pietpara
Member
- Thread Author
- #1
Hi,
I have been enjoying my new Esoteric K-03XD (black edition) now for almost 2 weeks and I wanted to share my experience here.
First of all the unboxing experience and the beefy looks and placement pleasure are fabulous. Clear manual, nice untraditional 2-sided bespoke remote, easy to use front panel controls and amazing vault-like disc tray are signs of excellent quality.
I have placed it above my Soulution 330 integrated amp, which now looks kind of tiny from the front. The Soulution is a lot deeper though.
I have heard the K-03 at a friends place for years (and before that the TEAC VRDS 25 CD player) and always respected the incredible stage, pinpoint precision and depth. Crystal clear sound creating large landscapes.
Since then I have always desired to own one myself or at least to have a similar soundscape and 3D precision. But not until last year did I have the fortunate situation to be able to invest time and money to upgrade my audio to these levels and also have time to enjoy it again.
So, on this front I am completely amazed or flabbergasted. The sound signature is exactly what I was searching but then even some more. The XD is indeed a significant upgrade to the previous whilst still being of a recognizable Esoteric character.
Also, I had been listening to streamed music via Roon on my Grimm MU1 connected to the Soulution DAC. This has been an extremely enjoyable journey since my upgrade from a Chord Qutest with SBooster linear psu. But now that I connected the Grimm to the K-03XD.... wow!.... not just next level but for me more like Doom Eternal's Ultranightmare uberlevel. Every aspect of sound quality and the experience thereof have improved. Most notably the bass going much deeper and the 3D soundstage.
I find myself addicted. I cannot stop listening to just any music including CDs and Rips on the internal SSD of the Grimm or DSD64 downloads from NativeDSD.com.
Even MQA, which I had frowned upon before and cancelled my Tidal account, has gained enough interest again. I happened to discover that I have an UHQCD of Astrud Gilberto and Gilberto Gil and found that the Esoteric presented an incredible picture, way better than the stream from Qobuz or the CD rip. "MQA???" I thought.
So that curiosity made me take another month of Tidal to discover if there are more MQA albums worth it, and I ordered another Japanese UHQCD of Regatta de Blanc and Stevie Wonder. A recommendation is to listen to Roger Water's latest Lockdown Sessions in MQA... very very enjoyable!
Of course I also play SACDs, Pink Loyd's 2018 remaster of Animals and Dire Straits Communique SHM are my current favourites.
So, I am extremely pleased, and also see here on the forum that my experience is shared by many. That's in some way also comforting... sharing similar goosebumps around the world.
My brain now keeps telling me I should find a way to compare my Soulution 330 to an Esoteric amp. Maybe the F-03 integrated, but with just 30W class A? Or the pre- and power amp combo C1X solo and M1X? Unfortunately the C1X doesn't come in black (yet). Will it ever?
The Soulution 330 is stellar, proving with the above that it can bring out the best in the Esoteric and drive the Q3s like a charm.
Dreaming is part of the fun, right?
Cheers
I have been enjoying my new Esoteric K-03XD (black edition) now for almost 2 weeks and I wanted to share my experience here.
First of all the unboxing experience and the beefy looks and placement pleasure are fabulous. Clear manual, nice untraditional 2-sided bespoke remote, easy to use front panel controls and amazing vault-like disc tray are signs of excellent quality.
I have placed it above my Soulution 330 integrated amp, which now looks kind of tiny from the front. The Soulution is a lot deeper though.
I have heard the K-03 at a friends place for years (and before that the TEAC VRDS 25 CD player) and always respected the incredible stage, pinpoint precision and depth. Crystal clear sound creating large landscapes.
Since then I have always desired to own one myself or at least to have a similar soundscape and 3D precision. But not until last year did I have the fortunate situation to be able to invest time and money to upgrade my audio to these levels and also have time to enjoy it again.
So, on this front I am completely amazed or flabbergasted. The sound signature is exactly what I was searching but then even some more. The XD is indeed a significant upgrade to the previous whilst still being of a recognizable Esoteric character.
Also, I had been listening to streamed music via Roon on my Grimm MU1 connected to the Soulution DAC. This has been an extremely enjoyable journey since my upgrade from a Chord Qutest with SBooster linear psu. But now that I connected the Grimm to the K-03XD.... wow!.... not just next level but for me more like Doom Eternal's Ultranightmare uberlevel. Every aspect of sound quality and the experience thereof have improved. Most notably the bass going much deeper and the 3D soundstage.
I find myself addicted. I cannot stop listening to just any music including CDs and Rips on the internal SSD of the Grimm or DSD64 downloads from NativeDSD.com.
Even MQA, which I had frowned upon before and cancelled my Tidal account, has gained enough interest again. I happened to discover that I have an UHQCD of Astrud Gilberto and Gilberto Gil and found that the Esoteric presented an incredible picture, way better than the stream from Qobuz or the CD rip. "MQA???" I thought.
So that curiosity made me take another month of Tidal to discover if there are more MQA albums worth it, and I ordered another Japanese UHQCD of Regatta de Blanc and Stevie Wonder. A recommendation is to listen to Roger Water's latest Lockdown Sessions in MQA... very very enjoyable!
Of course I also play SACDs, Pink Loyd's 2018 remaster of Animals and Dire Straits Communique SHM are my current favourites.
So, I am extremely pleased, and also see here on the forum that my experience is shared by many. That's in some way also comforting... sharing similar goosebumps around the world.
My brain now keeps telling me I should find a way to compare my Soulution 330 to an Esoteric amp. Maybe the F-03 integrated, but with just 30W class A? Or the pre- and power amp combo C1X solo and M1X? Unfortunately the C1X doesn't come in black (yet). Will it ever?
The Soulution 330 is stellar, proving with the above that it can bring out the best in the Esoteric and drive the Q3s like a charm.
Dreaming is part of the fun, right?
Cheers