Richard.......I'm positive the Sonos would sound its best feeding the K-03, but remember it is still streaming Internet music at low bit rates. The Esoteric K-03 is not a magician. It can't invent bits.

A superb comparison Dan which is well written with utmost attention to detail as is a signature of your reviews. As they say in the Navy -- you're deserving of many Kudos.:thumbsup:

Thank-you for all of us.:yes:

Happy Holidays Folks,

Bob

doggiehowser.......

Randy.......

Thank you very much. I still have a couple weeks before the K-03 has to ship back to California. I'll keep putting hours on it and enjoying every minute. :yes:

Bob.......Much obliged. . :beerchug:

Dan...very nicely written and thanks for doing it. So curious minds want to know, since you have 2 MCD-1100s, will one of them give way to a K-03 in one of your systems? I get that there are some functional issues that don't exactly suit your needs (# of digital inputs and lack of remote switching of digital sources, upsampling and filtering settings), but it sounds like you were sufficiently impressed with the K-03, hence the question :D

Thanks again for a comprehensively and thoughtfully written review :thumbsup:

Cyril.......I knew this question would be along in short order.

Yep! I placed an order yesterday for a brand new Esoteric K-03. Unfortunately they are back ordered for a couple of weeks, and then there's the transport time. I may be able to finagle a way to keep the demo K-03 until the new one arrives. Sure enough, I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. . :yahoo:

-- Dan, you have to be congratulated for a tremendously well done job; Congratulations!

- I was kind of expecting the final result, but not without total confidence; the main reason why I did not mention it before.
And I must say this too; the Esoteric's build quality (in & out) is something to behold and to be extremely proud of.

Also, AKM DACs are some of the very best sounding ones of all other DACs.
...No wonder so many high-end digital products use them. ...Anthem for example.

At the end, it's the Sound that counts. ...And with everything that comes with it.

Bob.......Thank you very much. The Esoteric K-03 is an extremely well made audio component. I am looking forward to having my very own.

Dan...you knew I had to ask :D Congrats on the new K-03! Will it go in the studio system? I am assuming you ordered it in black :thumbsup:

Dan... Thanks for the review. Nicely written. So when do you start freelancing for Stereophile? I could only imagine what a step up the P-02/D-02 combination would be from the K-03. Now that you have the Esoteric review runs on the board, how about requesting a loan for these beauties! :D

(Refreshing to read your comprehensive review after coming back from a glutinous, dorfy, short & boring pacific cruise with a dreaded cold/flu. To top it off my MC2301s also have the tube flu for which I have not as yet isolated. Cruising life is not for us...)