Leave it on?

[Bachtoven]

Do those of you who own an Esoteric CD/SACD player leave it on 24/7 or turn it off when you are finished listening? The person who sold me his K-03 said to leave it on all the time.

[joeinid]

I would have no problem leaving it on all the time. My Lumin and Marantz cd player are on all the time with the display off. They seem to sound their best that way.

[CPP]

I say leave it on. It's only using 25watts.

[kiwi_1282001]

Do those of you who own an Esoteric CD/SACD player leave it on 24/7 or turn it off when you are finished listening? The person who sold me his K-03 said to leave it on all the time.

I also own a K-03 and I strongly recommend you leave it powered up at all times. When not in use I simply dim the display.

[Bachtoven]

I have been and will continue to do so. Thanks for the input.

[mep]

Except for a SS Class A amp, I would never turn SS gear off. There is a reason why some of it doesn't even come with an on/off switch because they don't want you to turn it off.

[jdandy]

I have two Esoteric K-03 CD/SACD/DAC players, one each in two different sound systems. Both are powered with power conditioners that are in turn powered by uninterruptable power supplies. In this way the K-03's never experience power outages or voltage surges when the utility power is momentarily lost and then restored. For the past year or so I have left the K-03's powered on 24/7. I don't like using the mechanical latching off/on pushbutton switch to power the units. What I discovered by leaving the K-03's powered continuously is they sound more natural and smooth, more musical and alive from the first notes. This was driven home for me about a week ago when I turned off the K-03 in the studio system after a late night listening session. I was tired. When I shut off the amps and preamp I reached and pressed the power button on the K-03 without giving it a thought. It was a couple of days later before I was back in the studio for another evening listening session when I realized I had turned off the K-03. I pressed its power button, then turned on the rest of the sound system and relaxed with my laptop computer for about 30 minutes while the system warmed up. That is my usual routine. After the half hour passed I place a familiar SACD, Ray Charles - Genius Loves Company, in the K-03's tray and pressed play. The first track is a wonderful duet with Ray and Norah Jones, "Here We Go Again" with Billy Preston on the Hammond B3. The music began and I immediately noticed what can only be described as a slight chill to the sound of the instruments as well as Ray and Norah's voices. Don't get me wrong, the SACD sounded excellent but there was a certain absence of the essence of life in the sounds that I was used to hearing. The glow of the voices and the texture of the B3's organ chords seemed slightly skewed from their true symmetrical form. Again, the performance was very good but my mind sensed the wind had changed direction by a few degrees so to speak. I am certain someone unfamiliar with the system's sound and a fully warmed K-03 would never have noticed what I caught. As the hours went on in the listening session things improved but it wasn't until the next evening, after leaving the K-03 energized overnight, that the force of a totally transparent and fully focused performance reappeared. The slight out of kilter sensation I experienced the previous night had vaporized. This experience reconfirmed to me that the Esoteric K-03's do in fact sound more natural and fully fleshed out when they are allowed to reach a stable operating temperature that is uninterrupted by periods of being turned off and going cold. In the future I am going to pay more attention to my actions and not turn the K-03's off again.

[robhifi]

I have a K5 and I turn it on typically 1 hour before listening, along with other components.
Somehow I feel unsafe to leave my system on when I am not home.

A sidetrack question:
Is any of the esoteric owner experiencing disc reading noise?
The noise is always especially apparent (when the speakers are silent) on the first track and then reduced significantly afterwards.
And more so with SCAD reading.
Similar experience anybody?

[kiwi_1282001]

[...]

A sidetrack question:
Is any of the esoteric owner experiencing disc reading noise?
The noise is always especially apparent (when the speakers are silent) on the first track and then reduced significantly afterwards.
And more so with SCAD reading.
Similar experience anybody?

Yes, when loading and initially reading the disc contents the transport is quite noisy and more so with SACD where the player is attempting to respond to your preferred format layer. Thereafter the player is quiet with transport noise only audible if one is in close proximity to it.

[Colekat]

I have a K5 and I turn it on typically 1 hour before listening, along with other components.
Somehow I feel unsafe to leave my system on when I am not home.

A sidetrack question:
Is any of the esoteric owner experiencing disc reading noise?
The noise is always especially apparent (when the speakers are silent) on the first track and then reduced significantly afterwards.
And more so with SCAD reading.
Similar experience anybody?

Hey Robhifi, I have owned 4 Esoteric disc players, the X-01/D2, which was rather quiet all around. The K-01, which was noisy when the disc was loading, but quieter when it played, but still a noticable mechanical sound was always present. The D-02/P-02, which was rather quiet compared to the K-01 I had, but I could hear it when I was within a foot or so. And the P1/D1, which I could hear from my chair 10 feet away when I was breaking it in. I would leave it running in a loop for 4 days, and after the first day, I could hear it at my listening position. Now, after 400 hours of playing, I can still hear the mechanical noise, not from my chair, but within 2 feet easily.
So, after all that, what's the point. I love the sound of Esoteric players, and obviously can live with the noise. Now , I don't listen to my player for 4 days straight, so I don't hear the noise from my chair anymore. And it has become quieter over the last 5 months. Also, when it is playing music, I am in my chair and even dead quiet passages in the music, I can not hear any noise.
It bugged me for awhile, but after talking with many Esoteric owners, it's one of those things, some are noisier than others. And after years of owning these players, I have also noticed that it sounds best after a couple hours of warm up. So, when I know I'm going to listen, I turn it on the day before and run it in a loop to warm up. It sounds like music and nothing more. I would need to be right on top of the player to hear the mechanical noise. Esoteric has offered to take the transport and look into it, but it is a beautiful music maker and I can't hear the distraction unless I want to.
And, I have also found, it is not that big of a difference between the warmed up transport and not warmed up to not listen.... And it gets warm as you go!

[robhifi]

Thanks Kiwi and Cole. It's such a relief to know the noise issue is common and normal.
The noise isn't really a problem but it would be just nice without it, especially considering the brand's reputation.