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

infinitely baffled

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The K1 clearly surpassed performance of P-03/D-03/G-0s in every single aspect that could be described.
In my experience there was nothing about its performance that was not eclipsed by the K1.
Ok I'm officially intruiged, especially given it's half the price of the p02-d02 upgrade i had planned
The K1 you linked to on ebay....is that the going rate?
Price seems very low

As of this evening, I'm officially an esoteric fan. Should probably go to bed soon, but I'm transfixed, i need to hear ALL of my cd's this way.
Worth the wait
 

Aperalim

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That K1 for sale in in Italy is unusually affordable and they rarely are available second hand.
That unit will I expect be a European 230V model.
 

infinitely baffled

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The article talks about the new dac in the K1, using a chip developed after the release of the flagship stack.
Are there now newer components, released since the review, with that dac chip?
 

infinitely baffled

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That K1 for sale in in Italy is unusually affordable and they rarely are available second hand.
That unit will I expect be a European 230V model.
It seems to be half the going rate. And as you say, they are distinctly thin on the ground.
 

Aperalim

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The article talks about the new dac in the K1, using a chip developed after the release of the flagship stack.
Are there now newer components, released since the review, with that dac chip?

Sorry I am not sure what other DACs now utilise the same DAC chips used in the Grandioso K1– but of course the chip itself is but a small part of the entire performance puzzle, a critical part yes but how the DAC chip is implemented is undoubtedly the key to ultimate performance.
 
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GSOphile

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Sorry I am not sure what other DACs now utilise the same DAC chips used in the Grandioso K1– but of course the chip itself is but a small part of the entire performance puzzle, a critical part yes but how the DAC chip is implemented is undoubtedly the key to ultimate performance.

The new K-1X, K-01XD and K-03XD announced in Japan don't use traditional AKM DAC chips but Esoteric-developed 64-bit FPGAs.
 
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infinitely baffled

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Sorry to lower the tone and all, but fuck me, that bass is astounding
 

infinitely baffled

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The new K-1X, K-01XD and K-03XD announced in Japan don't use traditional AKM DAC chips but Esoteric-developed 64-bit FPGAs.
So now I'm currently making inquiries.
According to sales blurb, the K-01xd and K-03xd do have the same AK4997 dac chip as in Aperalim's K1, that the review credited for bringing such liquid musicality to the party
 

CKKeung

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infinitely baffled

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infinitely baffled

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I'm living two audio cliches of bliss right now
I'm rediscovering my music collection
and

 
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infinitely baffled

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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?
 

GSOphile

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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.)
 
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Legolas

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It looks like maybe my advice has come too late?

As good as the P-03/D-03 are, if I were you I would leapfrog the P-03/D-03 and go for the single box Esoteric Grandioso K1 SACD :
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/303522659166

I owned P-03/D-03 with G-0s Master Clock for many years in a very highly resolving system Absolare Altiius preamp/ Absolare Altius 845SET amps / Voxativ field coil 9.87 speaker system and the P-03/D-03/G-0s combination was easily outperformed in every possible way by the Grandioso K1 which I now own.

Happy listening.
I know the K-01 well, the original circa 2012 model. It was dynamic and detailed but fatiguing IMO. Very digital sounding. The later Esoteric use FTGA and discreet ladders I believe, which probably is the reason the K1 is better than the 2 box older systems.

As in all things, try to get them home, and compare to other top DACs for a flavour of what you are hearing.
 
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Legolas

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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?
It will need a week or so to settle. Then try the different filters, they do sound different. Finally tune your system with cables if you need to manage the upper treble responses. Details often comes at a price, that may tip the balance of the rest of your system, speakers in particular.

Try a copper IC instead of silver for example.
 
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spiritofmusic

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Jun 13, 2013
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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?
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.
 
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CKKeung

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Jun 17, 2011
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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.
 
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