Opinion on The Esoteric N-05
 

Hi everyone,
Greetings from Lisbon, Portugal.
My system is modest and it sits on a family living room.
I have a Plinius Hautonga integrated amp, Monitor Audio Platinum PL200II speakers. The main source for 95% of my music is my Cambridge Audio Azur 851N, heavily modified streamer. The rest comes from my TT.
My plan for the upcoming months/years would be to go for an Esoteric K-03 (current version) to listen to my CD’s and use as a better DAC for the streamer.
But most of the music I listen is in fact stored in my NAS or Tidal Hifi. All my CDs are ripped in uncompressed WAV and I also have a large collection of hi-rez files.
So it maybe made more sense to go for the N-05.
Would love to read your opinions!

Thanks
Andre

Out of curiosity: How did you modify your 851N?

The K-03XD will have a far better dac than the N-05, so they aren't really apples to apples.

If you want to go full streamer, stretch a little and get the N-01XD. That's even better than the K-03XD. Too bad they don't make a N-03XD!

But if you want to use your current streamer and keep a spinner around as an option, then the K-03XD is a good idea. It's just not ideal to use USB compared to a network input, but that's splitting hairs really.

Hi!
In the power supply I upgraded all capacitors, diodes and voltage regulator to Sparkos discrete.
In the audio board and DAC also replaced all caps (used Elna silmic II, Nichicon BP and Fine Gold and KW dependi g on the usage). Also upgraded the 10 voltage regulators to Sparkos discretes. Replaced stock RCA to WBT ag). Power cable is also not stock.
Difference from the stock unit is huge, in detail, timming, silence, soundstage, texture.

The local Esoteric dealer (also Pass Labs, Monitor Audio, Plinius) is a good friend. I actually have the possibility to listen and compare both. Also maybe try them here at home.

Whoa - that's a lotta work!

Hi Andre

Please go check compatibility with Esoteric. They are fantastic units, but those days home servers and compatibility are not yet there...
I had, I believe, from the same source, an K-03xd, to pair with Aurender N20, and I have my share of compatibility issues. Now all solved until DSD256 (the SACD player does that DoP), just remaining the DSD512. Note that everything should be ok from both specifications...
I had too your streamer, and after your upgrade, I believe you have made better an already good one.

Typical USB sample rate specifications are only for Windows.

Linux DSD compatibility among streamer - DAC are basically impossible to list.

Mac OS does not even have native DSD (with a few exceptions).

These are true not only for Esoteric, but for *all* DSD512 USB DAC in the market.

That's one of the reasons why I'm here, to answer questions about compatibility of Esoteric models and their network operations (same with N series and Lumin).

My main goal is to play files from my NAS. Most of them are uncompressed WAVs, 24/192 Flacs and DSD64.
Regarding the upgrade on my 851N I spent many hours and studying a lot. The overall cost of replacing some 70-80 components was around USD600. Some had to replaced more than once. It was a labour of love and patience but the outcome and surprising. I took it to my Esoteric dealer and he was impressed. Sounds really good but it’s still far away from an Esoteric. But I would say it sounds like a USD 4.500 streamer now. Pretty happy with for the time.
Good weekend everyone!
Andre

On a quick update, the Esoteric dealer suggested that I would be good with my current streamer and go for a K-07Xs, adding an external clock later. This would be - in his opinion which I value - a better option than going for the N-05 or the K-05Xs alone.
In the upcoming weeks I will borrow the K07 and N05 and test in my system for a few days.

Today I listened to the K-07Xs and the N-05, both hooked to an external clock.
Same system - Pass Labs Int25 and Monitor Audio PL200II speakers - same interconnects.
I found the K07xs far superior than the N-05. Next week I will bring both home for deep testing.

Meet N05XD

https://www.esoteric.jp/jp/product/n-05xd/top

Well Now what do we have here...!!!! :scratch2:

https://www.esoteric.jp/images/produ...ear_narrow.jpg

https://www.esoteric.jp/images/produ...ont_narrow.jpg

Looks great as all Esoteric do.
Specs look great! Reviews are still scarce.
On an update on this thread, I had the K-07Xs at my house for a week.
Sounded better, more detailed and dynamic than my modded 851N.
One funny thing I noticed was that it was like the notes had a bit more sustain in the K-07Xs. You could here the notes for longer. Maybe because it's more silent or the sound is somewhat processed. But overall, it didn't sound 7.000 euros better.
And the regular N-05 didn't sound better than my current streamer.
I will wait for the N-05XD and try it out.

Good weekend, everyone!
Andre

Andre... the law of diminishing returns!

Forgive me for hi-jacking this thread. Would like to ask you a question if I may? Just for fun I tried to use the optical out on my Lumin U1 into the DAC of my K01x and could not get it to work. I'm sure the optical-out is on. My toss-link cables are old and not sure of their quality and if sample rates affect the transmission of data to the K01x DAC. I tried several cables to no avail.


Thanks everyone!

When diagnosing optical (toslink) issues:
- Make sure the source optical (toslink) is enabled, as it may have been turned off (it is usually possible to look into the output port and see whether there is a red light during playback)
- Make sure re-sampling options are disabled at the source, or you may do a factory reset
- The DAC needs to be changed to use the optical (toslink) input
- Try different sample rates, such as 44.1kHz, 96kHz
- Also try the coaxial connection, it is better than optical (toslink) anyway

If you are sure the source is enabled, and multiple cable have been tried with multiple sample rates (especially 44.1kHz), then it is worthwhile to find a different source to confirm whether the issue at the source end or the DAC end. Find another box that has optical toslink output, such as a Blu-ray player, computer, or even TV. If you use a TV, its output needs to be set to SPDIF, and format needs to be set to PCM instead of bitstream.

Thanks for the suggestions! I will try setting the sample rate to native and/or 44.1 KHZ. :D I can confirm red light at the Lumin output and at the end of the toss-link cable.