Jon2020, I assume you did this in compare with running your K-01 direct to your brystons?
Jeff Rowland Capri S2 preamp + Esoteric K-01
I finally managed to get a broken-in JR Capri S2 preamp from my friendly local dealer for a home audition.
First off, I have Guido to thank for when he recommended a JR preamp to go with my Esoteric K-01 player. If it is a good match for his system, it should be for mine too, since we share the same speakers, the VA Die Muzik.
The Capri S2 is diminutive next to the K-01. To put that in perspective, it is 3/4 the width, 1/3 the height and 1/2 the depth of the K-01. Can this David be up to the task next to Goliath?
Well, the answer is a resounding yes! It is incredible what the Capri can do to the sound of the whole system. I would say it alone contributes 50% to the overall sonics.
Where the bass is concerned, the Capri adds half an octave lower, adds fullness, body and 3-dimensionality to each note, and improves pitch definition and resolution. Listening to Scott LaFaro in Bill Evans' Waltz for Debbie is a revelation and it all sounds so musical.
The midrange gains in transparency and resolution, especially with female voices where once there was a burr to the edge of female voices, now there is none.
The highs are now airier with less grit, grain and etch, and with greater refinement and delicacy. Cymbal brushes, cymbal crashes, trumpets, piano and sax, all sound more natural with longer decay of notes.
And the soundstage opens up more in width, depth and height.
If the K-01 was ever thought of as dry, lean, analytical, the Capri banishes all of those altogether.
Lastly, I can now see where Guido is coming from with regard to the choice of filters for the K-01. With the Capri in the chain, SDLY_2 is the only one that works, all the other filters sound too tubey, to use his own word.
At retail $US3950, it is the best bang-for-the-buck component in my system. I actually find it better than my old ARC REF 3 preamp. You owe it to yourself to listen to this little wonder if you are in the market for a solid state preamp.
Cheers!
First off, I have Guido to thank for when he recommended a JR preamp to go with my Esoteric K-01 player. If it is a good match for his system, it should be for mine too, since we share the same speakers, the VA Die Muzik.
The Capri S2 is diminutive next to the K-01. To put that in perspective, it is 3/4 the width, 1/3 the height and 1/2 the depth of the K-01. Can this David be up to the task next to Goliath?
Well, the answer is a resounding yes! It is incredible what the Capri can do to the sound of the whole system. I would say it alone contributes 50% to the overall sonics.
Where the bass is concerned, the Capri adds half an octave lower, adds fullness, body and 3-dimensionality to each note, and improves pitch definition and resolution. Listening to Scott LaFaro in Bill Evans' Waltz for Debbie is a revelation and it all sounds so musical.
The midrange gains in transparency and resolution, especially with female voices where once there was a burr to the edge of female voices, now there is none.
The highs are now airier with less grit, grain and etch, and with greater refinement and delicacy. Cymbal brushes, cymbal crashes, trumpets, piano and sax, all sound more natural with longer decay of notes.
And the soundstage opens up more in width, depth and height.
If the K-01 was ever thought of as dry, lean, analytical, the Capri banishes all of those altogether.
Lastly, I can now see where Guido is coming from with regard to the choice of filters for the K-01. With the Capri in the chain, SDLY_2 is the only one that works, all the other filters sound too tubey, to use his own word.
At retail $US3950, it is the best bang-for-the-buck component in my system. I actually find it better than my old ARC REF 3 preamp. You owe it to yourself to listen to this little wonder if you are in the market for a solid state preamp.
Cheers!