatever we played through the player was delivered with transparency and honesty and therefore was hugely enjoyable to listen to. We can ask no more from any hi-fi component than a good time, and this impressive Esoteric player certainly gave us that.

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Read the full Esoteric K-05XD review

See all the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2024 winners

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