Esoteric K-01 and Aurender S10 compatibility

Thanks Vladimir.

Elberoth2, I ask my local Aurender dealer if they would have forward compatibility for SW and HW improvements. This could not be confirmed...and was mist likely a NO.

If anyone has better info, would love to hear it.

Update....a BIG thanks to Aurender, who modified the sw on the X100L to allow full compatibility with my Esoteric K-01 DAC. A great big thanks to the folks in Korea, really appreciate the wonderful support!!

My K-01 is now in Japan being upgraded to DSD64.

I wanted to stay with USB to maintain an asynchronous connection between the Esoteric and Aurender S10.

I can use SPDIF and achieve 192Khz into the Esoteric DAC but loose asynchronous functionality.

Getting close to make the jump into Computer Audio, trying to ensure I go the right way from the start. Thanks again.

The is no AES/EBU imput on the Asoteric K-01, so it's SPDIF.

Feedback from various people who saw the new W20 at CES seemed mightily impressed. An external clock syncing the K-01 and the W20 would be great....though from what I read the W20 will be at least twice the price of the S10...maybe more.

Also looking at the Zuma C.A.P.S 3.0.

Thanks all for the excellent comments!

The reason I am interested in USB is that I have some great cables and wanted to use them.

I have the Locus Design Cynosure V2 USB and Core SPDIF cables....so impressed with these cables.

I wanted to come out of the S10 via USB, then into the latest Sonicweld Diverter, then out via SPDIF to the K-01 DAC.

Couple of problems with this dream....I loose async over USB...Esoteric K-01 has a good clock and this would sync the Aurender as a slave to the K-01 DAC via a direct USB cable.

The Diverter cannot do Linix, so that's out.

I can use this approach for both Windows and MAC, though. I have heard the Diverter in some systems...and from what I heard was a noticeably improved sonic performance...even when giving up the benifit of going direct USB and benifit of async functionality.

Aurender S10 is also lacking internal memory expansion...and no forward compatibility to DSD. So PCM is the best it will ever do. Concerned that the S10 will be worth next to nothing in a few years time.

Thus looking at C.A.P.S 3 and MAC.

Has anyone compared a hot rod'd MAC Moni or C.A.P.S 3 vs the Aurender S10.

Jon2020...yes you are correct, it's a USB board replacement and firmware update and also includes 24/384. The K-01 upgrade goes some way to bridge the gap between the K-01 and the new K-01x. The K-01x supports DSD128 as well as improved SQ from the transport and DAC, compared to the K-01. I live in Singapore and my player needed to go back to Japan for upgrade, eagerly awaiting it's return. I believe Esoteric is upgrading USA product in the States, rather than shipping to Japan. DSD64 is important for me as my system includes a computer audio component, as well. If DSD128 ever really becomes mass market for content, I will look at biting the bullet and going for a stand alone DAC. That's not going to happen anytime soon!

PS: I have seen some comments that Esoteric is going to have an upgrade path to full K-01x spec for the K-01. I have confirmation from Esoteric Japan that that's not ever going to happen, as the K-01x uses a completely different board to the K-01 and that board is not compatible with the K-01.

My K-01 is back from Japan, good news is that it turns on and plays. Will have a first listen to the DAC with DSD64 on the weekend and will let you know how it sounds without run in.

All works as advertised. I hear the same improvements re CD to SACD. I assume there will be some further improvements with run in. Very happy, now no need for an external DAC upgrade.

Interesting indeed!

I have the Ayre KX-R as my pre and like it a lot. Though, I will probably not go for the upgrade currently on offer by Ayre and their dealers. I did hear improvements particularly in RBCD, but the upgrade price is significant.