K-01XD Review
 

Thought some of you might be interested....

https://www.dagogo.com/esoteric-k-01...sb-dac-review/

That's a great review!

This is a great comment...

This says it all...

"...merit of the K-01XD. It didn't have tubes for the softening and beautification of tones, but it achieves it nonetheless and in a single, decisive stroke it did more than just making digital music worthy of analogphile ears. By the prowess of the massive DAC construct, the K-01XD pushed the performance envelope over the edge in a grand manner that only Esoteric with its cadet of engineers could muster, and then developed a DAC that sounded smooth yet intricate, dynamic yet sensitive and above all, spacious and three-dimensional."

Footnote: think he meant cadre, not cadet...

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/66/8f...e9a38f138b.jpg

:lmao:

Gonna buy.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-pacific-13647438

My thoughts and impressions is that the level of Esoteric's digital since the k series was launched which i owned the K-01 and after, the K-01x.

If there was anything apart for the great balance, resolution, detail the K-01 was lacking, was a point where i was searching for and found it with the K-01x.

The nagging feeling that the K-01 was slighlty lacking was openess and more extension especially in the higher frequencies, detail in the high frequencies was there impressively in spades.

Until recently, a short shootout between the K-01x and the xd revealed how far Esoteric has moved.

Yes, the xd mare more organic browner tone in the midrange, warmer as some would say.

Their are crunchy sweet apple compared to fabulous sweet juicy orange!

I could not pick based on performance within 30 seconds as they both perform at such a high level, but the presentation represented such a sideway departure that the new direction in sound would require a more critical system matching.

Esoteric has always been loved for a more neutral presentation, i cannot say the same for the X series and prior which was outright stone cold in the midrange imo, now shifts to this warmer presentation.

To me it has gravitated more towards the warmer dacs direction, such emmlab, luxman, but still retain the touch reminiscent of the neutrality Esoterics previous offerings.

But nothing comes without its pros and cons, not in a negative way, but as in all things high end; be it cables, speakers, amps, preamps etc. There is no prefection, not which i am seeking and found in any perfect product before providing the wide open staging, extension of highs and lows, dynamics and alam and yet have a holistic warm and luscious vocal....

I would conclude that where one has a less warm sounding equipment /system, the k-01xd will be a napshot fit.

I have the K-01XD, and owned the K-01XS before I traded it in for this new SACD player.

I agree with justubes that the "warmth" of the sound really depends on your system.

I have a tube-based Luxman CL1000 preamp, ARC Reference 250SE monoblocks and Wilson Sasha 2 speakers.

That being said, there are different settings in the K-01XD that may be used to change the sound from organic (or "muddy") to higher resolution in the midrange. Having owned both a MSB Tech Discrete DAC and spinner and different DCS players, the Esoteric seems to me to be the best of this group of software-upgradable ladder DAC/transports. Of course, to each their own!