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Esoteric K03

Good Day,
I've chosen to replace my mod Primare CD31 with the Esoteric K03 after a lengthy audition (an order has been placed!).
The K03 was chosen not only for their CD/ SACD capabilities but also for their Digital input DAC.
However, I'd like to listen to others' experiences on the K03 in term of their sonic characters, reliabilities and whether it is the best bang for your bucks player (32 bits, CD/SACD, DAC, Clock Input, etc).
Will USB cable affect the overall computer playback sounding?
What brand of USB cable do you use?
My system:
Wilson Sophia 3
McIntosh MC501
Audio Research Ref 3
Mod Primare CD31 is out. Esoteric K03 is in
Linn LP12, Dynavector 17D3, Ittok, Lingo
Linn Uphorik
Grover Huffman Sx SCs
Nordost Quatro Fil ICs
LessLoss Sig. PCs on mono blocks fed by Weizhi PRS6
Stefan Audio Art PCs on CDP and Pre fed by Shunyata Hydra 2
TG Audio Black & White 9awg to feed into Weizhi and Shunyata
Vibra Pods & cones on CDP, Pre and TT
Custom Hifi stand using thick mdf and steel rods!
Music pref. mainly Jazz and classical
Thanks
primare_cd31!!!
primare_cd31

Showing 7 responses by badwisdom

badwisdom
145 posts
 
Yeah, the Esoteric transports are terribly noisy. I can't believe NO one ever talks about this.

Made me get rid of the MPS5 from Playback Designs, the Esoteric OEM was awful.
badwisdom
145 posts
 
Beewee,

frenchman here too :)

Anyway, the noise i'm complaining about comes from the machine itself: you can clearly and loudly hear the spinning motor of Esoteric drive on the K03 & MPS5 (and many more).

It has nothing to do with associated equipment or quality of music reproduction. Its a mechanical thing and is a deal breaker for me and others.

A+
Xavier
badwisdom
145 posts
 
Mike,

my MPS5 was sent for a checkup and was deemed as operating in accordance to manufacturer specs (i.e. all MPS5 sound like it).

The same MPS5 was used at a local dealer for a system setup (they had never even seen a MPS5). While playing a Dead can Dance SACD, we could clearly ear the spinning from 15 feet away. To which one of the guys said "thats an insane amount of noise". I could only sadly nod.

I had the same experience with the K03 and the D50.

I have no idea why everyone uses them, but could it be for durability and reliability more than silent operation ?
badwisdom
145 posts
 
Look guys, i appreciate your experience and willingness to defend Esoteric and try and find an explanation...

I wasted 6 months of my life trying to identify the problem on my MPS5: it wasn't bad discs, it wasn't bad luck, it was just a shitty OEM transport.

I could write a book about how they switched the transport several times over, measured the DB in the room, etc.. My machine made several trips to and from engineers in germany who couldn't find a fault anywhere !

The conclusion was: "normal operation". Nothing to see, move along.

Only explanation is that some people are less sensitive than others to mechanical noise, but then if thats the case, god help us all because all this online talking is like the blind leading the blind.
badwisdom
145 posts
 
Well, another person is complaining about transport noise in the "Best Sounding CD / SACD player under 15K" thread.

What player ?

You guessed it, Esoteric (K01).

Never again as far as i am concerned, because even in the most optimist scenario, it shows such inconsistency that you have 50/50 chance getting a noisy version of their transport.
badwisdom
145 posts
 
Fplanner,

you think i just sat on my a$$ complaining for 6 months ? i guess you didn't read my posts.
badwisdom
145 posts
 
Oh so if i have a problem with my MPS5 i should contact every component manufacturer in the player ? Really ? What kind of logic is that ????

Its Playback Designs responsibility to support and all the elements of their product.
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