Quote:
Originally Posted by justubes
Could the K1 with the newer dac chips possible sound better than the D-02x, or its equal with the bonus of a transport S well?
Since the D-02x ak4490 dac chips are now 4 generations behind with the newest AKM offerings of the AK4499 which shod be incorporated in any Esoteric units later this year.
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I've had a K1 in the house and it is a definite step above the K-01XS but even the K1 couldn't beat the D-02X in my system. There's a lot at play here more than just the latest generation chip changes and the way Esoteric designed the 36 bit processing and 16 DAC circuits per channel most likely make more difference than just a latest generation of the chips. Esosteric's magic has always been in their implementation of the DAC chip and not just the chip itself. Again my opinion but for me the K1 just didn't have the same level of clarity, openness and extremely fine detail that the separate's have. That said ... the K1 is one incredible all in one unit ... probably the best I've heard.
George