Price: $13,000
Website: www.esoteric.teac.com
Howard said: I’m giving the Esoteric K-03 a Reviewers’ Choice award, no ifs, ands, or buts. It’s the Swiss Army Knife of high-end audio. In fact, it does so many things so well that if Esoteric told me that an amplifier, a pair of tower speakers, and 50 jazz CDs were jammed into its box, I almost wouldn’t be surprised. More important, the K-03 does all of these things at an uncommon level of performance.
Read the SoundStage! Hi-Fi review.
The gist: One of the best one-box digital players so far.