Esoteric K-03 versus McIntosh MCD1100

[Car commander]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

The Esoteric transport really is head & shoulders above the MCD1100. I'm looking forward to the K01's with it's clamp & shutter.

I get the feeling your review is gonna cost me. Most of my listening is red book. I am looking forward to the review. I have just broken in my K03. Oh well.

They do weight a ton.

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by Jérôme W

Dan,
I read a few other reviews about the K03 and along yours, which is by far the best, they gave me the will to try it in my system. Don't kniw if it will be possible or not though.
Is there a dac only in the Esoteric line which is the replica of the K03 without the transport ?
This could make me save a few bucks. Not sure if I want to spend 12k euros in a digital product ( actually I'm quite sure that I don't ! ) especially when I remember how good the little Playback Designs dac sound at about 6.5k euros....

Jérôme.......Thank you very much for the nice compliment. The Esoteric K-03 would be a perfect fit for your big system. The sound is so realistic and clear it transports you beyond the equipment and the room. It places you at the event. I am positive you would be thrilled with the performance of the K-03.

Esoteric does have several stand alone DAC's in their line beginning with the D-07X, although it does not use the same 32bit Asahi Kasei Microdevices AK4399 DAC’s. It uses two AK4393 DAC's per channel, providing 24bit/192kHz playback through its four digital inputs. Based on my experience with the K-03, I would expect the Esoteric D-07X DAC to be a stellar performer.

[Masterlu]

Originally Posted by Car commander

I get the feeling your review is gonna cost me. Most of my listening is red book. I am looking forward to the review. I have just broken in my K03. Oh well.

They do weight a ton.

Tis the Season...

[jdandy]

The Esoteric K-03 now has 506 hours of break-in time on it. It is sounding fabulous. I have noticed a gradual sweetening of the presentation. By that I mean the texture of voices and instruments have grown slightly more organic, presenting truely natural and lifelike sound. The detail, air and resolution of the K-03 is so spacious and alive it is difficult to stop listening no matter how many hours I sit in the sweet spot totally thrilled. I have spent as many as seven straight hours listening to the Esoteric K-03 and at no time have I experienced even a hint of listener fatigue. In fact, it's just the opposite. I can't seem to leave the studio and go to bed, even at 2:00 AM. That was the case last night. I was listening to Lee Ritenour - Wes Bound on CD. It is Lee's tribute to the great Wes Montgomery. The quality of the GRP recording is top notch, and Lee has gathered a fine group of gifted musicians for this recording. From the first track "Wes Bound" to the last track "West Coast Blues", I was riveted in my seat with the warm feeling of actually being present at the original recording. It was that good. The Esoteric K-03 SACD/CD/DAC is a truly amazing digital audio player in every respect. I am very pleased to have my very own K-03 arriving soon, otherwise I would be extremely dejected to return the K-03 demo unit.

[BuffaloBill]

Dan, interesting reviews of the MCD1100 and K-03. These are surely some of the highest quality CD players on the market, although very expensive.

Question, why even have a CD player? Why not just use a pre-amp with an internal DAC or stand-alone DAC and play muisc from a server or computer?

[bradleyc]

Great way to finish off 2012 Dan, you're a man on the move. Glad you've found your digital sweet spot and thanks for taking us along for the ride!

Sent from my iPhone using A.Aficionado

[Masterlu]

Dan... You're new K-03 is enroute!

[mbovaird]

Originally Posted by BuffaloBill

Dan, interesting reviews of the MCD1100 and K-03. These are surely some of the highest quality CD players on the market, although very expensive.

Question, why even have a CD player? Why not just use a pre-amp with an internal DAC or stand-alone DAC and play muisc from a server or computer?

That's the route I took. I invested heavily in what I consider a world class DAC (EMM Labs DAC2X), a WW Platinum USB cable and my Mac Mini/iPad. Besides maybe getting a CAPS 3.0, it's a fabulous setup and surpasses my old MCD1100 for sound quality and betters my Oppo 105 by a large margin.

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by BuffaloBill

Dan, interesting reviews of the MCD1100 and K-03. These are surely some of the highest quality CD players on the market, although very expensive.

Question, why even have a CD player? Why not just use a pre-amp with an internal DAC or stand-alone DAC and play muisc from a server or computer?

Bill.......It's simple. I like spinning CD's and SACD's. In addition, when I have a fellow audiophile friend drop by with a handful of CD's to audition I can accommodate the request. Also, I really don't want a computer in my sound system as my music source and the Olive 04HD music server cannot handle DSD playback, so my library of SACD's would be useless without a player. The K-03 provides me with everything I want.

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

Dan... You're new K-03 is enroute!

Ivan....... .