In this review of the Audiolab 8000CDM CD transport, which produces only a digital signal from the digital data on a CD, the guy compares it to other transports and says:
High end Japanese designs such as the Esoteric P30 – admittedly three or four times the £850 price of the Audiolab – had a slightly more powerful bass and a whisker more detail and depth
snigger
I stopped reading at that point :-)
Got to learn to listen with your wallet.
LOL true, it’s always been a failure of mine.