Esoteric K-01

If there is an improvement in sound of high-end single box players (like the Esoteric K-01) when used with a high end external clock like the GORb it is very minimal and subtle. In fact the difference with and without the GORb clock is so incredibly minor that it is extremely difficult if not impossible to detect even with very careful, extensive A-B comparison. Personally, I don't think the GORb has any detectable sonic affect on the K-01.

Unless the A-B comparison is performed as a blind test, it is useless; psychology can play tricks on audio perception.

Is there anyone out there who can compare a high quality single box player (like the K01) with and without a GORb in a blind A-B test and consistently, coreectly indicate when the GORb is on and off? I think not, even you, Alex.

I challenge anyone to prove me wrong. This applies to high end single box players only, not multi box players (where high quality clock use should be easily detected).

Alex: It's been a couple years but as I remember it, the differences for re-clocking the UX-1 and the UX-1 Ltd with the G-0s were subtle and were noticeable only in the upper-mid and particular higher frequencies in terms of removing a slight harshness around instruments' output in these frequencies. There was a very small improvement in the imaging precision (i.e. location of a specific instrument in the sound stage). Candidly, the upgrade from UX-1 to Limited Edition did much more than the clock but nothing was as important as going to the P/D separates both with and without the clock. As I mentioned above, the differences were small with the clock for the single-box player but with all material I did hear them. With respect to DVD-A, there are not that many 176.4hz tracks (at least on the DVD-As that I own) as most of them put a number of different track types on a single DVD-A and do not often go beyond DVD-A tracks in the 96/24 realm. For DVD-A, I found that I had to switch between 88.2 or 176.4 clocking depending upon the material in question for best results. For SACD, I tried 88.2 clocking as well as 176.4. I wound up leaving the clocking at 176.4 for SACD playback (and do also with the P-03U/D-03/G-0s combination). As I mentioned before, the differences with the clock in Rb mode are MUCH more meaningful with the stack over the single box players.

Interestingly enough, I did see a visible improvement in the already impressive visible imaging and up-scaling performance of the UX-1 Limited and the P-03U when playing both traditional and Superbit DVDs when using the G-0s clock at an appropriate clocking frequency. If any of the above is psychological (I did not do full blind A/B testing), I do not believe the effect on video playback is though others may disagree...

Can anybody comment if (and to what extent) K-01 would be an upgrade from the Esoteric P5/D5 combo. Thanks.

I have never compared the two. Esoteric website will outline the diferences. You should compare them at your dealer's shop.

Hello,

I never post here but read stuff once in a while. There's not much out there about the K01 so this thread is one of the only places where I could find some information.

I could compare the P05/D05 to K01 and K03 today. I posted some impressions on head-fi and pasted them here. Note however that these impressions are from short A/B comparisons with unfamiliar recordings / equipment so only worth so much...

arnaud

Originally posted on head-fi:

Ok, there's no way I can justify such an expensive purchase but I could not resist going to listen to the K-01 and K-03 for a short while today...

I went to Dyna 5555 first. It was a loudspeaker setup (shame on me, I don't remember the speakers but some fairly high end full range stuff, probably in the 20-40kUSD range). Amplification / preamp was from mark levinson. I could A/B the K-01 and P-05/D-05 (in CD mode). I listened to some Jazz and Vocal (one of the songs being the most famous tune from Norah Jones) and it was not contest: The K-01 eats the P-05/D-05 alive. The most obvious thing is improved clarity and transparency as if the P05/D05 was hazy in comparison. The next obvious finding was that the voice presence and realism was clearly a notch above when listening to the K-01, it was extremely revealing yet natural at the same time. Very expensive but it appears the K-01 can make CD sound as good as it gets. I briefly compared the CD and SACD layers of the Norah Jones tune and while it wasn't night and day, the SACD layer conveyed room ambience more than the CD layer. In Japan, the K-01 is just slightly more expensive than the P-05/D-05 combo so it appears quite a few owner are currently upgrading.

If I get closer to puller the trigger (it would be after I acquire the C32 so may be a while), I will want to bring my existing Stax gear and Yamamoto D/A in the store and do some AB. But, my impression from today is that my YDA-01 stands very very little chance...

I stumbled upon the K-01 again AND K-03 while visiting another store in akiba. This time, I don't know the amplification but loudspeakers were B&W 804 Diamond. I could again compare the P05-D05 against the K-01 and it was even more obvious than last time around. The P-05/D-05 sounded muffled and muted in comparison to the K-01. I listened first to a Jazz SACD I was not familiar with and then the same Norah Jones album, but CD version this time. The voice was just sooo good with the K01, I was so surprised I was enjoying the sound so much because honestly I haven't been a fan of B&W high-end speakers for long time. I always find them too revealing, but somehow it sounded quite good with the K-01 even though it appears to be a very very resolving source.

Lastly, I could switch to the K03 after listening to the K01, listening to the Norah Jones tune (she sings "don't know why ... blablablabla blah" during the chorus, what song is this ? ;o) ). Well, it was enlightening because while it sounded much more open / resolved than P-05/D-05 it was very clearly a notch down from the K01. On a scale from 1 to 10, I would put the P05/D05 at 4 or 5, the K01 at 10 and the K03 at 7 or 8. So finally, after the listening today, I would go for the K01, not the K03. It is so crazy expensive though...

One interesting thing: another person had come to listen to the K01 before me and both stores staff told me the K01 is selling well. Actually, in the second store, waiting list for K01 is 2-3 months (about 1 month for the K03). Apparently, quite a few P05/D05 owners are upgrading. It's hard to imagine in the current economy and the trend to go to dematerialized source rather than old-fashioned CDs (and even SACDs considering stores like HDtracks), but seems like the new Esoteric players are doing well, at least in Japan!

Well, I could only bring back a brochure home this time, but I can imagine making the jump somehow, someday...