Esoteric P03 & D03 vs K07xs or K05xs
- Thread starter Big Dog RJ
- Start date
Ah ha! That's the one TDX, the justification is always plausible...Good decision. Now she can’t scold you if you upgrade to the Grandioso
However, at this stage I don't think I'll go for the K01XD, simply because it's not required. I haven't really finished on the digital front because of two things:
1. I'm really enjoying how the K07XS performs and what it has to offer. It's truly a superb piece of machinery at its finest at this particular price range. Couldn't be any happier!
2. I'm also enjoying the analog front with the Rega and CJ's finely built TEA2SE phonostage. It's a marvellous combination! Neither of these have been finalised and to come to think of it, there's no such thing as the ultimate. I will only upgrade as long as the improvements meet my personal benchmark of 40%. Otherwise it's a waste of hard earned money. My upgrade path is not complusive, nor is it "keeping up with the Jones's" nor is it upgrading just for the sake of upgrading... that's a complete waste and no where close to 40%.
Like my good mate says, it's like searching for a black cat in a dark room, hence there's no black cat to begin with!
OTOH there are others here who are still looking for that black cat...
Like I said before, if it's really necessary to upgrade then go for it! If not, just sit back and enjoy what you have. That's exactly what I'm doing!
Enjoy those fine tunes!
Big WOOF! RJ
As long as your happy there’s never any need to upgrade.I am enjoying the 38 year old revox b225 CD player at the moment and it sounds very nice indeed.still waiting on delivery of the reference luxman sacd player.
Got my luxman d10x and running it in Right now.does have a different sonic signature to the mcintosh but that’s what I was after.
My luxman is fully run in and sounding absolutely stunning even better than my mcintosh in some ways.abit more dynamic than mac but not as liquid sounding. Some cds will sound better thru luxman and some better thru the Mac. That’s hifi for you.
I have Esoteric K-03XS, I prefer listen it with my old DAC Mark Levinson N360S...I have connect too a Grimm CC1 ( clock).
Very funny, isn't it ?
Have you heard the top esoteric gear in your system for comparison purposes? Congrats on the new CDP.
Greetings & G'day maties,
I just took delivery of three SACD's, one a multi layer, multi channel SACD from Venus, and the other two SACDs from Impex. Quite different in sound reproduction and output, which I will address in point form. The K07-XS has no issues playing various formats with multi-layers, though quite different payback levels.
1. The Venus sacd of Bill Charlap is loud! Powerful from level settings only set at 20 on the CT5.
2. The Impex ones by Patricia Barber are too soft at 20, so I would have to increase levels to around 40 to get that perfect realism. Each step on the level settings are 0.7dB, that's quite a significant margin...
3. There's another CD that I have by Venus label, called Gentle Blues- Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio, again very high levels on playback. Noticed both Venus are made in Japan.
The question is, why such variations in playback levels, especially SACD's? I thought SACD/ DSD formats were set on high standards and had to meet specific requirements in order to achieve SACD status. I was under the impression that was the standard and that there shouldn't be any variations as compared to standard CD quality.
Maybe I've missed something here, anyone else experienced such variations in SACD playback?
Would be interesting to learn how you found it, and how it affected level settings.
At the end of the day, whichever levels I finally managed to focus on, just with the right scale and image, like a camera lense, everything fits in perfectly. I must say the playback experience was superb! Cheers to Patricia Barber and Bill Charlap, very nicely done.
Best, RJ
I just took delivery of three SACD's, one a multi layer, multi channel SACD from Venus, and the other two SACDs from Impex. Quite different in sound reproduction and output, which I will address in point form. The K07-XS has no issues playing various formats with multi-layers, though quite different payback levels.
1. The Venus sacd of Bill Charlap is loud! Powerful from level settings only set at 20 on the CT5.
2. The Impex ones by Patricia Barber are too soft at 20, so I would have to increase levels to around 40 to get that perfect realism. Each step on the level settings are 0.7dB, that's quite a significant margin...
3. There's another CD that I have by Venus label, called Gentle Blues- Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio, again very high levels on playback. Noticed both Venus are made in Japan.
The question is, why such variations in playback levels, especially SACD's? I thought SACD/ DSD formats were set on high standards and had to meet specific requirements in order to achieve SACD status. I was under the impression that was the standard and that there shouldn't be any variations as compared to standard CD quality.
Maybe I've missed something here, anyone else experienced such variations in SACD playback?
Would be interesting to learn how you found it, and how it affected level settings.
At the end of the day, whichever levels I finally managed to focus on, just with the right scale and image, like a camera lense, everything fits in perfectly. I must say the playback experience was superb! Cheers to Patricia Barber and Bill Charlap, very nicely done.
Best, RJ
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Has nothing to do with the format, it is how they were produced and mastered. Possible use of lots of compressions which would raise the loudness perceived. Non-compression recordings and others might be mastered at a lowered level say like a Telarc recording, then you next recording you know most likely volume better be turned down or you might blow yourself or your speakers out of the room. M&K recordings, Sheffield Labs also would be at a lower level, they say that is very dynamic range and low noise so you turn up the volume on your preamp quite a bit. In fact, the Sheffield Lab recordings of Harry James were all released just a few years ago, taken directly for the master discs, and the level is so low, that we really need to crank it, that is until the horns section and Harry James starts to blow then lookout, you will be running for the volume, definitely no compression there.
The Harry James Sessions 1976 & 1979 (sheffieldlab.com)
The Harry James Sessions 1976 & 1979 (sheffieldlab.com)
mmm... now that makes sense, thanks for clarifying. I would be surprised though if the Venus labels are mastered with compression... Then again who knows! Whatever the changes were, those SACDs from Impex were very well recorded, fine level of resolution and detail. All-round, an outstanding combination on any high-quality gear, I would say. At the same time, the Venus SACDs were equally enjoyable but at much lower volume. I guess those recording engineers must have been drinking a couple of cans of either RedBull or V... go figure!
Especially after midnight, those loudness levels get pretty loud! So, no need to turn things up at all, guess that's a good thing.
Cheers to that, RJ
Especially after midnight, those loudness levels get pretty loud! So, no need to turn things up at all, guess that's a good thing.
Cheers to that, RJ
According to the Venus label and details inside cover, they use a process called 24bit Hyper Magnum Sound ... trying to read up on what this is, still searching. Definitely sounds interesting coming from those skilled Japanese techs.
Anyone have any ideas on Hyper Magnum Sound? Another learning curve for me at least.
Cheers, RJ
Anyone have any ideas on Hyper Magnum Sound? Another learning curve for me at least.
Cheers, RJ
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