Esoteric K01: What are the best settings for CD?

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!

@ Flashunlock, First of all, I can say wow at your system!, one of the best I have ever seen on audiogon!, forgive me, I am an avid Krell fan and owner, I am also an avid fan of Taralabs!, owned them since their conception of their company, I own the Taralabs Zero gold I/c, just bought the cobalt with the oyaide plugs and the omega gold speaker cables, These products have been on the market for many years, and I understand technology with a few brands may better the zero gold i/c and cobalt power cords, and I can see you going for better with the Krell amp and pre-amp you have, I just sent my krell 700cx back to krell to be totally renewed inside and out, Ray mulchler guarantees me a new krell 700cx, I believe my amp is not on par with yours, I do believe these Tara cables I just bought into will be more than enough for the equipment that I have,, The funny thing I see over and over is the fact that alot of audio gurus sell all there Taras, but always keep the omega gold speaker cables for many reasons!, Hence, you hardly ever see them on the used market.,I talk to alot of audio gurus such as yourself, I enjoy this, Its hard to find people with alot better system than I own!,, Well, I thought maybe you might want to know that I have had personal relationship with merril and Mathew Bond for years!, not that matters here, However, The news I thought you may want to know is mathew Bond and Taralabs is introducing a new all on slought top of the brand cables this fall the earliest, and no latter than may of 2014, It took many, many years for other brands of cables to better what Taralabs has done!, The Zero gold has been out since 1997!, for crying out loud!, So, It is my belief that Taralabs new flagship cable will send ripples thru-out the high-end industry as best available once again, then, another 10 to 15 years before their is another cable to better the Taralabs, I believe you like the sound of Taralabs, this is the whole reason of this post to you, you owe it to yourself to audition these new Taralabs super cables when they are released, then, In my opinion, you will likly own Taralabs best once again!,, Happy listening.

@ Flashunlock, I am seriously considering buying a Esoteric k-03, you know the cables and amp that I own, please offer your opinion here if you believe this will be a good end result in sound,The cobalt will go on the k-03, thankyou so much, cheers to you.

Jon2020,

I enjoyed reading your take on the K-01. Most players don't have the various digital settings with regards to processing. It makes complete sense, though. I don't see any downside to making a player this way. Your list of the differences between the settings is very helpful. When I'm ready for player, this one will be on the top of my list to demo.

Audiolabrinth,

"I have one of krells older model amps, the krell 700cx, I love the mid-range of this amp, spectacular for solid state!,, Go Krell!"

I definately agree on that. Krell's midrange is very underrated. People focus on the power and control in the low frequencies, but the mids are just as good. Their preamps deserve more attention, as well.

@ Zd542, Hi, Thankyou for the kind words regarding the Krell 700cx amp, It is alot different sounding than the fpb600, fpb 600c amps, the mid-range is alot better, and the over all sound is as well, cheers.