Now let's listen. I'll tell you upfront, there were no losers here. On CD, the sound from the two machines was different but equally detailed. The GamuT had a smaller, more intimate sound, the TEAC was spacious and bold. The Esoteric could dig a little deeper in the bass, the GamuT placed a bit more sparkle on top. I played dozens of CDs and some sounded better on one, some on the other. I didn't hear a great deal of difference between the three digital filters, although I did have a mild preference for the upper RDOT toggle position on most recordings. Your mileage may vary.
The best CD sound on the TEAC came with Mahler's Second Symphony, played by the Philharmonia Orchestra under Otto Klemperer [EMI CDM 769662 2]. The powerful lower strings opened in thrilling unison on the TEAC but sounded muffled on the GamuT. In the fourth movement, the DV-50 rendered the alto voice purer, the orchestra more robust and realistic while the bells had more extension on the GamuT. On Bach's Keyboard Concerto No 1, played by Murray Perahia with the Academy of St. Martin In The Fields [Sony SK 89245], the GamuT caused the piano to seem over-miked, whereas the TEAC achieved a better balance between the forces, with a clearer piano sound. These were the only two CD recordings on which one machine clearly trounced the other.
I also preferred the TEAC on Brendel's performance of Beethoven's Sonata Opus 10 [Philips 4467012], with the Wilson Benesch speakers trailing the sound of my AKG K-1000 headphones. Here the piano tone was full and clear - as good as I've ever heard. The GamuT was less dynamic, with the piano a touch mechanical. On the other hand, Volodos' Piano Transcriptions [Sony SK 62691] sounded atmospheric, spacious, clear and deep, but also somewhat clangy on the DV-50 while the GamuT rendered it more intimate, extended and decidedly easier on the ear.

On Haydn's String Quartet Opus 20 No 2 by the Mosaiques Quartet [Astree E 8786], I preferred the clear rich body of string sound from the GamuT. The TEAC sounded altogether sharper yet more spatial. I thought the more intimate GamuT sound more appropriate for this chamber music. My daughter and I were split on the Beatles' "All Together Now" from the Yellow Submarine Songtrack [Capitol 211481]. She liked the GamuT's smaller scale, I sided with the Esoteric's more raucous version that had Paul's voice focus more clearly and the guitar gain punchiness and incision.


Finally, some jazz. I played "Alfie's Theme Differently", from Alfie [Impulse IMPD 224]. I really liked the impact, swagger and big bluesy sound of the TEAC here. The GamuT posted a smaller scale image of this track, with a clear perspective for each instrument which I enjoyed immensely. But it didn't make me want to get up and join in. Advantage: Esoteric. How about SACD? I first tried two Dylan albums, Bring It All Back Home [Columbia CH 90326] and Highway 61 Revisited [Columbia CH 90324]. I shouldn't have bothered. You can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear. The recordings remained painfully thin, the clarity of the SACD mastering merely exposing the recordings' inadequacies even further. Better to listen to these on the car stereo.


The Jaime Valle album Round Midnight [Topmusic SACD 1013] was a big step up from the Dylan duds, but I've heard better sound from CD, TEAC included. On "Cry Me A River", the percussion was weak and unresolved. "Here with you" had a clean open sound except for the cymbals. The title track has a singing guitar with plenty of attack, deep bass, full harmonics on the strings, a strong swing and good location of the instruments - yet it sounded more like Hifi than music. I did enjoy the conga solo by Allan Phillips on "Tapachula" though.


I got a much better taste for SACD's potential from Norah Jones Come Away With Me [Blue Note 72435 4174728]. The CD layer sounded just fine on the GamuT, but the DV-50 accessed the SACD segment and the sound turned much more relaxed, like a good LP - or more to the point, a live performance. The piano in particular was breathtakingly clear and present, with the bass seemingly more tuneful. I wish I could report that the sound was better in every way, but I was not thrilled with the sound of the high percussion instruments. They weren't harsh but neither fully resolved - not much of an improvement over CD. Some tracks were better than others in this respect, but overall, the verdict still felt something was lacking.
It wasn't until I played some well-recorded DVD-A tracks from the Chesky label [on Pioneer's HE 776 collection above right] that I heard a top-to-bottom coherence altogether better than CD. Here again was the effortless sound that the high-resolution formats are potentially capable of, but now it felt cohesive throughout the audible spectrum.


I was able to listen at lower volumes without losing presence. The first track was "Dear Miss Lucy" from Unauthorized by Dave's True Story [JD 189]. I found this relaxed and well focused, with realistic brass and clear percussion. The singer's voice was intimate, with no hint of sibilance, clarinet and piano clear and never harsh. "Mambo a la Kenton" by Paquito D'Rivera from Tropicana Nights [JD 186] was disappointing, however, with thin and slightly strident brass and vague bass. John Faddis' "Sophisticated Lady" from Remembrance [JD 166] again demonstrated delicate cymbal work and a relaxed jazz orchestra sound. "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" from The Coryells [JD 192] was exceptional, offering effortless presence, precise location of instruments and the very best of percussion sound.


I also enjoyed Christy Baron's "Spooky" on Steppin' [JD 201] which exhibited sparkling treble especially on vibes. All these Chesky recordings were mastered using 96/24 technology. The DVD-A standard also allows for twice the sampling frequency -- 192K at 24 bits -- but I did not have a chance to audition any such recordings as there is very little software released to this specification yet. Still, I remain curious.


A good many recording engineers and theoreticians have confirmed my observations about the relative quality of SACD and DVD-A. Both standards are equally capable up to a point, but at very high frequencies, SACD's noise-shaping algorithms simply lack resolution. Despite the few discs at my disposal and my limited experience thus far, I find myself concurring. For music not packed with high frequency energy, this may be a moot point - but the moment you start swirling the brushes on cymbals, it's no contest. That doesn't mean DVD-A will win the format war. After all, VHS bested Beta. But it does mean that I'm rooting for a hybrid CD/DVD-A solution. Audiophiles need something better than CD. And dammit, we deserve it, too. Yes, I know, the LP is still around. But have you ever tried playing one in the car?


What else do we require to ensure the success of high-resolution audio? We either need to ditch copy protection altogether or hit upon one transparent enough to not intrude sonically. We need a low-jitter universal digital interface to route the high-rez digital signals to an external DA converter of our choice. Until such time, we will have to make do with the D/A converter packaged with a universal player. Fortunately, the Esoteric DV-50 does not let us down on this count. Despite its high price, it appears to offer strong value.
So, back to my original question - was I asking too much? The DV-50 performance on SACD and particularly DVD-A significantly eclipsed its CD rendition when the recording allowed it. That ideal-case scenario proved superior to any CD player I've heard, right up there with the formidable Sony SCD1. On RedBook, I won't claim that it sounded better than the GamuT CD1 - but you may very well prefer it. The GamuT is considerably more affordable ($3,500 vs. $5,500) yet clearly not built and finished to the luxurious tank-like standards of the Esoteric. Since I have yet to hear a CD player that bests the GamuT in any significant ways, the TEAC seems to fulfill my opening requirement of being competitive with CD players in its price range. Throw in the four extra channels and advanced video circuitry and I believe you have a solid winner.
Put differently, if you were looking for a CD player in this price range, you owe it to yourself to audition this universal machine as a bona fide RedBook contender. If you were looking for a universal player to replace your high-end CD player, the TEAC/Esoteric CD-50 is simply an option you can't afford to ignore.
TEAC USA website
TEAC/Esoteric Japanese website