Thread: Esoteric N-01

N01 has the horsepower for DSD512 and the latest AKM DAC chips. It weighs 26kg. Lumix S1 is limited to DSD128. It weighs 10kg. Together with all the other numbers just screams that N01 is the better performer, by a long way.

Very interesting. I used to have a lumin A1 and sometimes I am missing it..( didn't keep it because could not be used as a standalone DAC)
So if N01 is way better...

Alex

Sent from my SM-N9500 using Tapatalk

As the esoteric uses the lumin app, does it mean spotify which lumin now supports will work also streaming spotify into the Esoteric N01?

Spotify connect is now supported natively by N01 with recent firmware update. The Spotify control point will see N01 as a Spotify source on the network. You don't need any other hardware for this to work, just your Spotify App on iOS or web-browser or whatever.

Originally Posted by brodricj

Spotify connect is now supported natively by N01 with recent firmware update. The Spotify control point will see N01 as a Spotify source on the network. You don't need any other hardware for this to work, just your Spotify App on iOS or web-browser or whatever.

Thanks, how does it sound direct?


Just as Tidal has been in financial woes, now just read that spotify may be in trouble over a huge copyright lawsuit!


I wonder if it is hard for manufacturers to get other streaming services implemented or added at a later stage should anything terriblehappen.

Spotify have been trying to up-sell me to discounted annual membership. Makes me wonder how viable they are. I will stay on month by month.

I don't hear any difference between Spotify streaming and playing the same CD to the RCA input of N01. In other words, no point spinning CD any more when Spotify provides the same quality sound, but with endless variety of content available, and far more convenient than spinning CD.

That's great to hear, which transport are you using the N01 with or compare Spotify streaming.

Tidal Hifi would provide another 2 steps up in performance!

I have a PS Audio Directstream Memory Player and a Kaleidescape M700 player. Spotify network playback on N01 sounds as good as Kaleidescape, and better than the PS Audio.

That's fantastic!

I am also getting comparable streams via Tidal to my K-01x and have all along considering a n-01 to simplify when MQA became ready, which is right now

N01 would sound better than K01X. Better DAC chips, much better S/N and lower THD.

Whether my MacBook playing Spotify via USB to the N01 compared to the N01 native Spotify support, that is much closer comparison. I would say very slightly in favour of native support in the N01 sounding better, certainly it is better not to need the computer any more.

You need to try tidal, even smoother sound

In a Hong Kong forum someone bought TEAC CG-10M (MSRP JPY148,000 before tax in Japan) for use with N-01 and reported a positive result. Both are 50 ohm - so a 50 ohm cable should be used.

Esoteric has released network module firmware 10.1i that improves the N-01 MQA sound quality due to improved DAC-side correction.

My N01 network module update ran flawlessly.

I have seen a few instances of N-01 changing input source by itself. I'd be listening to the source on RCA input and then it will switch itself over to Network input with nothing playing. Has anybody else seen this behaviour with their N01?

Any network-initiated playback may cause the behavior you describe, such as AirPlay, Spotify Connect, Roon, OpenHome, UPnP, etc.

Please also check whether your family has a Spotify installation on their (mobile) devices. Spotify Connect allows them to take control of your N-01 any time any where via the Internet, away from your home.

Next time this happens, observe what the front panel says. Also press the front panel + to check the playback status.

I just tested your theory and yes, you're correct. Spotify will show the N01 as an available device even if the input source on the N01 is not network.

I need help to diagnose an issue with my N-01.
The NETWORK input is not working.
Spotify and Esoteric SoundStream do not see the N01 on the network.
The N-01 LAN port is visually indicating traffic (1G link light steady green, other green light blinking away).
The N-01 is connected to a managed switch. The switch webUI is correctly showing the MAC of the N-01 on the port it is connected to, and the port statistics show that data is flowing on that port.
FING network scanning tool identifies the N-01 on the network, but reports no IP.
I have done a "factory reset" of the N-01 as per page 20 of the owners manual.

What else can I try?

well, yeah, I had tried that....never had a networking issue with my DSD pieces before.

The other thing I tried was connecting the N-01 directly to the modem so that it will get a WAN IP, and hopefully Spotify would find it that way. But it didn't. Connecting directly to the modem bypasses the router and switch and local network.

Despite the above the N-01 is not getting an IP. The FING App network scanning tool has detected every power cycle on the N-01 (15 times in the past day), but no IP.

I am now seeing N-01 completely powering itself off after about 10 minutes with NETWORK input selected and nothing playing. Is there a power saving setting that would do this?

Using the Esoteric front panel, please turn off Automatic Power Saving - APS and Display Auto Off - DPaOFF.

Well yes, but the behaviour of my N01 is not as per page 18 of the owners manual.

APS>*** applies to input source XLR, RCA, OPTICAL or USB, and then only after 30/60/90/120 minutes of no input signal from the selected source. My N01 is turning itself off when NETWORK input is selected, and after about 10 minutes on no input signal detected.

This is unrelated to DPaOFF>***. The display is not going dark, the unit is turning itself off (which of course causes the display to go dark).

Please try using a different WiFi router to set up a dedicated network - connect your N-01 to it, and connect your iPad WiFi to this router instead. With this being a dedicated network it can't do Spotify without internet, but you would be able to verify the app can see the N-01 on the network, and verify app-based playback using USB flash drive plugged into it.

I had thought of that, and I tested it but in a way I suspected might not work. I have an access point that has a built-in DHCP server function, but only for the guest WiFi network. The AP was giving out DHCP leases to the clients connected to the WiFi guest network, but the N01 doesn't have WiFi and I suspect it was being connected on a different network segment isolated from the DHCP server. Anyway, that didn't work....I could try using another AP in bridged mode to connect the N01 to the guest WiFi segment.

The N-01 is turning itself off after 30 minutes with NETWORK input selected. This behaviour is different to the description in the manual for APS>***

And another thing. I contacted Spotify Support to see if they could shed some light on the issue, and they said Esoteric N-01 is not yet supported as a Spotify Connect device. I said, how come it has worked as a Spotify Connect device for the past 3 months? They said, it is still not certified Spotify Connect.

Anyway, Esoteric SoundStream doesn't detect it on the network either.

SUCCESS!

I built a new network using a Pakedge R60D router and network playback on the N-01 is working perfectly.

I do not understand why the N-01 was working perfectly on the Pakedge RK-1 router for 3 months and then suddenly stopped working.

I need to find out what has gone wrong in the RK-1 because that is my preferred router. I don't want to have to run 2 routers on the network just to support the N-01 and Spotify.

The fundamental issue seems to be that the RK-1 is not issuing an IP to the N-01 any more.

Write down (not backup) the settings of the problematic router, then factory reset the problematic router.

Although this is very rare: you may also check if you have a MAC address clash of N-01 with another (possibly newly added) device on your original network.

Well, the problem first happened when a guy brought around his K03X to my house to try with my G02X (he's thinking of buying my G02X). Cables that were connected to N-01 got connected to K03X. When he left and cables got connected to how they were before then N-01 network input stopped working.

p.s. N-01 sounds considerably better than K03X.

Originally Posted by wklie

Write down (not backup) the settings of the problematic router, then factory reset the problematic router.

Although this is very rare: you may also check if you have a MAC address clash of N-01 with another (possibly newly added) device on your original network.

And try a different Ethernet port on the router, or insert an Ethernet switch between the (different port of) router and the N-01.

I contacted Pakedge Support about this issue and apparently there is a known bug in the RK-1 software relating to the DHCP server.

Pakedge sent me a beta firmware update to put on the router but it didn't fix the problem.

Pakedge remote-in to my home network (from Serbia of all places!), checked the router logs and found that the N-01 was trying to force the router to issue an IP in a way it didn't like. So they've come up with a new software update which has finally resolved the issue. Everything now working properly! Pretty good support from Pakedge on this occasion.

This seems to be a very interesting product, expecially by the quality of it's internal DAC. However, I listened in the past to a K-01x and was a little put-off by the very analitical sound signature. I hope the N-01 is a little softer/warmer sound signature.

Also, I wonder if Esoteric's software is exactly the same as the LUMIN software or if it is modified by esoteric ?

Nothing wrong with analytical sound. Much better than soft, warm and mushy. To me anyway. I like the N-01 detailed analytical sound signature. I didn't like the K-03X sound as much, haven't heard K-01X.

Originally Posted by brodricj

Nothing wrong with analytical sound. Much better than soft, warm and mushy. To me anyway. I like the N-01 detailed analytical sound signature. I didn't like the K-03X sound as much, haven't heard K-01X.

How would you describe the K-03X sound?

When you listen to CD played on K-03X after listening to the same CD played on N-01 you realize there is something missing. The level of detail extracted by N-01 is just not there on K-03X. And that is with both being clocked with G-02X.

Anyone compared the N-01 to Totaldac d1-Seven + d1 music server ?
Both of them are on my radar for my next build.

If anybody in 230V land wants to buy an N01 + G02X please PM me directly as I'm offering mine for sale.

I'm just clearing the decks in advance of Esoteric releasing the replacement for D1, which I'll buy with N-03T.

Everything included as per new. Condition is 100% unblemished from new.

Originally Posted by bmichels

1. from what I understand the Grandioso K1 do not have any ethernet input, so, it will not allow you to stream music from a NAS or from a service like Tidal or Qobuz ?

2. N01+G02 is not a real competitor to the Grandioso K1, they are more for different usages ?

3. I correct to say that there is not a TOL "one box" Streamer/Disk spinner in the Esoteric line ?

1. Correct. No network support on K1. As I mentioned, I was using MacBook computer for Spotify via USB, however N-01 network module Spotify playback sounds better than USB.

2. Correct. K1 provides disc spinning capability (but not network playback capability). Since I made that post, Esoteric has released N-03T. I would use N-03T for network playback instead of computer.

3. Correct. In Esoteric line you need 2 boxes minimum, a player/DAC + N-03T.

Originally Posted by bmichels

I am surprised that Spotify offer CD-like" sound quiality ! Indeed (until Spotify HiFi is available...one day) Spotify offer compressed quality ! is it not losless like Tiday HiFi or Qobuz HiFi !

Correct. Spotify Premium is 320 kbps. I can assure you, played on N-01 it sounds as good as CD. That is difficult to believe, but trust me on that, Spotify Premium sounds fantastic on N-01. It is so good I have decided to sell my PS Audio DirectStream Memory Player. I have come to the conclusion it is difficult to justify owning a disc spinner when the N-01 (and I assume N-03T also) sounds so good with network playback.

This might sound counter-intuitive, but sometimes I think the Spotify stream sounds better than the same CD. The only reason I can think of to explain that is the communication interface. I'm using a long (cheap) Audioquest VSD-1 video-digital cable to connect the player to the N-01 coax input. The ethernet interface must be overcoming any inadequacies in the SPDIF interface, even to the extent the ethernet streaming is a lossy source whereas SPDIF source is not. I do have a very high-end home network infrastructure so that might be part of the equation as well.

Originally Posted by bmichels

How do you stream TIDAL to your K-01X..

I don't know what he uses, but there would be several options.

Computer>K-01X.
N-03T>K-01X.
Smart TV>K-01X.
Playstation>K-01X.

Any SpotifyConnect/Tidal device with a digital output.

My listening habits used to be (as mentioned earlier)....

75% of my music listening is played via Kaleidescape and 20% is Spotify via MacBook. The other 5% is disc spinning or HiRez music on USB stick.

but since the N-01 network module update to Spotify support my whole music listening experience has changed.

My current utilization: I don't spin physical discs any more. I don't listen to HiRez music on USB stick any more. I don't listen to Spotify on computer any more. 95% of my listening time is Spotify Premium on the N-01. The other 5% only happens when my daughter steals my Spotify stream on her iPad, in which case I listen to my own CD library stored on my Kaleidescape server and played via N-01 coax input.

Don't underestimate how good N-01 sounds with a music streaming service. It has completely transformed my end-user experience of music consumption. My upgrade path from here would be, whatever is the replacement for Esoteric D1 (D1X?), and N-03T. I couldn't go back to listening to Spotify via computer after hearing how much better it is via the Esoteric embedded Spotify platform. Esoteric K1 is not on my wish-list any more.

I just stumbled on a new way to connect to my N-01.

I have been having connectivity issues with Spotify playing on N-01. The N-01 either shows up in the "devices available" list but won't connect, or it just doesn't appear in the list. Spotify Support are of no assistance because N-01 isn't a certified Spotify Connect device. I suspect a recent Spotify App update may have caused issues connecting with the Spotify SDK binary loaded on the N-01.

The N-01 plays via SoundStream App so my network side is OK.

I have just signed up for a free Tidal subscription, to test whether that works on N-01 better than Spotify. Unlike Spotify, Esoteric is a Tidal Supported device. Well, it works! I'm not seeing MQA in the N-01 display when playing MQA content (unlike my PS Audio DirectStream DAC, for example). What I am seeing is 48kHz and 96 kHz lossless PCM. I haven't worked out how to play an album from beginning to end in Tidal, I can only play each song individually, with playback stopping at the end of each song.

Through the process of getting Tidal to work, when I opened SystemPreferences>Sound on my MacBook Air, the Esoteric N-01 was listed as an "Airplay" sound output device. WTF? is Airplay! What's happening is the Tidal desktop App is connecting to N-01 via WiFi, indirectly via the access point that the MacBook Air is connected to. I don't know if content is getting sucked up by the N-01 directly from the Tidal server (which is how Spotify works, or used to work), or whether the content is being sucked up by the computer, and then streamed from there to the N-01.