Esoteric Grandioso K1 Unboxing

Audiophon said:
Thanks Mike! Can you compare the sound of the Grandioso to Lampi GG? Are they in the sand sonic league (sure... one is a DAC and the other a transport and DAC, so difficult to compare...)?


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I don't have a GG on hand any more (only a Big 7). The Lampi's are very dependent on tube compliment, so it's difficult to compare. Lampi's with the right tube compliment are very organic and natural - especially with chip less DSD. Did we give up some magic when we had chip less DSD for convenience? Maybe.

I love the Lampi guys, they are all total nerds for what they do.

The Esoteric Grandioso K1 is really superb and I have heard it with the external clock. DAMN good!

I'm really excited to hear the new Berk REF 2 MQA version. The guys at Berkeley told me "MQA aside, the improvements to PCM are off the charts."




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Congrats on your Grandioso K1, stunning! The new AKM 4497 chip is a real game changer. It actually has 6 digital filters but they are all internally preset by Esoteric to achieve optimal sound. And from the feedback I've read, it has worked quite well.

Enjoy,
Ken
 
Alpinist said:
Congrats on your Grandioso K1, stunning! The new AKM 4497 chip is a real game changer. It actually has 6 digital filters but they are all internally preset by Esoteric to achieve optimal sound. And from the feedback I've read, it has worked quite well.

Enjoy,
Ken
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Ive always been curious about Esoteric digital. But , for the price they still use an off the shelf AKM chip. I can't get it over in my head that the competition in the same price range. For the most part is using custom FPGA etc..
 
mdp632 said:
Ive always been curious about Esoteric digital. But , for the price they still use an off the shelf AKM chip. I can't get it over in my head that the competition in the same price range. For the most part is using custom FPGA etc..
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Have you listened to it yet? I wouldn't be so quick to make snap judgements on the Grandioso K1 until you audition it. The new AK4497 chip offers a dramatic improvement over previous iterations and there are many other upgrades with the Grandioso technology. The K1's detail, organic musicality and soundstage are amazing. To my ears, I preferred the Grandioso K1 to both the Esoteric Grandioso stack (K1 DAC chip is two versions newer) and the DCS stack (no tomatoes please!). The only DAC I've heard that I preferred over the Grandioso K1 was the MSB Select II. YMMV.

Ken
 
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Ok, let's see what this big boy does in the AG system.




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Are any of the Esoteric Grandioso K1 owners using upsampling? What do you find sounds best?

I'm liking the upsampling to DSD.


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I'm not a K1 owner but curious about its DAC performance as it relates to high res files and tidal streaming.

if you happen to try out this feature it would be interesting to see how it ranks compared to the other dac you've had in your system
 
mdp632 said:
I'm not a K1 owner but curious about its DAC performance as it relates to high res files and tidal streaming.

if you happen to try out this feature it would be interesting to see how it ranks compared to the other dac you've had in your system
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I've tried it extensively in my store with the Aurender N10 and I feel the DAC chipset in the Grandioso K1 ranks right up there with the other best DAC's I have in the store. It gives up nothing to the other big boys.


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Mike said:
I've tried it extensively in my store with the Aurender N10 and I feel the DAC chipset in the Grandioso K1 ranks right up there with the other best DAC's I have in the store. It gives up nothing to the other big boys.


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Mike has to be a little diplomatic with his praise, considering all the top DAC brands he carries, but in my honest opinion, the Grandioso K1 is a material step up from the Berk Ref2 in both soundstage and detail. Plus the sound quality with SACDs and DSD is simply breathtaking.

Ken
 
I have to say, the Berk REF 2 vs the Grandioso K1 is two I compare a lot. I still have to give the nod to the Berk REF2. It has more meat on the bones and sounds a little more organic (especially with the Alpha USB). The Grandioso K1 has more detail and a slightly bigger sound. But, they are very very close and very system dependent.
 
Mike said:
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Ok, let's see what this big boy does in the AG system.




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Looking forward to your comments on the Grandioso with your home system. Also, nice CD! I really like Lindsey.
 
What's interesting is that the K1 and less expensive D05X DAC share this latest and greatest AKM chipset. However, the high end DACs do not.
 
mdp632 said:
What's interesting is that the K1 and less expensive D05X DAC share this latest and greatest AKM chipset. However, the high end DACs do not.
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Those higher end Esoteric DAC's are getting a little long in the tooth. Hopefully they will get an upgrade soon.

The D-05x looks interesting.


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Of course, if it's a digital master, wouldn't digital be closest to the master? Hmmm....[emoji57]


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mdp632 said:
What's interesting is that the K1 and less expensive D05X DAC share this latest and greatest AKM chipset. However, the high end DACs do not.
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The chips from oldest to newest are AKM 4495, 4490 and 4497. The K1 Grandioso has 4497, the D-02X has 4490 and the K-01X and the Grandioso stack have 4495. Esoteric uses the latest AKM chip available at the time of development.

Ken
 
Would add a smoother sounding cabling like the siltech cables etc. bring the k-01x sounding similar in smoothness to the K1 or is there other fundamental differences in the presentation of both players.

A clock certainly add so much smothness and banishing any glare mated with the k-01x i cannot imagine how the sound can be improved.
 
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