Esoteric K-01/K-03 Owners

Perhaps Guido,
The specs of the 850 vs Agility 3 SSD are similar, yet there are advantages to the 850 Pro for sure.

The thing is, the 2010 Mac Mini has the drive buried in the back of the unit. They recommend that only expert technicians attempt to switch out drives....I am not that guy. Nevertheless, following an instructional you tube video I found, I gave it a go. Almost every component in the MM had to be removed. I needed my pair of surgical loupes to see half the screws I removed and of the 32, most had varying ISO standards....so they each had to be labeled to get the right ones back in the right place. 4-5 hours later I was holding my breath when I booted up the MM....all was fine.

Exhausting enough of a task, I won't be trying to tackle that again. When I eventually upgrade my Mac Mini this may be a viable option, as Apple received complaints about the aforementioned design and I understand the process of swapping drives is much easier based on its location in the enclosure.

I am sure the extent some of go to in the pursuit of the best SQ, seems ridiculous to many. Lol

Thanks for sharing.

Mark

Agh... Did not realize that replacing a drive in MacMini was this exciting... I appreciate your lack of enthusiasm with the idea of repeating the thrillsome experience G.

The transport (VMK-3.5-20S) and the clock (0.5 ppm vcxo part) appear to be the same between k-01 and the new x model. so do the power supply and the 8 dac/per channel configuration. which is a relief for me as a k-01 owner not willing to immediately upgrade.

the difference is the new akm dac chip, usb receiver and possibly the digital pre-amp section.

looking forward to hearing impressions but reminds me of the x-01 to d2 upgrade which i also skipped and was later awarded with the k series upgrade which was revolutionary

Mark,
I am afraid I use Windows 8.1 for hi-rez audio and will not be able to compare what you hope for. Also, I would need Amarra and A+ for the experiment.
I appreciate your resolve in getting past the Mac Mini's "screw vaults", so to speak. Well, I am a mite meeker when it comes to this sort of thing although I would do it on an old discarded piece just to exercise my hands and fingers. Looks like coincidentally, you may be a microsurgeon too, with your surgical loupes, precision and attention to detail with regard to the screw types.
Cheers!

Dear all,

I called up my local Marantz dealer earlier today to find out about the new network player NA8005. Lo and behold, they have it in the store on passive display. So I trundled down to the store and brought it home. At $1199 retail, it was worth a calculated risk since the first network player, the NA11S was well received by JA. The NA8005 piqued my interest for 2 primary reasons - one, it could play dsd and hirez pcm files from a USB memory stick, and two, it has a coax digital output.

Once unpacked, set-up was a breeze for my primary objective of playing hirez files from a USB flash drive. So, no more computer and usb cables. It was simply connecting the 8005 to the K-01 coax input.

Fresh out of the box(I don't know if a network player would benefit from break-in), the sound emanating from the usb memory stick jacked into the front panel input, was in a word, glorious. If I was previously happy with hi-rez via the Esoteric's HRA player, I must say I am completely floored by what I heard in the first few minutes. It was incredible! I had this sudden epiphany of what hi-rez is all about. So, this is indeed how hi-rez should really sound. It is truly that jaw-dropping. All I can say is that with usb flash memory as source, coupled to the K-01's DAC section, there is detail and detail, and yet, oh so smooth and smooth. Not only that, the soundstage opened up while notes floated effortlessly beyond the speaker boundaries in width, depth and height. Bass is prodigious without being boomy, while highs are airier and more extended. As for the midrange, it's either "you are there" or "she is in your living room" sort of thing. Transient attacks are as impactful as they should be. Finally, it all has to be musical and indeed it is as musical as it gets - the total antithesis of "analytical". The 8005 is also not partial to any genre, serving out classical, jazz, blues or rock in equal measure. As the old cliché goes, it doesn't get any better than this. There is not an iota of dryness that might have been suggested of the K-01 in the past.

To all K-01/03 owners, do go out and bring an NA8005 home for an audition or, like me, just buy it. You can finally bid goodbye to jitter-inducing computer interfaces, hard disk drives, background noise, etc, etc.

Happy listening!