Esoteric Grandioso P1/D1

A nice review of the units a friend pointed out to me. One of the only 2 I am aware of.

http://www.soundmania.hu/files/tests/0/0/1/5/1/Esoteric%20Grandioso%20P01-D01%20-%20Hifi%20and%20records%20ENG%204-2014.pdf

As the hours accumulate on the combo the level of realism is startling. This week I visited a friend with the same Ypsilon amps and preamp as I am using. He is driving Rockport Altairs with Tara Evolution cabling and Ypsilon DAC and Transport. We listened to all kinds of music for about 6 hours total. The reproduction of drums on his system is as good as it gets, which I have always thought to be one of the hardest instruments to blend Ina group, espiecally sounding real. Robs system is unbelievably convincing and equally fun to listen too. No drop off in resolution at the expense of detail. It's one of those systems that I could listen too all day and want to do it again tomorrow, no fatigue from listening. Usually the drums can take a toll on me, to get them to intigrate well they typically need decent volume, and then can't be too loud without wearing me out. I think the key is the level of realism. If the drums are not real sounding they just wear me out, couple of hours and blaah!
I came home and listened to tunes and noticed how good the P1/D1 reproduce drums... At any level, but espiecally loud. These Esoterics with drums are startlingly real. The level of resolution with instruments and sounds are as good as I have ever heard. I am using Salon II's for speakers with low hours, no uber priced super speakers, and it is amazing how good the whole system sounds. And again, I believe without the resolution, espiecally with digital it is difficult to listen long! ...And all this is with Redbook CD! This source is so good, as good as I have heard. I can only image, as they settle in with more break in time, it will improve even more, it makes me laugh!
I was listening to Eagles /!Hell Freezes Over which is live! Between tracks the live crowd cheers and claps. I can't help but too clap and cheer with them... And thankfully I don't have to clean up after them!

Hi ColeKat, have you tried to drive your amps directly with the Grandioso DACs, without linestage in the signal path? Results? G.

Yes I know what you mean. Many things to point out, but realism of reproduction is probably the most important achievement. All is just right. Bass, detail, expression, extension, sound staging... you name it. But it is altogether that gives realism levels not heard before. Listening to orchestral or symphonic music, it is amazing how there you are. I always remember when being in a concert, the sense of calm yet great dynamics when all the orchestra kicks in. But all in order and under control. This is best way to describe what I hear.

G I may be wrong, since early days and don't know in deep detail, but I don't think you can drive an amp directly from DACs. It does not have volume control. Or I have not seen it. Which for me is a plus actually since always have felt a good preamp improves sound and resolution over digital volume controls.

Hi G, No volume control on the new Esoterics. The D1 does not have it and the upgraded K-03X & K-01X no longer are equipped. When I had my K-01 I used it direct for awhile. At the time I had a Bryston preamp for multi channel, which is a pretty good preamp, and the K-01 was amazingly good sounding, but, After awhile I ran it through the preamp. I mostly listen to CDs and SACDs, so I would think that with Hi-Rez straight through the DAC could be the best hookup.
When I upgraded to the D-02 I had the Esoteric C-02 Preamp, and without doubt liked it better with the preamp.
And now I have no choice! there is no volume control offered. I am running the Ypsilon preamp and love the sound mated with the Esoteric. It clearly helped the D-02 balance out and I liked the darker overall presentation.
With the D1/P1 I am very satisfied with no filters using the ES-Link 4 HDMI protocol. The music just flows through these machines. Overall much more resolution than the D-02. I always felt that the D-02 was as good as it gets with retrieving detail. Finding the information on any format and playback was really good, but better with some stuff than others. When I got the Ypsilon preamp in line, that was as good as I had in my system, but Redbook didn't have the texture and resolution that the D1s provide. The D1s are great all around as any DAC I have heard, though I have not heard many of the top rated ones, I just don't feel like I am for loss, and can concentrate on other parts of my system to match the strengths of these babies. They may not be for everyone, but I would bet that more listeners would be happy with these Esoterics, and that may not of been the case in the past. For me they excel at everything Esoteric is known for, and they do well what they were not known for with the D1s. Best of dynamics, great detail, top of the line resolution, ultra super quiet noise floor... music arrives from nowhere, effortess flow, extremely smooth and incredibly lifelike presentation. I have not experienced any of that glare or occasional brightness, that plagued my K-01, just delightful, satisfying music!