Need some advice-D02X vs K01X
 

Hey everyone.

I have the system indicated below, and just today bought the Aurender N10 piece.

I also have on order a VPI turntable which is going be arriving very soon (next week).

I actually do not own very many CD's at all, but mainly have a pretty small digital file collection of music (probably less than 500 songs). Just haven't been collecting a lot in the last 5-10 years as I have been doing a lot of music through streaming services.

That said, my future music collection will either be vinyl or hi-rez digital files (choice between the two will depend on the mastering and which provides better quality) as i really expand (or start my collection, really) my music collection. However, I recognize that in some cases I may not find either a quality LP pressing or a FLAC/DSD file for the particular album i'm looking for and may have to go for 44/16 bit, i.e. redbook cd quality.

I am looking to upgrade the DAC I have currently (c52 preamp), and am leaning either towards a K01X or the D02X. Both are the same price, but the D02X appears to offer quite a bit more resolution in exchange for the transport.

I already asked Ivan about this, and understand his opinion but (not that I dont respect Ivan's opinion, because I certainly do) wanted to get other people's ideas and thoughts on this as well. Due to the exclusivity of these items i'm unable to find them on the racks of the local dealer, so I have to rely on people's opinions.

Is it worth having the transport? Or is it better just to rip the CD and have as a digital file? Are the differences in SQ amongst the super high DAC in the D02X justified in losing the transport in the k01x, but getting a slightly lower end DAC?

I don't have much of a CD collection right now, and am just now getting into collecting quality sources, so I dont know if i should get a transport or not!

Any advice or opinions are welcomed!

I think either one of those units is going to be amazing, and you simply cannot go wrong. However I always lean toward having a spinner because...imagine your horror if you invite a friend over that has never heard a system like yours and they bring a CD to hear. Whoops! Are you really going to feel good about spending big $$ and not have a way to play a CD? I suppose you can hook up a relatively cheap one for redbook. But not SACD.

I guess it really depends on how many CD's and SACD's you have and whether or not you intend to do streaming or ripping from here on out. You say you have Roon in your sig, so perhaps that answers it. You can just stream roon or download hires flac files.

But if the D-02 costs more, I think the K-01 is the better choice. Lower costs, more flexibility, and probably sounds very very very close.

Agreed, both will sound absolutely fantastic!



But, a server allows much easier access to your whole collection, plus it'll play whatever format and resolution you choose. In the rare event that someone comes over with a CD, give him a beer to relax with while you spend 10 mins ripping it, then loading it onto the server.

The K-01 can still do that.

Ahhh good point!

Ditch the spinner.

Is the D-02x and K-01x essentially the same except the spinner? I thought the D-02x cost more but maybe I am wrong. If they are the same except the spinner and the K-01x costs a little more, then the D-02x would indeed be the way to go if you don't have a big CD collect (as the OP states) :thumbsup:

Personally I like the esoteric spinners and I have quite a few cd's. Plus, I do have people come over like I mentioned and bring CD's. I'd feel stupid if they brought a stack of CD's to hear my system and I couldn't do it. But if that's not a worry then...

No the DAC's aren't the same; the D02-X has 36bit resolution, while the K02-X has 32bit resolution.

K01-X / 32bit resolution - 8 32bit DACs (AK4495) DAC's per channel

D02-X / 36bit resolution - 16 36bit DACs (AK4490) DAC's per channel

They both retail for $20k

According to Ivan, the two cost the exact same, which is why I'm a bit confused on what to go for! The idea of having a CD player doesn't sound too bad as the opportunity could come up where I want to buy an sacd. Just wish I could listen to them!

Then I would get the K01X. Highly doubt you will find the sound anything less than stellar and you can play a CD or SACD whenever you wish. The ability to use the digital inputs for other sources is present all from one unit.

Just my .02 after many years of struggling with these sort of decisions!