Esoteric K03 USB driver

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by ajdo

Is it the same problem with Windows 10 and asynchronous driver or is it just a Mac issue ?

AJ.......The Esoteric asynchronous driver works with Windows 10 on my Sony Viao laptop but will occasionally hang and loose connection with the K-03 DAC. It requires a reboot of the laptop to square up the issue, but hangs often enough to irritate me. Like all computers and software, compatibility is not guaranteed with all machines. What I tend to do with my K-03 is use the HS_1 setting or the NORMAL setting for USB. Both of those deliver glitch free operation with my laptop and JRiver Media Center 21. I have performed several A/B comparisons between the asynchronous HS_2 USB setting on my Esoteric K-03 to the other two USB settings and discovered very little if any difference in sound quality.

I have researched the web and found that I am not alone with the Esoteric K-03 asynchronous driver causing sketchy playback issues on different computers. I keep hoping Esoteric will issue an updated K-01/K-03 asynchronous driver that will make these compatibility issues disappear. In the mean time I am quite satisfied to use both NORMAL and HS_1 USB settings. They both sound excellent.

[ajdo]

Thank you Dan, great info ! Have been using Coax and Opt via Sonos which suffice for now since my library is mostly RedBook.
Starting to purchase higher resolution music and USB connection will come in handy.
Currently researching a solution to bypass laptop which I feel is cumbersome to use.

[jdandy]

AJ.......The good thing for me is I also have all of my high-res downloads installed on my two Olive 04HD music servers. I do not have to use my laptop and a USB connection to enjoy my high-res libraries. In fact, I am using my laptop less and less for that purpose. I do use it to download the high-res files from HDTracks and other sites, then transfer the files to the Olive 04HD servers in the studio and living room systems.

[2fastdriving]

Originally Posted by jdandy

AJ.......The Esoteric asynchronous driver works with Windows 10 on my Sony Viao laptop but will occasionally hang and loose connection with the K-03 DAC. It requires a reboot of the laptop to square up the issue, but hangs often enough to irritate me. Like all computers and software, compatibility is not guaranteed with all machines. What I tend to do with my K-03 is use the HS_1 setting or the NORMAL setting for USB. Both of those deliver glitch free operation with my laptop and JRiver Media Center 21. I have performed several A/B comparisons between the asynchronous HS_2 USB setting on my Esoteric K-03 to the other two USB settings and discovered very little if any difference in sound quality.

I have researched the web and found that I am not alone with the Esoteric K-03 asynchronous driver causing sketchy playback issues on different computers. I keep hoping Esoteric will issue an updated K-01/K-03 asynchronous driver that will make these compatibility issues disappear. In the mean time I am quite satisfied to use both NORMAL and HS_1 USB settings. They both sound excellent.

I have found major differences in sound quality in my system between the two. Fortunately for me, Mavericks works flawlessly with HS_2 and so I leave well enough alone. Never upgrading my Mac, I guess...

[jdandy]

One thing I forgot to mention is I have the Wyred 4 Sound Recovery in the USB signal path. It reclocks the USB signal before the DAC eliminating jitter in the USB signal from the computer. There was a sonic improvement when the Recovery was added before the DAC in the USB signal path.

[usbyte]

There is a fix for this problem but you have to send your unit to factory. Contact esoteric support for more details.

[ajdo]

Originally Posted by usbyte

There is a fix for this problem but you have to send your unit to factory. Contact esoteric support for more details.

Usbyte : Thank you. I thought I read something about USB upgrade for none "x" unit but was not sure of if it was DSD upgrade or just USB compatibility fix. Will contact Esoteric to better understand what it's all about. What are you first impression of your K-03 ?

Dan : Not sure if I read you correctly, Olive 04HD does not require a laptop and does not require USB connection either. I suppose you connect via Coax or Optical from Olive to Esoteric. Will look into this solution. Can't wait to get read of my laptop, or just use it as you explained for music download only

[audiokarl]

Yes, Mavericks or older OS is still best option for Apple user.

Mine is on SnowLeopard, would like to upgrade to Mavericks, which is still under apple support, but this seems to be impossible to upgrade a older OS.

On my 2.nd MBP i use ElCapitan, was originally Mavericks-----bah i should have never upgraded that one!
Maybe the PLL2 connection would be more stable using Mavericks.

The strange thing is that PLL2 sometimes lock in and loose the lock after some time or display error from the start.

I really would like to use the DAC with best settings and not to decrease sound quality because of insufficient compatibility.

----i know, they want me to buy the X.

P.S. I checked Coax and optical connection but USB is best to my ears.

MacBookPro -- Esoteric D-02--Gruensch Audio Amp-- MartinLogan SummitX Speakers--BHSE Amp--Stax 009/007Mk2--LG 65"OLED E6

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by ajdo

Dan : Not sure if I read you correctly, Olive 04HD does not require a laptop and does not require USB connection either. I suppose you connect via Coax or Optical from Olive to Esoteric. Will look into this solution. Can't wait to get read of my laptop, or just use it as you explained for music download only

AJ.......That is correct, no laptop required for playback and no USB connection. The Olive 04HD is connected to the K-03 DAC with a Wireworld Silver Eclipse coaxial cable. It has a 2TB internal hard drive for storage and has a touch screen display to access files. It has an internal transport for ripping files directly to the hard drive, or files can be transferred to the hard drive via Ethernet connectivity or wireless connectivity to your home local area network. There are also iPad and Android apps that allow you to control the 04HD wirelessly. I use an iPad to control both of my Olive 04HD servers. It plays everything from 16/44.1 to 24/192 files and backs up easily using an external USB hard drive. The Olive 04HD is a great sounding stand alone music servers.

[ajdo]

Originally Posted by jdandy

AJ.......That is correct, no laptop required for playback and no USB connection. The Olive 04HD is connected to the K-03 DAC with a Wireworld Silver Eclipse coaxial cable. It has a 2TB internal hard drive for storage and has a touch screen display to access files. It has an internal transport for ripping files directly to the hard drive, or files can be transferred to the hard drive via Ethernet connectivity or wireless connectivity to your home local area network. There are also iPad and Android apps that allow you to control the 04HD wirelessly. I use an iPad to control both of my Olive 04HD servers. It plays everything from 16/44.1 to 24/192 files and backs up easily using an external USB hard drive. The Olive 04HD is a great sounding stand alone music servers.

Decided to make the jump and get Olive 04HD from Ivan. Can't wait to replace my laptop/JRiver combo with a more intuitive, user-friendly IPad App and send high-Res (None DSD) music to my K-01.
Thank you for idea Dan