I fully concur with Washline as regards the mammoth soundstage. What's also satisfying is that the K-01 provides cues for an excellent sense of the acoustic space within the hall or recording studio. |
Hi Matjet,
I am another K-01 fan, having just acquired it a few months back.
I concur with your experience regarding warm-up time. I leave mine on all the time and put it on repeat play for 2 hours before serious listening.
I run it direct to my power amps via Kimber Select 1130(one notch below your 1136) balanced interconnects.
The thing about choosing the "right" filter and/or upsampling is about personal taste, your system context and the recording. My personal preference is FIR1 with no upsampling but with certain recordings, I use FIR2. When I switch from no upsampling to 2x or 4x, I notice a grainier texture to the sound. The difference is more obvious when you switch from 2x or 4x to no upsampling. Of course, this is all in the context of my system.
With regard to recordings, the following labels have their own "house" sound - ECM, Impulse Jazz, Telarc, Mercury Living Presence SACD, Concord Jazz, JVC XRCD, to name a few. So, you can tailor the options accordingly.
The observation by Guido about AC power conditioners, cables, etc, is very true. The K-01 transforms in very significant ways with changes to these ancillaries. When I placed my Shunyata Triton power conditioner on an isolation platform and ball bearings, the K-01 expanded the soundstage in depth, width and height, enriched tonal colors, and lowered the noise floor even further such that its already fine resolution becomes more appreciable.
The K-01 is a technological marvel and a delight for the hobbyist to experiment with all the different settings. Enjoy! |
Flashunlock,
This thread is getting very interesting. So much diversity in the choice of filters. Just curious, what amp and speakers do you have in your system?
Jon. |
Flashunlock,
That's one heck of a system you got there. And the only thing that you have that most others who have posted here do not is the Mio La Clock. So, with this clock, your preference for DSD is now understandable.
Can you please detail the difference in sound quality with and without the clock? Thanks in advance. |
Flashunlock,
Thanks for your detailed observations.
With regard to your various modifications, I guess you feel they would be worth it even as they would void the warranty.
Happy listening! Cheers!
Jon. |
The Final verdict.....
The K-01 is indeed a chameleon which is proving to be quite an animal to break in. So, after 800 hours of break-in time as advised, I shall try to summarise my observations of the various combo settings.
Firstly, everything will depend on your system and/or recording in play.
If the system/recording is a bit dry, cool or lean, the FIR filters work best. If it is warm, lush or tubey, then the SLDY filters are recommended.
As my system is a constant, I can only comment on different recordings :-
1. Reference Recordings with HDCD - these work best with FIR or SLDY_1 filters; with SLDY_2, the treble starts to sizzle, sounding too bright or sharp.
2. The K-01 is fantastic with classical music - with well-recorded orchestras(except for RR as above), SLDY_2 is best
3. With solo piano for classical, FIR filter sounds best.
3. With jazz recordings that are too sizzling in the top such as the older Mo-Fi Gold Ultradiscs, the FIR filters sound better.
4. Recordings with overcooked bass like the Brad Mehldau trio LIVE album, SLDY_2 sounds great.
5. The K-01 is a spectacular SACD player and I was flabbergasted to find that the FIR or SLDY filters actually lend their sonic signatures, albeit in a subtle way, as above even though the player is supposed to default to the DSD filter.
Overall, it is my experience with my system that NO upsampling(ORG) still gives the purest sound.
The FIR filters flesh out instruments like piano and saxophone, while the SLDY filters provide speed and superb transient response.
Both filters give good soundstage perspectives with the SLDY filters expanding the soundstage more than the FIR filters. So, with solo classical piano where soundstage perspective is less important than tone and timbre, the FIR filters are recommended. But with orchestral performances, to enjoy the full depth, width and height of the soundstage, the SLDY filters are recommended.
The 1 filters sound fuller than the 2 filters for each type. The corollary is that the 2 filters sound leaner than the 1's.
So, tweak away and enjoy! Cheers, all! |
Hi Denon1,
I am not as fortunate as you in that my unit did not come with the CD. I checked the manual and in the section on "What is in the box", there is no mention of this CD. Your generous dealer must have slipped it in for you.
Anyway, going by your description of the tracks, I would put on repeat only tracks 1 and/or 2. Putting the demagnetization track on repeat is not necessary as you need to demagnetize your system only once in a while.
Cheers! |
Zd542,
Thanks for your comments. If you ever take delivery of the K-01 one day, you won't bear an ounce of buyer's remorse. The K-01 is really that good.
Far from being analytical, it is actually extremely musical. The K-01 will connect you to the music and the musician - his interpretation, his technique, his complete artistry. It will communicate to you that Evgeny Kissin is a far more accomplished interpreter of Chopin and Tchaikovsky than say, Lang Lang. It will also communicate the difference between Kissin and Van Cliburn even as each is just as venerable and exalted in his own right.
And that's what this hobby is all about - one's inner emotional connection to the music.
Cheers! |
Hi Kiwi,
Yes, I am pretty sure but as I said, I was flabbergasted to hear any difference. In theory, there shouldn't be but there it was.
Playing Sonny Rollins with the FIR filter brought on more body and weight to his tenor sax. With solo classical piano, notes were more fleshed out with the FIR filter. With the SLDY filters, piano highs sound leaner and a smidgen more glassy or tinkly.
If you have the K-01, you owe it to yourself to check out the difference but only after at least 600 hours of break-in. I must emphasise that the differences noted for SACDs are to a lesser degree than for CDs.
Fact is truly stranger than fiction.
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Hi Denon1,
In response to your question, yes, I have. But don't take my word for it. Try it yourself and trust your own ears.
Let us know. Cheers!
|
Hi Kiwi,
That was my belief too. But of prime importance here is whether the observation is reproducible because it is only by reproducibility that we can then come to a meaningful conclusion.
I couldn't believe it at first and did not want to believe it but I have A/B'ed the FIR and SLDY filters so many times that indeed the observation is reproducible.
Go figure! Cheers!
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Washline,
That is so good to know. And therein lies the beauty of the K-01. It caters to eveyone's personal taste(even as that, too, changes over time) and/or system, not to mention the recording on hand.
Happy listenng!
|
Flashunlock,
You nailed it. The sooner this obsession with break-in stops, the sooner we can begin to simply enjoy the music fron this fabulous machine. Cheers! |
PhillyB,
Your experience very much mirrors my own. I tried the various permutations and combinations initially and found that DSD uosampling with filter OFF was preferred for my system. But one day I just happened to try out ORG with filter OFF and Wow! Yes, as a Sinatra fan myself, the Chairman never sounded better spinning in the K-01. So, I settled on this combination.
Lately, I have moved on and am now using the K-01 only as a cd transport driving a new hi-res dac. Time marches on and so does digital tech in audio.
Still, I am glad you are enjoying the ORG/OFF settings, which I did very much for some time.
Cheers! J. |
