Esoteric X-03se vs K-03

Hi Mbump, I disagree totally with that part of the reviews. Don't know what they were listening to. The redbook is awesome. I have a Berkeley DAC with a Tara Lab The One Digital Cable and the internal dac blew the Berkeley away. The K03's redbook is stellar. Most of what I listen to is actually 44.1k and NO dissappointments! I think the K03 is one of the ebst 44.1k players available. Run for an audition.

Thanks, Cerrot. With the X-03se, I've always been impressed with both redbook and sacd. Obviously, a difference in presentation bet. formats, but both with tremendous detail, staging, and frequency balance. Depending on the recording, the X-03se can, at times, come across as a bit analytical and with a slightly narrow stage/placement. This is perhaps some of the motivation/curiosity to the K-03.

Well I finally have the opportunity to have a K-03 in the home for little while, on loan from a colleague who’s in the recording industry. Keeping in mind that these are very early impressions, as I’ve only been able to A/B for a few days thus far. Here are a few preliminary comparisons (IMHO):

X-03se:
- Sharper transients/articulations, slightly brighter, crystalline (some might suggest more “digital”, but I like this).
- Tighter bass
- Slightly narrower soundstage. Source placement less precise in the image, but still great.
- Not as deep a soundstage.
- Much greater detail and truer presentation of timbral colors.

K-03:
- Transport operation much quieter/smoother.
- Slightly warmer/rounder presentation. A more analog-like objective, though still plenty of clarity/articulation.
- Bass frequencies less defined/slightly muddled.
- Wider soundstage, with much better source placement/imaging.
- Noticeable improvement in soundstage depth.
- Mids are nice, though upper frequencies seem generally rolled off a bit, regardless of filter settings/opt out.
- Timbral sources seem slightly colored and not as true to organic sound.

With the K-03, keep in mind I’m just comparing unit to unit – no external DAC or clock, USB, etc., and thus far limiting to my reference redbook CDs. I experimented extensively with the upsampling PCM digital options and the 4, 32-bit digital filters, ultimately settling on Short Delay (S_DLY2 filter) @ 2x original sample rate.
Don’t know – you can take from this what you will. Obviously, much more listening to come. What I’m not convinced on in these first impressions is that the K-03 clearly trumps the older X-03se in all things sonically. It certainly has more flexibility and options to slightly tweak the presentation to individual tastes, however. At the end of the day, I guess that’s what this is really all about ~!