Metrum Acoustics Pavane or ESOTERIC N-05 or ESOTERIC K-05X?

Hi audioabc,

I have not heard the Metrum and so cannot comment on it.

I have the N-05 which is now past 1000 hours of burn-in. It shares the same AK 4490 chip as the K-05X. I find the N-05 beating my previous K-01 which I used for almost 3 years, in every sonic parameter.

If you only need a new dac to go with your current player as transport, the N-05 is very good value for the money. If you want everything new, then the K-05X should be your ticket.

Here’s the link to the awards list for Esoteric gear - the K-05X as second prize winner, nudged the K-03X to third place.

http://www.esoteric.jp/about/award/indexe.html

Rgds. J.

Hi jon2020

Thank you very much for your promt & precious reply.

"I find the N-05 beating my previous K-01" ! Your sentence beats me too! What a nice surprise! I auditioned the Esoteric  K-03 last month and found it wonderful. And I know it is still inferior to K-01 which is often taken better then WADIA S7I.

I will contact a dealer for  an ESOTERIC N-05 or K-05X  after you advice. Both of them have nearly  the same price.

But I wonder why the N-05 is not available in the award list. Is there no award for Network Audio Player? 

Much thanks once more. 

 Best Regards

AudioABC

If your looking at this Metrum Acoustics Pavane  Mutibit dac, then also have a look at this one.

http://www.aquahifi.com/formula.html

Cheers George
 

Hi Audioabc, and George,
I own the Pavane and would describe the sound, in short, as natural, detailed, and dynamic.  The 0 to 60 factor is very good.  As with the Hex, it is not overly syrupy, rich or warm, but rather it is clear while being very natural sounding and never edgy, and still displaying warmth when on the recording.
That said, I auditioned Aqua's LaScala Mk II in my home and found it also to be a very nice sounding DAC.  The tube output resulted in a different presentation from the Pavane and I found something not quite as natural sounding (maybe a little forced), which I attributed to the high'ish output of 6V.  Subsequent discussions with the importer indicated that some tube rolling would improve on what I heard.  It was a close call between the LaScala Mk II and Pavane - comes down to personal preference.
I think the Aqua folks have a good thing going so I would really like to hear the Formula.  I have already contacted appropriate folks to get a crack at it once the initial hoopla settles a bit.  At $13,800, the Formula is over twice the cost of the Pavane so the LaScala MkII would be a better comparison.  I hear there may be some trickle-down improvements planned for LaScala and my discussions with the importer from a year or so ago indicate the Aqua folks are quite committed to providing customers upgrade options to their products when possible.