SCAudiophile
Active member
I would clock witha G-02X if you could demo it; others have and report great results.
The first question is tough, not sure what path you should take. P1 is the clear choice should you also go dual D1s in the future.
Esoteric Grandioso K1 Unboxing
- Thread starter Mike
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I would clock witha G-02X if you could demo it; others have and report great results.
The first question is tough, not sure what path you should take. P1 is the clear choice should you also go dual D1s in the future.
That's the dilemma. I suspect the great price I've been offered on P1 is to move old stock before the release of a new model. But when D1X comes along I'm not going to get a pair of those at close-out pricing...but I might get D1 at closeout pricing. I don't think D1X will be affordable. P1 + D1 at closeout pricing might be affordable. K1 by itself might be close enough to P1 + D1? Or P1 + N-01 might be close enough to K1 or P1 + D1?
I don't know, I can only rely of end-user feedback via the forum as demo is not possible.
I don't know, I can only rely of end-user feedback via the forum as demo is not possible.
SCAudiophile
Active member
Bear in mind that the P1 and D1 is a market-leading absolutely SOTA solution; you would not be wanting for more for MANY years to come.
If you had to choose a single box in the world right now and for the foreseeable future, I would suggest the Grandioso K1; it is good in a
way that it's tough to put all the words necessary to describe into play to do it justice having heard it twice now myself. Have you thought
about streaming in via USB or other digital input into the K1 to utilize its outstanding DAC section? Forgive if I'm missing something here
but what could you not accomplish given your goals in this way? Pure network streaming?
Having owned the Grandioso K1, I would recommend going that route. I have listened to the Grandioso D1 and while it is better than the K1 in some areas (resolution, layering and soundstaging), it is just not as liquid sounding as the K1. I found the K1 to be more musical primarily due to its AK4497EQ DAC chip, which I feel blows away its predecessors. I personally wouldn't purchase any Esoteric component that doesn't have the new AK4497EQ DAC chip.
Best,
Ken
I already have the N-01, which is why I was thinking buying a transport instead of a player. I know K1 will play SACD at full resolution, and transport > N-01 won't, however I have very few SACD in my collection and my interest is overwhelmingly CD. The question becomes, would K1 sound better than P1>N-01 for CD playback? K1 and P1 are the same price (actually, only $500 difference). I know K1 is reported to have better internal power supplies than N-01, however if I'm using a PS Audio power regenerator I think would level the playing field and diminish any advantage the better internal power supplies of K1 has over N-01.
K1 is $27K MSRP. P1 is $35K MSRP. However, as I've mentioned, the dealer has given me a good price on P1...basically I'm getting $8K MSRP (the price difference between the 2) for only $500.
K1 is $27K MSRP. P1 is $35K MSRP. However, as I've mentioned, the dealer has given me a good price on P1...basically I'm getting $8K MSRP (the price difference between the 2) for only $500.
Phishphan
Active member
I sold my K1 a few months ago after I had a flood in my house. Luckily my stereo was untouched, but the ceiling needed to be redone, so I pulled everything apart.
I had an offer from an audiophile friend who has a plethora of high end gear and he wanted my K1. I was over at his house today checking out his EMM DA2 that he picked up about a month ago. I’ve got to say it spanked the K1. The K1 sounded flat in comparison to the DA2, and don’t get me wrong, the K1 is a fantastic DAC. I love esoteric gear, but I’m really thinking next DAC might be the DA2... it’s incredible.
Just my 2 cents.
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I had an offer from an audiophile friend who has a plethora of high end gear and he wanted my K1. I was over at his house today checking out his EMM DA2 that he picked up about a month ago. I’ve got to say it spanked the K1. The K1 sounded flat in comparison to the DA2, and don’t get me wrong, the K1 is a fantastic DAC. I love esoteric gear, but I’m really thinking next DAC might be the DA2... it’s incredible.
Just my 2 cents.
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Phishphan
Active member
No. The EMM DAC was fed by a tricked out Mac mini from a company called “your final system”. Never heard of them before today. The K1 used the same source for our comparison.
The EMM DA2 sounded significantly better than the K1. It was pretty shocking, and this is coming from someone who loves the Esoteric sound.
If you’re thinking of buying a DAC, I’d go give it a listen. It might be my next DAC.
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If you’re auditioning the EMM DA2 DAC, you should also audition the MSB Premier DAC which is at a similar price point.
Best,
Ken
Where the K1 is supposed to shine is as a single box player. As soon as you start introducing other boxes and interconnects then you're at risk of dilution. I'm curious if the K1 sounded better spinning a disc than the tricked out Mac mini going to the DA2.
Phishphan
Active member
When I owned it, I had my Aurender N10 feeding it. The K1 sounded better with a SACD vs DSD over usb. However there was no difference on Redbook.
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Phishphan
Active member
There’s actually someone selling a reference on agon for 20k. Thought about buying it without ever hearing it. I’ve read MSB really got it right with this iteration. There’s a dealer about 90 miles north of me. I need to drive up and see him before making the final decision. That EMM DA2 is something special.
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- Thread Author
- #114
His ads look suspicious to me. He provides no actual photos of any of the items for sale and uses the same text for each item. He also hasn’t posted on Audiogon in 15 years.