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Esoteric K03

Good Day,
I've chosen to replace my mod Primare CD31 with the Esoteric K03 after a lengthy audition (an order has been placed!).
The K03 was chosen not only for their CD/ SACD capabilities but also for their Digital input DAC.
However, I'd like to listen to others' experiences on the K03 in term of their sonic characters, reliabilities and whether it is the best bang for your bucks player (32 bits, CD/SACD, DAC, Clock Input, etc).
Will USB cable affect the overall computer playback sounding?
What brand of USB cable do you use?
My system:
Wilson Sophia 3
McIntosh MC501
Audio Research Ref 3
Mod Primare CD31 is out. Esoteric K03 is in
Linn LP12, Dynavector 17D3, Ittok, Lingo
Linn Uphorik
Grover Huffman Sx SCs
Nordost Quatro Fil ICs
LessLoss Sig. PCs on mono blocks fed by Weizhi PRS6
Stefan Audio Art PCs on CDP and Pre fed by Shunyata Hydra 2
TG Audio Black & White 9awg to feed into Weizhi and Shunyata
Vibra Pods & cones on CDP, Pre and TT
Custom Hifi stand using thick mdf and steel rods!
Music pref. mainly Jazz and classical
Thanks
primare_cd31!!!
primare_cd31
badwisdom
145 posts
 
Well, another person is complaining about transport noise in the "Best Sounding CD / SACD player under 15K" thread.

What player ?

You guessed it, Esoteric (K01).

Never again as far as i am concerned, because even in the most optimist scenario, it shows such inconsistency that you have 50/50 chance getting a noisy version of their transport.
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
Bottom line for any user with a problem is to contact your local Esoteric dealer or Esoteric directly.

Their customer service is as good as I've experienced.
mike60
275 posts
 
Unless i am mistaken, it is not 'another person'. It's the same person as in this thread. Read the posts carefully and draw your own conclusion.
fplanner2010
283 posts
 
I agree with Audiofeil on this. Did you EVER contact Esoteric about this? I know they don't sell their best transports to other manufacturers, but they sure don't sell them "noisy" transports. I can't speak to the MPS5 because I've never had one, but have had 3 Esoterics and never heard a peep unless I had a noisy disc. Before you condemn an entire manufacturer, try some new discs. If all discs are noisy, you probably should have just returned the player. 6 months? wow.
denon1
349 posts
 
Mike60, I respect your expertise and opinion, but to my original point, some esoteric players exhibit mechanical noise during playback and it is a fact( I had it on two brand new players x-03se and k-03). One can leave with that or fix it paying some substantial chunk of money for shipping and only having back player praying it will not be damaged during shipping with conclusion that nothing wrong – functions according to the specs. But for $13000 player and famous reliability reputation, it should have NONE to sell to customers. Like badwisdom, the noise from k-03 drove me crazy (otherwise a very good player) and it was until my friend who plays violin in Philadelphia orchestra came to listen to the new CD, all of a sudden noticed - were is this annoying noise coming from? I regretfully sold it, bought another brand, and never looked back
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