- Thread Author
- #121
Esoteric XD Series
- Thread starter Mike
- Start date
very nice post, mike -- i have probably gained more from it than i have from reading audiophile press reviews over the past two years.
last december, i heard one of the esoteric dacs (with accuphase and QLN) ...to my ears anyway, very authoritative and rich; not at all thin or or lacking in heft (digital?). based the contrasts drawn in your post, maybe it is time to hear MSB.
t+a dacs are certainly my best reference point... where would you put them on the esoteric / MSB spectrum that you articulated in the post?
last december, i heard one of the esoteric dacs (with accuphase and QLN) ...to my ears anyway, very authoritative and rich; not at all thin or or lacking in heft (digital?). based the contrasts drawn in your post, maybe it is time to hear MSB.
t+a dacs are certainly my best reference point... where would you put them on the esoteric / MSB spectrum that you articulated in the post?
- Thread Author
- #123
Thanks for the kind words. That’s a great question about T+A. Their sound has changed over the years. Their PDP3000HV and MP3000HV had very different sounds from current offerings like the MP3100HV. The older T+A sound (including DAC8DSD) was more fuller, organic like MSB. The newer sound is more like older Esoteric. Lots of detail and transparency. The newer Esoteric is so different, it’s hard to accurately articulate. The soundstage is MASSIVE. I mean, you are seriously looking left and right. It manages to peel away the onion to it’s core and expose so much more information in recordings, especially live recordings with subtle nuances from the venue, but at the same time, not sound digital. It gets a good dose of organic sounds.
I was writing all of these observations before I got a chance to sit down and read the slide show my Esoteric Rep sent me late last week. In that slide show, it describes the new Master Sound Discrete DAC as “a DAC that expresses 100% of Musical Power with Emotion which a chipset cannot achieve; and ultimately a whole new reference point for DAC technology.”
Would you consider N-01XD to be an XD version of N-03T? If not, why not (other than lacking digital outputs)?
No. Because if I owned D1X then it wouldn't make sense to have N-01XD. You would want N-03T, or a Grandioso version of it. I have just received an offer for my N-01/G-02X which, if I accept it, replacing it would be a tough choice between D1X and N-01XD. Obviously a big price difference between those two choices. I think I would settle on D1X, but without a clock, and use an old MacBook for streaming Spotify instead of N-03T. Until such time as there was a Grandioso version of the N-03T. Simply because of the eye candy appeal. Eventually I would buy a Cybershaft as a better value proposition over G1.
N-01XD does appeal to me. A lot. I'm very happy with N-01 and if N-01XD was even better I'd be totally stoked. However I bought three Shunyata Sigma Clock-50 cables in anticipation of D1X so if I was to go for N-01X instead of D1X then one of those Clock-50 cables would be of no use to me. If I didn't have those three clock cables and a Sigma AES-EBU I'd just buy N-01XD, not use a clock, and connect my Grandioso P1 with a bog standard HDMI cable. I think that would get very close in performance to a clocked D1X but at a fraction of the price. With the money saved I'd put towards a new Range Rover Velar. Spotify Premium sounds great on the N-01. A MacBook running Spotify wouldn't come close. But the way I use Spotify is to discover new music I like, I then buy the CD and spin it on my Grandioso P1. Or if I'm feeling lazy, or not inclined for critical listening, I'll just play it from my Kaleidescape player.
- Thread Author
- #130
No. XD specs are a complete departure from anything they’ve done in the past.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Another question about the XD series.
Can they be configured as a D2D converter or reclocker? For instance converting the USB input to aes/ebu digital output?
If the answer is yes, I assume that if one uses an external clock such as a Cybershaft to clock the Esoterci then the D2D reclocking from USB to ars/ebu would benefit from the external clock?
Thank you.
Regards,
Bernard
Can they be configured as a D2D converter or reclocker? For instance converting the USB input to aes/ebu digital output?
If the answer is yes, I assume that if one uses an external clock such as a Cybershaft to clock the Esoterci then the D2D reclocking from USB to ars/ebu would benefit from the external clock?
Thank you.
Regards,
Bernard
- Thread Author
- #133
Thanks Mike.
That’s too bad because this capability would further increase their potential as the single core hub of a digital source baaed system.
Many have been using Mutec reclockers and the Esoteric has the potential to do the same but much better.
It looks like a capability Esoteric could very easily implement by firmware uograde.
Anyway thanks for the super fast answer.
That’s too bad because this capability would further increase their potential as the single core hub of a digital source baaed system.
Many have been using Mutec reclockers and the Esoteric has the potential to do the same but much better.
It looks like a capability Esoteric could very easily implement by firmware uograde.
Anyway thanks for the super fast answer.
Jambo
New member
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2016
- Messages
- 74
Just to clear up one point in that review. With the (discontinued) N-01, native DSD playback is supported with Esoteric transports via AES/EBU. You don't need ES-Link, which the N-01XD has but the N-01 doesn't have.
Double AES/EBU cables connection, or single?
GSOphile
Active member
From a glance at the rear panel on the Esoteric website, single.
That's correct when you look at the back of the N-01XD. You are right. What is confusing to me is when looking at the back of the Esoteric transports, like the P-02x or P-05x. They have dual digital XLRs outputs marked as Right and Left.
That's right, they are configurable via MENU on the front panel. One XLR digital output can be configured as stereo, or both XLR digital outputs can each be configured as mono.