Any experience with Esoteric K-05?

In reference to my comment on 4/12 - the last sentence should state - "I feel the K-05 sounds better."

I incorrectly, typed "K-03".

Mike

Hi Jeffkad,

In my otherwise neutral playback system as described above
the scorecard on the Cary Audio 306 Pro vs. the Esoteric K-
03 reads like this.

The Esoteric trumps the Cary for outright resolution, sound-
stage depth and object edging, treble extension and bass
depth.

The Cary trumps the Esoteric for image specificity and
density, mid-bass weight, overall musicality and engagement.

I was very surprised at just how different these two fine
machines sounded considering they are both fully solid state
designs with large linear power supplies and both running
four quality DACs per channel.

There is much more to the story including a rather unusual
finding with the K-03 - which I will write up in due course
in my audio blog.

Thanks Kiwi. Very interesting and distinct comparison. I was really leaning towards the Esoteric units, but you stopped me cold with the Cary win-points. You used the word "trumps", which in my mind means decisively better. Is either unit actually weak in the areas it was trumped, or are they still very good, but noticeably weaker just in comparison to the other's strengths?

Kiwi, btw, where is your blog?

Hi Jeffkad,

Trumps as in plainly elevated above or prevailing...

Remember though, this is all subjective stuff; a comparison using my ears and my reference system does not mean one machine is better than the other.

All I can say is that located within a strictly neutral playback chain the Esoteric is simply not engaging enough. Little wonder then that many living with the machine are using either a valve pre-amp and/or warm cabling systems in a quest to connect to the performance.