Breathe New Life into Your Vinyl 

Esoteric's E-03 Creates a True-to-Life Analog Experience

The Esoteric E-03 Phonostage is focused on one thing—the re-creation of an analog experience. Just lower the needle onto your most beloved LPs, and close your eyes. Prepare to breathe new life into your treasured records and enjoy analog fidelity at its highest levels. It’s time for a rendezvous with inspiration. With easily adjustable loading, it can accommodate moving magnet and moving coil cartridges. It even includes a built-in cartridge demagnetizer. Dripping in warmth and musicality, with astonishing levels of detail retrieval, the E-03 is a true reference-level component.

"[T]his is a fabulously well built and extraordinarily revealing phono stage that is capable of revealing pretty much everything that a great turntable can give it, if you appreciate refined components it has few peers."
- Jason Kennedy, HiFi+, April 2011

Esoteric's ultimate challenge: "reproduce every drop of recorded material that lives and breathes within the master tape." For over twenty two years, Esoteric has drawn on TEAC's extensive heritage in audio reproduction to forge state of the art sound technologies. These efforts have now come to fruition in Esoteric's Master Sound Works product category. The design of the E-03 phonostage preamplifier is focused on one thing...the re-creation of a masterpiece. 

"If you value reference-level transparency, space, detail, soundstaging, imaging, extended frequency extremes, and deep, tight, thunderous bass . . . well then, you’ll love the Esoteric E-03."
- Graham Abbott, 6Moons.com

Identical R-core power supply transformers, power boards, and audio boards are mounted on each channel. By avoiding the left and right channels having to share these components, the E-03 has achieved the ideal signal path and separation, while ensuring that it has power to spare. Moreover, the components and the boards are positioned symmetrically to achieve mechanical stabilization.

The E-03 contains a MC head amplifier that doesn't compromise the purity of the musical signals at low input levels, and an NF-CR type RIAA amplifier that achieves both excellent RIAA characteristics and NF reduction. To ensure extensive headroom and transfer, and a wide range of musical signals with plenty of power to spare, the RIAA and output buffer amplifiers both use high voltage circuits. These features achieve the vivid reproduction of every expression of the music, from dynamic power to subtle nuances.

Listening to a masterpiece with a beloved cartridge is one of the true pleasures of your analog experience. In recent years, various models of MC cartridges have entered the market, including a type with very-low inner resistance. Placing high importance on supporting various types of MC cartridges, the E-03 allows you to select from two MC-compatible input systems and seven impedance positions. The E-03 also allows you to select between three different load capacities-0pF, 100pF and 330pF-supporting the specified load capacities for MM cartridges.

The E-03 does not have a microprocessor, thus eliminating the noise produced by such components. In the pursuit of high sound quality, input and load are switched on the audio board. By minimizing switching functions to eliminate switching circuits, we have optimized the signal paths which greatly reduces noise and interference associated with conventional designs.

The E-03's dual split chassis structure prevents the influence on the audio circuit of flux leakage from the power transducer and effectively stiffens the body. The excellent internal weight balance and the three-point support provided by the unique hardened steel pin-point feet, minimize the negative effects of unnecessary resonance.

The blast finish and short scratch finish contrast beautifully on the E-03's body. The artistic sculpting of the screwless top panel and rounded corners results in a beautiful integration with Esoteric's high-end products.

RIAA deviation (20Hz to 20kHz): ±0.2dB
Total harmonic distortion (A-weight, MM): 0.003%
Output impedance: 80 ohms
Maximum output level: 18 V
Rated output level: 500 mV
Gain: 40 dB (MM), 66 dB (MC)
Input sensitivity: 5 mV (MM), 0.25 mV (MC)
Maximum input level: 180 mV (MM), 9 mV (MC)
Equivalent input noise (A-weight): -137 dBV (MM), -140 dBV (MC)

Input impedance
  MM: 47 k ohms
  MC INPUT 1 : 10, 50, 100, 300, 500, 1k, 10k ohms
  MC INPUT 2 : 100, 500, 1k, 10k ohms

Power supply: AC 230 V, 50 Hz / AC 120 V, 60 Hz / AC 220 V, 60 Hz
Power consumption: 14 W
External dimensions (WHD): 17 3/8" x 4 1/16" x 14 3/8" (including protrusions)
Weight: 23 1/8 lb

Hi-Fi+

SoundStage!

Six Moons

Brochure (PDF, 3.2 MB)

At Music Direct, we offer our customers a 30-Day Money Back Guarantee on components, hardware and audio accessories. This allows you time to ensure you made the right choice. If you are not satisfied with your purchase, contact our customer service department or your audio consult directly to arrange for a return.
 
This guarantee is not applicable on all Fluids, Phono Cartridges, and some special order merchandise.
 
Music is only returnable if it has not been opened.

To view our full return policy, click here.
Contact us with any questions about this policy.