Looking for Esoteric D1X SE feedback.

[Doug2507]

Thought I'd lean on this groups experience as I'm considering a blind buy of a D1x SE. There doesn't seem to be much opinion available online and not sure whether that's an indication of it not being well received or just a bunch of very content owners.

I think I did read some had issues with the new DAC design vs the older AKM setup but issues normally get a larger spotlight than those that have none.

I believe the older Esoteric "house" sound has been surpassed with the newer design resulting in a more refined top end and possibly more timbrely rich. Would that be about right?

I've currently got a Bricasti M21 in the system and am looking for a slightly livelier presentation without loosing anything on the organic / natural spectrum. I like both DS and R2R of the M21 but something that provides the sound signature of both combined would be very welcome.

My other consideration is the new Rockna WD Reflerence Sig but feedback is scarce right now and the only comparisons are against the WD, not other manufacturers.

For context, I use a 300B pre amp with XA power amp & the amp side of life is very much sorted for my liking. I feel like I could add a little bit of spice on the DAC side (transients, dynamics, resolution etc) and the system would lap it up but certainly not at the cost of tonal refinement / timbre (which the R2R section of the M21 gives).

 

[pdubya]

I will vouch for the D1XSE as I use it, but not sure my experience is relevant: I've used it either by ESLink to a F03A or by XLR to a JMF Pre -- not sure either use case is comparable to a 300B (most likely single-ended) preamp. I use either the P1X (not SE) or the Aurender W20SE (mostly dual-AES) into it. I have no experience with Bricasti. While I have 4 TOTL DACs in house in 3 different rooms, none are ladder DACs. While I've never tried to put all 4 DACs head-to-head in one room (too many damn boxes), if I had to pick one it would be the D1X...with the W20SE and P1X ... I can't really parse it down to "spicy" or tell you where it falls on the lively - organic spectrum...
IME, the "liveliness" of a DAC has more to do with the interaction between DAC and preamp, like how well matched the DAC's V RMS is with the gain of the pre...
Parker

 

[Doug2507]

Thanks Parker and a very good point about gain, it's one thing I've had to give careful consideration to as my pre prefers a range of 1.2v-4v, the lower side being better. Having attenuation with the DAC is a must for me for that reason, it's one thing I'll need to recheck for the Eso unit and if done in the digital domain, how that is implemented.

 

[Backpacker]

There is a really interesting thread on Audioshark

Esoteric XD Series

With the introduction of the new XD series (which I have heard and commented on another thread that it is a tremendous jump in sonic performance), coupled with the fact that they have cleaned up their dealer network, I'm once again considering bringing back Esoteric. Does anyone know the...

www.audioshark.org

I was advised to give Esoteric a listen because their new DAC can be a good match for my speakers. Esoteric had the Grandioso K1x SE with power support at Axpona this year and my experience matches what was discussed in the thread.

I need to decide between Esoteric or MSB. They sound soooo different but i have not heard either one at home yet. My reaction to Esoteric at Axpono toggled beetween,," is this too much information?" and "this sounds real." It never sounded bright or edgy.

In the thread they talk about system matching. They said MBL and Estelon were great with Esoteric, while Magico was better with MSB.