Esoteric K01: What are the best settings for CD?

Bvdiman,

I've owned the Siltech Empress DC XLR interconnects with the K-01 which replaced the Tara Labs Zero Gold at the time and when Crystal cables introduced their top flight Absolute dream, the Empress DC was sold straight away. It is that much better IMO.

Cheers.

Flashunlock,
I've had lengthy trial of Crystal AD Ic as well, while I wouldn't say that one is much better over the other, in my system, the Empress DC stayed for sure. ;)

Both are great, more to do with system synergy and also that 'loom' thing going on I think. Basically, I'm now running all DC wires, substituting any one link with another make, esp.Pc (hence using four Ruby DCs currently) breaks some of its harmonious spell, sounding a tad disjointed.

IME, harder to evaluate/assess wire by pieces, better to do it in loom, and possibly over longer periods. I'd be looking at their (Crystal AD's) Pc and Sc too if you so found their Ic to work extremely well in your system. Good luck.
Regards.

Bvdiman,

Thank you and you are so right in regards. I have tried the CrystalPower AD with the AD interconnects but the sound became a bit thin for my liking and same goes for the AD speaker wires. The Siltech Emperor DC is the one to go for I think but I daren't listen to it due to the price :). I'm using the Tara Labs Omega Gold speaker wires currently which gives me a happy medium synergy for the whole system.
Regards.

The Final verdict.....

The K-01 is indeed a chameleon which is proving to be quite an animal to break in. So, after 800 hours of break-in time as advised, I shall try to summarise my observations of the various combo settings.

Firstly, everything will depend on your system and/or recording in play.
If the system/recording is a bit dry, cool or lean, the FIR filters work best. If it is warm, lush or tubey, then the SLDY filters are recommended.

As my system is a constant, I can only comment on different recordings :-

1. Reference Recordings with HDCD - these work best with FIR or SLDY_1 filters; with SLDY_2, the treble starts to sizzle, sounding too bright or sharp.

2. The K-01 is fantastic with classical music - with well-recorded orchestras(except for RR as above), SLDY_2 is best

3. With solo piano for classical, FIR filter sounds best.

3. With jazz recordings that are too sizzling in the top such as the older Mo-Fi Gold Ultradiscs, the FIR filters sound better.

4. Recordings with overcooked bass like the Brad Mehldau trio LIVE album, SLDY_2 sounds great.

5. The K-01 is a spectacular SACD player and I was flabbergasted to find that the FIR or SLDY filters actually lend their sonic signatures, albeit in a subtle way, as above even though the player is supposed to default to the DSD filter.

Overall, it is my experience with my system that NO upsampling(ORG) still gives the purest sound.
The FIR filters flesh out instruments like piano and saxophone, while the SLDY filters provide speed and superb transient response.
Both filters give good soundstage perspectives with the SLDY filters expanding the soundstage more than the FIR filters. So, with solo classical piano where soundstage perspective is less important than tone and timbre, the FIR filters are recommended. But with orchestral performances, to enjoy the full depth, width and height of the soundstage, the SLDY filters are recommended.
The 1 filters sound fuller than the 2 filters for each type. The corollary is that the 2 filters sound leaner than the 1's.

So, tweak away and enjoy! Cheers, all!

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