Quick update as I now have right at 300 hours on the unit ... I know I know be patient ... :-) ... One thing I can already say with certainty is that it retrieves more detail from Redbook CD's than I've ever heard off of a rip. Some of the early digital recordings that just seem to sound kind of edgy and flat on other players just sound much more right on the Esoteric. Kinda reminds me a little of my old CAL Aria MKIII with Redbook in that it sounded very full and had a large holographic soundstage and even though many of the CD's I bought back then ended up sounding terrible on much more modern cd players they always sounds pretty darn good on the Aria ... seems a little bit like I'm back to the future here. Now ... I'm not saying it makes terrible recordings great because it most certainly does not as its brutally revealing so bad recordings beware. Just saying that maybe a bit of the sound stage size and warmth of the Aria might be aluded to here. :-)
On DSD over USB its still too close to call between the K-01Xs and the EMM Labs DA-2. That is clearly where the DA-2 excels and honestly I'll be surprised if the K-01Xs can equal it but we will see. Ok ... so maybe it wasn't quite a quick update ...
George