My K03 Player

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by KahunaCanuck

Thanks guys...this has been a long time coming...

The K3 is not in the rack as of yet...when it is I will do some further testing of course. Mike, I don't have a Mac computer, so I can't really test the USB to USB, not sure if Ivan does or not...maybe Penthouse has tried it.

Looking forward to it...hour 72 of the burn in currently...I am really trying hard not to hook it up and have a listen...

Mike.......Is it in the system yet? What are you thoughts?

[KahunaCanuck]

Hey Dan,

The K3 is in place and almost finished burning in...484 hours! I'm planning on doing some serious listening over the next few days and will report back with pics as well.

[LordoftheRingsEE]

---- Better be good.

[Car commander]

Break in made a huge difference in mine. I placed it in service and it has steadily improved. Mine has about 300 hours on it. The DAC in it is pretty stellar. I had a Puccini for awhile and it sounds just as good as good and much more reliable.

[kev313]

Originally Posted by Car commander

Break in made a huge difference in mine. I placed it in service and it has steadily improved. Mine has about 300 hours on it. The DAC in it is pretty stellar. I had a Puccini for awhile and it sounds just as good as good and much more reliable.

Good stuff! I've got a p5/d5 combo and use the d5 as a dac for my computer. It's not USB, but even going with just itunes through a Wavelength Wavelink gives pretty glorious sound. Enjoy your new Esoteric! Great brand.

[Ritmo]

Originally Posted by KahunaCanuck

Hey Dan,

The K3 is in place and almost finished burning in...484 hours! I'm planning on doing some serious listening over the next few days and will report back with pics as well.

Mike - Look forward to your comments!

[jdandy]

[Masterlu]

Originally Posted by jdandy

[mbovaird]

Congrats!! Great job Ivan too!

[KahunaCanuck]

Hi Dan et al,

Here it is:

Esoteric K3

In Summary:
This is an amazing box of electronic pieces that works together to make digital 1s & 0s convey the music better than anything else I have heard.

The Details:
Everything about this unit screams “Top Quality” and it should at it’s price. I’ve never spent this much on a CD Player, and would never have dreamed of doing it if it wasn’t for the K3’s amazing DAC section and the ability to use it with external devices like a computer or my Olive. From the packaging (triple boxed), to the build quality (it’s 61 pounds and looks honed from a solid hunk of Aluminum (like my MX-Rs!), to the leather wrapped remote, you certainly feel like you are getting value despite the price.

So after having broken it in properly playing the supplied CD on repeat (along with a few listening sessions) for over 500 hours, it is down to the real test…how does it sound? The first feeling is that of space…every instrument, every voice, every sound seems to have more space around it and sounds that much more real. This is whether playing a CD, SACD, or streaming music form the Olive (via Platinum Starlight Coaxial), not to say you can’t hear a difference in quality, but even a lowly 256kbs mp3 sounds more “open” and much less “digital”. Listening to Adele’s new Skyfall single straight off iTunes it doesn’t sound like a mp3! It seems like the K3 takes what you give it and gets the very best out of it. Step it up a notch and listening to Holly Cole Trio on SACD and it is absolutely sublime…it isn’t vinyl, but it is darn close to that “organic” feel vinyl gives you, all with total silence in between each note.

My previous DAC was a Wyred 4 Sound DAC2 and I have never heard some of the best out there like Emm Labs, PCS, MBS etc. So I am not pretending to know all that is on the market. For me, I am happy with the value proposition vs. the sound quality I am receiving…it makes me want to listen to my music, and in the end, what more is there?



Thanks Ivan for helping me to pick out this amazing piece of machinery!
Cheers!