Having ripped all my cd's to flac, I recently traded in my old K-01 for the Esoteric N-05 dac/network player as I would like to control all my music in redbook/hires pcm/dsd formats via tablet/phone and so no longer need a spinner. With the N-05, Esoteric has improved its usb design and implementation by leaps and bounds. The N-05 via usb from the PC handily beats the K-01 spinning CD/SACD’s in its venerable VRDS Neo transport and of course, its usb input too.
This indicates the importance of the new dac chip(AKM 4490 compared to the K-01’s discontinued 4399), usb design and implementation, enhanced power supply and analog output stages which all allow the N-05 to surpass the K--01 in every sonic parameter.
Usb implementation isn't just about the usb interface but more the sum of all the parts that make a usb-dac sound excellent.
I marvel at how good redbook can get today. The new gen dac's via usb narrow the gap so much that well-recorded redbook sounds just as good as hires pcm/dsd. An expensive spinning transport with its moving parts and their potential to deteriorate over time can now be dispensed with.
This indicates the importance of the new dac chip(AKM 4490 compared to the K-01’s discontinued 4399), usb design and implementation, enhanced power supply and analog output stages which all allow the N-05 to surpass the K--01 in every sonic parameter.
Usb implementation isn't just about the usb interface but more the sum of all the parts that make a usb-dac sound excellent.
I marvel at how good redbook can get today. The new gen dac's via usb narrow the gap so much that well-recorded redbook sounds just as good as hires pcm/dsd. An expensive spinning transport with its moving parts and their potential to deteriorate over time can now be dispensed with.