Thank you. I debated going with separates (k21/K41) and even staggering the purchases. But by the time I add in an extra power cord and an extra Ethernet Cable to connect the two boxes together, it was only a few hundred more for the K50. And the K50 has the added SPDIF output connections for greater flexibility.
I read and researched all the reviews. I also watched a youtube video interview of the CEO. Learned some good stuff about the company from that interview. He also advised that the K50 should be treated like an amplifier. Don’t plug it into a low power outlet on a power conditioner. It needs to be a high power outlet to sound good or plugged directly into the wall, he said. I bet it has something to do with the new SMPS that the K50 uses which is trickle down from the Oladra.
If you are wondering why I didn’t go for the Oladra for some thousands more, well I’m retired and my wife wants a new floor.
I’ll say this. I had $2800 in a NUC based music server running Roon plus an $800 LPS powering it. I won’t include the cables and audio grade network switches in that because I am still using them with the new K50. So with $3600 into my old music server I thought it would be difficult to beat. (Ok, the new streamer is very expensive but that’s my point.) The old music server sounded pretty good, I thought with my new DAC. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The DAC and the streamer are a team and both contribute equally to the sound. I won’t say the DAC and Streamer should match dollar for dollar (although coincidentally mine do) but they need to match up closely in capabilities, or have a plan to get there one day. It took me almost 50 years, so be patient. That makes me sound old. Let’s say 45 years. Really, I didn’t get serious into high end until 1988, so let’s say 36 years. That’s better.