So .. now that I’ve had a chance to do some more in depth listening to the D-02x I thought I’d highlight a few of the differences I hear between it and the K-01xs. First ... the huge soundstage that Esoteric has become so famous for is very evident in both units. I’ve been constantly amazed at how the speakers simply no longer define the boundaries of the soundstage. With the D-02X however the soundstage is a little larger in width and height but where it really outshines the K-01xs is in not only the total depth of the soundstage but the layering of that depth. With the D-02x I feel like there is an entirely new dimension to the music that just wasn’t there before. Maybe it’s the added detail or openness that the D-02X has but I can’t remember when I’ve ever heard this deeply into a recording before.
When it comes to detail both units are in fact very detailed ... more so than any other DACs I’ve owned. What sets the D-02X apart however is the finesse and subtlety of that detail. I’ve never heard my system sound quite so refined as with the D-02X. There is also an openness and ultimate clarity with the D-02X that I just don’t hear from the K-01xs. If I didn’t have them both here to listen to I might not ever miss the difference. Once exposed to the D-02x though, each time I went back to the k-01xs I felt as if something was missing ... that sense of such extreme openness and clarity that you begin to feel like the music is actually happening there with you.
Both units are off the charts dynamic and quiet. I couldn’t say either surpass the other in this regard.
I’d say bass extension is equal in both units with the D-02x having a more detailed bottom end. Both are better than any other Dac I’ve heard here and I’ve never felt the bass in either unit was muddy as some have stated. I have a pair of Martin Logan BF-212s and they are extremely low and revealing and they are in fact a better sub than I thought because of this pairing.
I did a lot of comparing of red book cds connecting the units via Shunyata Anaconda aes and audio outputs from either unit via MIT Oracle interconnect. Also compared with dsd files from my Aurender N100H via wireworld platinum usb. Obviously the Aurender couldn’t be compared instantly as the cable had to be moved but the differences were apparent and large enough it doesn’t take real critical listening to tell them apart.
I will say that as I listen I have the impression there is a greater degree of Timbral accuracy or saturation with the D-02X. A saxophone has more body with the D-02x for instance. A drum strike sounds more like a drum. Neither unit sounds warm but neither do they sound cool. To me they just sound musical and certainly sound as if spun from the same cloth. Detractors claim these are too analytical ... To me if 0 is cold and 100 is tube rich and warm I’d give these units a nice 52... More to the warm side than not but just barely. Don’t understand the analytical comments at all other than possible issues with system synergy?
In the end with the D-02x I find myself getting lost in the music again ... not surfing the internet or reading the news ... just sitting and getting totally lost in the music which is exactly where I’m headed now....
George
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