Esoteric K-01/K-03 Owners

Hi Phillyb,
I hope to persuade you to try out HRA with your K-03 in which you have invested a substantial sum. I am not a dealer but just another hobbyist who has simply discovered and experienced the joys of HRA.
As the cost of the K-03 comes with the usb input and hirez DAC, you would be missing out on a lot of its other capabilities, esp with HRA.
This little experiment will come at very little additional cost. First, get an audiophile grade usb cable-the Audioquest Pearl usb cable is a rather affordable point to start with. Then download the free HRA player, install it and then, go to the HD Tracks website to download their free samples of hirez files.
I am quite confident you will like what you hear compared to CD.
Cheers!

"I have not heard about this in the USA. Can the DAC be upgraded in the K-03. I like my CD collection and have no plans for streaming or downloading music".

The Esoteric Rep indicated they do not plan to upgrade the DAC or provide any additional upgrades offered via the K-01x/K-03x other than the USB input capability extended.

Follow this link (Scroll to bottom of page) and it specifies their intentions at this point. Perhaps they will offer additional K-01/K-03 beyond the USB interface when the time comes, however; the Rep said do not count on it.

http://www.bm.rs/Esoteric/esoteric%20k01x%20&%20k03x%20broshure%20english.pdf

Unfortunately, as far as the Esoteric HR Audio Player goes, it is not compatible with my version 2010 Mac Mini (10.6.8) unless I upgrade my OS to Maverick. Fortunately, I am pleased with Amarra 3.0.2 and Audirvana +, though I would certainly be interested in hearing and comparing SQ if I could.

Hi John, is the HR Audio Player able to play redbook material, or only High Resolution files?

Guido

Guido,
Yes, it supports RedBook CD playback as mentioned below:

Supported file formats:
Simple screen design reduces CPU load and contributes to higher sound quality.
By using a simple screen design, the CPU load is reduced, and this contributes to higher sound quality. For listeners that desire even better audio quality, the RAM buffer playback loads the data temporarily into the computer's memory before playback to enable playback with even higher audio quality.
Other features
> Playlists can be created, saved and loaded
> Repeat playback function for playlists and single tracks
> Shuffle playback function for playlists
> DSF (.dsf ) DSDIFF (.dff ) PCM (.wav) FLAC (.flac) MP3 (.mp3) 2.8/5.6 MHz
2.8/5.6 MHz
> 44.1 kHz – 384 kHz,16 bit – 32 bit 44.1 kHz – 384 kHz,16 bit – 32 bit 32 kbps – 320 kbps

Mark

That is fascinating Mark... I wonder if there will be always a sonic advantage in playing redbooks from the K-01X spinner, or there will exist some setup from a PC/Mac such that playback of redbook files from computer will be superior.

G.