Esoteric P03 / D03 vs MSB Platinum Data cdIV transport plus Signature power base

[bonzo75]

Hello IB,
Esoteric does have a house sound.
Hope that you have them for home trial only.

Pls go to audition Eera and Neodio Origine S2. I think you will like them.

Neodio is superb. But requires shun Mook resonators under it http://zero-distortion.org/neodio-origine-vs-trinity-aqua-formula-and-stahltek-opus-prime/

 

[bonzo75]

Neodio is superb. But requires shun Mook resonators under it http://zero-distortion.org/neodio-origine-vs-trinity-aqua-formula-and-stahltek-opus-prime/

And Jazzhead since moved on to TAD CD player followed by Lampi GG1 with 242

 

[spiritofmusic]

Hello IB,
Esoteric does have a house sound.
Hope that you have them for home trial only.

Pls go to audition Eera and Neodio Origine S2. I think you will like them.

CK, that's my Eera Tentation I'm recommending. IB has a chance of hearing a heavilly-modded example.

 

[Legolas]

Hello IB,
Esoteric does have a house sound.
Hope that you have them for home trial only.

Pls go to audition Eera and Neodio Origine S2. I think you will like them.

Of course I would recommend the Aries Cerat Helena, or Kassandra f you can stretch to it. The epitome of resolution + natural timbre + explosive dynamics + soundstage as big a St Paul's Cathedral....

 

[infinitely baffled]

IB, you really need to a/b this versus the Eera. The Tentation has zero fatigue factor, not one iota of grit/hardness/greyness/edginess.

I will be an absolute champion of analog to my dying day (my current rig made up of dozens of mods to a current cost of nearly £30k), but the Eera has a spookily analog-like presentation in terms of tonal saturation, timbral accuracy, bass fidelity, and zero glare. It's a total marvel.

I'd really implore you to hear it as a compare to the Esoteric wrt how it addresses what could be a certain stridency you're describing.

Well my plan was always to 'level up' with Esoteric first, and then arrange that comparison.
From the reading i had done between agreeing the deal and the units arriving, it was apparent that the later p02 - d02 would be more to my taste, and then everything written by Aperalim and the reviews of the K-1 show the sound moving further in the direction of liquidity.
So fret not, i still haven't excluded the Eera or the Neodio....in fact there's a dealer in Scotland primed to give me a home audition of the Neodio

 

[bonzo75]

Well my plan was always to 'level up' with Esoteric first, and then arrange that comparison.
From the reading i had done between agreeing the deal and the units arriving, it was apparent that the later p02 - d02 would be more to my taste, and then everything written by Aperalim and the reviews of the K-1 show the sound moving further in the direction of liquidity.
So fret not, i still haven't excluded the Eera or the Neodio....in fact there's a dealer in Scotland primed to give me a home audition of the Neodio

The esoteric is a good transport but quite average on playback. even big 7 with not the best tubes was quite superior to it. That said if you want a K01 let me know. An audiophile I know passed away, he was not in good health, and owned one. His wife is selling his goods and if this hasn't been sold it will be available.

 

[infinitely baffled]

View attachment 63470

Of course I would recommend the Aries Cerat Helena, or Kassandra f you can stretch to it. The epitome of resolution + natural timbre + explosive dynamics + soundstage as big a St Paul's Cathedral....

Would your dacs be happy to take a signal from an Esoteric transport or cd player?

 

[bonzo75]

Would your dacs be happy to take a signal from an Esoteric transport or cd player?

Neodio is not meant to be a transport though I don't know if they changed that recently.

I have compared esoteric into Lampi many times. I can even connect you to a guy in London who owns analog domain and is a client of your dealer Richard and he will tell you how his K01 sounded into the Lampi. We did that at his place many times

 

[Aperalim]

Ok i do have an issue
As currently configured, the sound is more fatiguing than i am used to.
( Hence the instant appeal of the more liquid sounding next generation, K1's etc.)
It's like a whole new world has opened up, but it's currently just a little hard edged.
Is there anything i can do in the meantime to soften it just a tad?

I'm not using the filter, and i would report that it's subjectively much louder at a given volume setting than my other sources. The remote control offers volume control, perhaps that is set too high, but the dac doesn't respond to the command from the remote. The remote successfully operates the transport, and i replaced the batteties today.
There doesn't seem to be a way of changing it from the panel, but i suspect I'm barking up the wrong tree as I've read elsewhere that the current generation are all designed to be used at full volume from the dac output

I haven't really explored the different menus, but ive done the traditional hifi thing and used the best quality xlrs i have to link the two machines. This yielded a considerable improvement, going to dual nbs statement xlrs, a personal favourite for the powerful bass they always bring to the party
Point being, I'm sure i can improve the setup via the various settings....any hints?

Add a high quality Master Clock like Esoteric G-0Rb : )
This is imperative to maximise this combination's performance...BUT as I mentioned even with the three boxes the P-03/D-03/G-0s was destroyed by Grandioso K1 on its own.
No volume control on D-03 DAC the remote is generic Esoteric and has features not applicable to P-03/D-03.

 

[Aperalim]

I would suggest you try up-converting PCM to 4x and use one of the SDLY filters (I prefer SDLY1 on my K-03X, but SDLY2 takes more edge off) if present on this machine. (Note that each setting combo requires around 500 hours to completely break in, although, IMO, you'll get a pretty good idea of relative differences out of the chute.)

Not applicable here on D-03.

 

[bonzo75]

Yes the difference with and without clock on my friend's K01 was pretty significant

 

[infinitely baffled]

Neodio is not meant to be a transport though I don't know if they changed that recently.

I have compared esoteric into Lampi many times. I can even connect you to a guy in London who owns analog domain and is a client of your dealer Richard and he will tell you how his K01 sounded into the Lampi. We did that at his place many times

I hear the Analogue Domain dac is quite something as well. Alain is playing with that atm

Btw just finished your Neodio - Trinity - Aqua - Stahltek write up.
Fascinating. If i understood, you said that's now your second favourite digital source?
Which is your favourite?
The TAD cd player also has a great rep

 

[bonzo75]

I hear the Analogue Domain dac is quite something as well. Alain is playing with that atm

Btw just finished your Neodio - Trinity - Aqua - Stahltek write up.
Fascinating. If i understood, you said that's now your second favourite digital source?
Which is your favourite?
The TAD cd player also has a great rep

Errr, Lampi? Unless by source you mean a transport, then I for l don't have one yet as I have not compared SGM to LDMS or Aurender so don't want to judge

 

[Aperalim]

The esoteric is a good transport but quite average on playback. even big 7 with not the best tubes was quite superior to it. That said if you want a K01 let me know. An audiophile I know passed away, he was not in good health, and owned one. His wife is selling his goods and if this hasn't been sold it will be available.

Just to clarify – there is a considerable gulf in performance between the Esoteric K-01 and Grandioso K1.

 

[jespera]

Ok i do have an issue
As currently configured, the sound is more fatiguing than i am used to.
( Hence the instant appeal of the more liquid sounding next generation, K1's etc.)
It's like a whole new world has opened up, but it's currently just a little hard edged.
Is there anything i can do in the meantime to soften it just a tad?

Q....any hints?

Thats the problem will much of the modern digital gear. At first listen it sounds impressively detailed and resolved. And the more you pay the more details (and heavy boxes) you get. However, after a while you start noticing a slight edge to the sound and all that hyperreality will start annoying you.

Try a vintage cd player instead.

Jesper

 

[spiritofmusic]

Jesper, Marantz CD12/DA12 comes to mind.
Just behind the Eera.

 

[jespera]

Jesper, Marantz CD12/DA12 comes to mind.
Just behind the Eera.

Yes something like that. Im very happy with the little brother cd-94 feeding an abbas (tda1541) dac.

Jesper

 

[infinitely baffled]

Thats the problem will much of the modern digital gear. At first listen it sounds impressively detailed and resolved. And the more you pay the more details (and heavy boxes) you get. However, after a while you start noticing a slight edge to the sound and all that hyperreality will start annoying you.

Try a vintage cd player instead.

Jesper

Well my adored YBA should return from the menders soon. I love it for it's analogue sound....you'd swear blind it was vinyl, but without the surface noise.
However as my analogue rig improved, cd's began sounding relatively flat and 2d.

I'm not prepared to give up with Esoteric until I've heard the single box Grandioso K01xd, given that my current pairing does have reputation for being the last machines before the house sound took a turn for the more musical. External clock should also help, and i should also say that I've changed the upsampling to DSD, and I'm finding that far less fatiguing than the 196khz setting i had it on when i made that observation

But with that reservation, within my limited experience I'm inclined to agree with the thrust of your post though i suspect Spirit might have something to say about modern cd players' character..

 

[infinitely baffled]

And Jazzhead since moved on to TAD CD player followed by Lampi GG1 with 242

I've heard good things about the TAD cdp.
Did you hear it?

 

[bonzo75]

I've heard good things about the TAD cdp.
Did you hear it?

I haven't compared it to Lampi myself Jazzhead loves the Lampi much more. I heard the TAD CD player at dcc and at that time compared it to tape and brinkmann