I've used the following for clock cables with very good results; Audioquest Eagle Eye BNC:BNC, Tara 0.8 Digital BNC:BNC with separate HFX Ground Station, VH Audio Digital Cable BNC:BNC and over the past 2 years, the Kubala-Sosna Emotion BNC:BNC cables. I'm sticking with the K-S cables as they are the best I've found at this point given those I've tried. I've also heard very good things about the Mexcel-Esoteric cables.... |
Eelii & Pharma: I am thinking of taking a step-wise upgrade path with my P-03U/D-03 combo over the next year and was thinking of upgrading my D-03 to D-02 and keeping my clock and P-03U transport. I know there are modes above 176.4 that are not accessible in the D-02 without the matching P-02 transport but that P-03U and D-0 can work together. What are you thoughts on D-02 given additional time to break in and what you've been able to hear since February? Thanks! |
Pharma007: Thanks for the advice and thoughts on how to best leverage the D-02 for SACD! |
Esoteric P-03U, D-03 (current), G-03x clock, C-03 pre-amp, Edge NL 12.1 stereo reference amp (soon to be Maker Audio NL14+ stereo custom build), Purepower 2000 APS, many Elrod Statement Gold next-generation power cords and interconnects, Kubala Sosna Emotion clocking cables and Kubala Sosna ELATION AES/EBU cables. Adona racks with Composite Audio additional platforms, custom-pulled 10-gauge (20amp but pulled sufficient for 30amp) circuit, Avatar Acoustics Afterburner8 outlets all around and finally, a Granite Audio Ground Zero star-grounding unit. |
Legacy Focus SE...with this rig they amaze me at what they are able to produce! Thinking of upgrading to the one of the following; new Focus SE with AMT tweeter assembly, Legacy AERIS (amazing speaker), or Legacy Whisper DSW edition once power subs are considered for addition.... |
Thank you very much for this.....I still have the P02/D02 on my wish list for the future! |
I used the Focus 20/20s for quite a while, then added FocusHDs to the system and 2.5 years ago changed up to a pair of Focus SEs with ever-improving enjoyment and results at each steps! My next stop is AERIS with the Xilica processor though the decision between AERIS and Whisper is a difficult one. I'd suggest you hear AERIS and also the new Whisper; you will be very happy either way! |
Thanks for the reminder to you both; I also used Analysis Plus Digital Oval2 cables for clocking for a little over a year with very good results. Apologies for leaving these off my earlier list. In terms of Price to Performance ratio for clocking options, the Digital Oval2 is a fantastic choice... |
No tubes in the chain...while I've heard and love some of the aspects of tube equipment, I've focused on getting my solid-state-only setup as far along as possible. |
On the use of the G-03X clock over the G-0s or newer G-0Rb, i had the G-0s rubidium clock for several years an enjoyed it very much with my P03U and D03; for various reasons, I had to sell the G-0s clock a couple years ago and spent a while with no clock in the system. I later had an opportunity to add a G-03X or G-0s back into the system; I took a chance and put the G-03x into the system and found that it gives me what I want in terms of a good amount of clocking accuracy coupled with a bit more musical presentation with a bit less of the analytical edge that I had with the G-0s. I'm not dinging the Rb clocks in the least; for my ears I was able to achieve what I wanted with the G-03x and think it is worth consideration... |
Colekat: Either clock is a major improvement in my experience too...glad you enjoy the difference. What clock did you wind up choosing? I did a lot of experimentation with various clocking frequencies matrixed with upsampling rates and have a combination I like very much; if you want to talk through the options, drop me an Audiogon email and I'll be glad to jump on the phone and talk. |
If you have only the 2 box setup, setting the DAC, be it P03/D03 or P02/D02 is the way to go....this will cause the transport to sync using the clock in the DAC. I cannot speak for the P02/D02 but I find that 24/176 is the best clock setting on my P03U/D03. |
Colekat: I own the C-03 preamp for several years now and love it; what are the essential differences between the C-03 and C-02 (other than the 2nd set of XLR outputs which is a nice touch; the C-03 allows multiple simultaneous outputs but has 2 RCA and 1 XLR which I could never understand :-) )? Thanks! |
I share your love of solid state and have found that once my (full) C-03 crossed the 500-750 hour mark that it opened up considerably and after I moved up to an Elrod Statement Gold Gen2 PC and a Elrod Gen2 Statement Gold XLR Balanced set of of interconnects I started hearing some very nice tube-like qualities in the transients, harmonics an inner detail on anything I played. I thought I was imagining things but 2 other audiophiles with very discerning hearing observed the same thing. Thanks for the explanation of the diffs on the C-02; I think that is a likely move-up target for me as are the P-02 and D-02 though I will be sad to see the ability to play DVDA go when I move away from my P-03U. I have quite a few outstanding DVDAs (mostly AIX records) and have found them to be nothing short of very impressive.... MERRY CHRISTMAS! |
Watch for 350-500 on the Eso equipment (plus anything else for that matter IMHO!); the wait is definitely worthwhile....I've tried VH Audio, Shunyata, Synergistic, Transparent, MIT, Nordost, Audioquest all the way up to Sky, Volcano and WEL Signature, Tara 0.8, 0.5 and early Gold, many others. For PCs and Interconnects, Elrod Statement Gold and above and Kubala Emotion and Elation are my choice for SOTA cables (personal preferences only, not wanting to start a religious war!). I have not tried Crystal, Clarity, Kimber, Snake River and many others as an FYI |
Sorry for the delay in responding, been traveling with the family over the holidays and had to put my time elsewhere! Please understand my remembrance of Tara, Synergistic, Audioquest, Transparent and other cable brands now goes back to their top models 2-3 years ago so take my feedback on them with that in mind; the top Synergistic cables that I heard at the time were very well rounded and high-performing cables. They did a very nice job giving full range response, big sound stage (in 2 dimensions though, the 3rd lacked extreme depth in many cases as with many other brands I've tired) and musicality with a bit of a rolled off top-end. I remember being very happy with the overall performance and sound but as with others, not being left with a feeling of finding a cable that could be called a 'destination cable'. This is true of both the digital and the XLR balanced analog offerings I've tried. Contrast that with Kubala Sosna Elation (for AES digital) between my P03U and D03 which gives me a cable that I can confidently call a destination cable; the soundstage is huge in all 3 dimensions, all the frequencies well cast and images well defined. Attack and decay and air around each note is hyper-accurate and true to what I've heard or been a part of with respect to live music and you have a presentation and tonal picture of a cable that I really love. I've had a similar experience around David Elrod's Statement Gold interconnects, Power Cords and Signature Gold speaker cables; the system simply "came alive" with an energy, dynamics, huge soundstage (all 3 dimensions) and musically true result that I've never heard in my setup before or for that matter in many systems I've demo'ed or heard at shows, etc....The combination I have running today both before and after I changed speakers recently is something I've only been able to enjoy since moving to these cables. My front end, pre-amp and amp have been stable and in place for years; these cables were "the" defining step to get my system to perform up to what I now know is its potential. One thing that has held true of interconnects, speaker cables and power cords for me is that it is all about synergy with equipment, room, other cables in the system and types of music one wants to play so please take any feedback/impressions into consideration with that in mindÂ… |
Happy New Year to all of you...hope you are all still enjoying your Esoteric gear! I would love to be able to move up to the Grandioso P1/D1 level but that is just not in the cards as they say....
I'm in the middle of what will be a hard-fought upgrade transaction with a very difficult seller (have 40+ pages of email and other comms, glad to provide details on this challenge and the seller so people can avoid him,....communicate with me on in-mail) and after a month, finally have a P-02 installed in the system in place of my 7 1/2 tried and true P-03U Transport. The D-02 is still outstanding and will likely become a 'longer story' with a potentially legally troublesome ending (for the Valley Stream & Lynbrook NY-based seller in question) so the P-02 is feeding my existing D-03 Dual Mono DAC with incredible results.
The holy grail of this hobby so to speak, is to be able to achieve very detailed and accurate playback with all possible inner detail retrieved from the recorded medium while also having organic, musical and non-fatiguing playback. As much as I love the P-03U/D-03 combo all these years, it's hard to put into words what additionally the P-02 brings to the table. The difference and upgrade in all these key areas is not subtle and is incredibly impressive! I'm extremely happy with the P-02 after only 2-3 days and cannot wait for the D-02 to arrive! |
I was able to find another D-02 in 9/10 condition from an outstanding seller on Audiogon (see my most recent feedback, this guy is great to deal with) and solve my immediate issue; the D-02 has arrived and is up and running with the P-02 as a matching set thus replacing my tried and true 7 1/2 year old P-03U and D-03 which will get posted shortly.
All I can say is "WOW!" in terms of the improvements that the new 02 combo brings to the table; they extract so much more from anything I've thrown at them and provide a massive sound stage with incredible depth and great imaging while still providing a very organic and musical presentation. In addition, the frequency range and particularly deep bass resolution and extension of the new 02 combo is truly "off the charts!"
I've experimented with various settings in the first 24 hours and thus far I am tending towards burning in the following combination first;
- upconversion PCM->4Fs (176.4) on P-02
- digital filter set to On (P-02)
- P-02 set to output ESL3 protocol
- upsampling set to 176.4 (D-02), ELS3 *dual XLR inputs"
- digital filter set to FIR1 (D-02)
- clock frequency 176.4 with G-03x driving (will try D-02, no G-03x at some point)
I've read several reviewer/other posts and have tried S_DLY1 (apodizing) filter1 as well as NoFilter on the D02 and NoFilter on the P02. Thus far, the above seems to be the best overall settings for my ears and how the units sound now but we'll see how things burn it and how it turns out overall. I will also try up-converting to both PCM via Dual XLR at 352.8 and PCM->DSD up-conversion at some point though initial tests of each seemed to indicate the above list is where I am going to start.
There are so many options with how these can be configured (have not even gone near the USB input yet!) that I look forward to a long and happy set of experiments and alot of listening with these units.
As for that seller of the first D02, a legal demand letter has been issued late last week, and the hunt will continue with the appropriate outside agencies if the DL is not responded to per its terms. If anyone's been through anything like this and can provide feedback/additional ideas please let me know through 1:1 private in-mail. Thank you! |
I've done additional testing both with and without the G-03x and the master clock in the D-02 yields at least equal results to having the extra OCXO standalone clock (G-03X) in the system. I currently have pulled the G-03X out of the circuit and will now post it with the P-03U and D-03 when I offer them.
I've got the D-02 set to output a master word clock out at 512x44.1 (22.5792 MHz) to allow the full range of upconversion rates and DSD playback with the P-02 slaved to the D-02's master clock. Great results,...here is the current config;
- up-conversion PCM->4Fs (176.4) on P-02
- digital filter set to On (P-02)
- P-02 set to output ESL3 protocol
- up sampling set to 176.4 (D-02), ELS3 *dual XLR inputs", this is 48bit output!!!
- digital filter set to FIR1 (D-02)
- clock frequency 22.5792MHz master clock output from D-02, P-02 clocked to D-02 |
Guido: Great to hear from you as always! I hope life and audio are treating you well! I have tried S_DLY1 and briefly S_DLY2; perhaps it's the fact I have alot of burn in to do on these permutations of settings the P-02 is nearly brand new and the D-02 has had about 1 good year of use.
What overall combination of settings beyond filter S_DLY2 did you find best? For example, are you using PCM->4fs or 8fs (or DSD)? Would you suggest I use no filter on the P-02 and S_DLY2 on the DAC?
Did you find every filter had to be burnt in separately or is there one common circuit path that does not necessitate the individual filters each need to receive 350+ hours?
Thanks or the help....I can tell this will be an even longer road to finding the optimum setting than the 03 generation; and then there's the USB input options,.....ah,...much more burn-in there too :-)
If anyone's interested in a P03U, D03 and G-03X package, I posted mine this morning and will love to find them a good home... |
Thank you...I'm sure I am and a hell of a good dose of burn-in on multiple paths and testing/re-testing/etc....! Let's keep this thread alive for sure...enjoy the game and happy llstening!!! |
Thank you Guido...I will give it a try and burn it in for at least 2 weeks before judging. The big question is do you disable the digital filter on the P-02 as they could overlap in function and what up-conversion on the P-02 do you have set? I have heard thus far that 48-bit ESL3 4fs (to 176.4...) seems to be the best though I have not spent a ton of time with PCM-DSD as I found was the best on my P-03U/D-03. What is the complete set of options that you utilize across both transport and DAC? Thanks!
Eelii008: Thanks....don't know if it will help it move any faster though I am hoping! I'm really looking forward to the next few years with this rig and beyond! |
Thank you all! I don't think setting PCM->4fs (or other setting) on the P-02 and also indicating this on the D-02 results in double-up on the up-conversion, more like telling the D-02 what's coming in with the exception setting PCM->DSD on the D-02. I'll have to chase this down with Esoteric to be certain. I would think that I should not set a filter on the P-02 and then have it on the D-02 any longer but I'll track that down with them as well. I'll report back what I find out and what I hear.
Colekat: I moved to the Legacy AERIS a while ago and am extremely happy with what the new models bring. I still appreciate all the Legacy SE brought to the table; they were fantastic speakers. The AERIS however are amazing and I'm staying with them for quite some time. The new "V" sounds and looks amazing but I don't know if I can get it into the house, and if so, don't think I can get them past the boss for approval :-) they are massive and beautiful to be certain. |
Thanks...I have Cedric M.'s contact info and can share that in return; he is now the one and only Tech Support guy for Onkyo/Integra that tends to Esoteric. He's a great guy but I sense he is overloaded. Ping me on in-mail and I'll send you his email address and gladly take Scott's in return. I'd love to hit the lottery and go with the P1/D1 however I remember Gurvey telling me prior to the P02/D02 being released that something 'special' was coming and like the 03 generation at the time, that unless you can justify the extra expense for the 01s fully decked out to get that last .001%, that the step down would NOT disappoint in the least, particularly for SACD (he was right then, and I think he's right even after his departure on this point). He was actually the one who recommended checking out the G-03X to fill the gap after I sold off my G-0s clock; he told me that to his ears, the upgraded OCXO clock brought the right level of precision while still preserving musicality, etc....I love it when some of these manufacturers get candid and 'open the kimono' a bit to their own thoughts on the stretch-expense factor. Reminds me of a key conversion with Tom Maker from Edge; I was at a point where I could have gone with the NL Signature Monos (more pricey than what i have) but Tom told me he felt, his best and most current work was in the NL 12.1s and unless I was fixated on monos, that I should save some money and go with the NL 12.1s. When something like that happens, that persons gains a huge amount of respect in my book. Anyone willing to leave a good amount of $$$ on the table (particularly when the purchase is direct) by sharing an opinion like this is usually, if not 100% of the time, giving the best advice you can get.... |
On the AERIS, I spent a year tearing my brain apart over making the change from the purest analog chain (with digital source) I could put together at the time and the moving to a config that would insert an A-to-D-to-A processor into the circuit as well as demanding overall 3 more power cords and another set of interconnects. I did a lot of listening and commenting for AERIS prior to getting them on quite a few occasions, all at Legacy with Bill while he was going through the various post-intro changes that resulted in the final and current shipping config (ultimately many changes in the bass/sub-bass section were introduced, the passive radiator, upgrade in amount of amplification in each tower, etc...). I finally got past the whole "bringing new complexity to the rig" issue and am so glad that I did. I loved the FocusSE's, they punch far above their weight-class as the boxing term goes but what the AERIS bring in terms of increased presence and many other things with that open-air top-end is something special to say the least. No looking back now, the bar has definitely been raised. All this said knowing that I have not even tweaked the speaker with the XILICA proc; it's still using the "AERIS_Normal" curves that Bill ships with the speaker. I have a mic-kit, mic-preamp, etc...all ready to go. Next step now that the 02s are in, is the mic the system and work with Bill/team to get custom curves for my room and setup. FUN!!!
Footnote: The Kimber Y-cables that come with the AERIS are of extremely good quality; the Y cable is necessary to split the 2-channels into 2x2 so that there is a duplicate of both the L and R input analog signal. I did see a SUBSTANTIAL up-tick in performance, musicality, etc...by going with a custom-built Y-cable (thanks to David Elrod) to match my existing interconnects; it's something I would suggest to anyone who owns AERIS to match your interconnects.
As as aside, Bill told me he uses 4 instead of 2 inputs on the XILICA to allow him the greatest degrees of freedom for designing the curves on the AERIS (time, frequency-related, changes, etc...can be made separately on L and R input copies independent of each other, the XILICA then puts the next effect together for L and R and sends it out to the speakers. I heard it both ways (2 inputs versus 4 to the proc) and what is possible with duplicated inputs and separate tweaking on each is impressive.... |
All: Thank you for the help and advice from the K series and the 02; I've done a LOT of testing of permutations and track by track compare over the last couple of days with the various filter and upconversion & protocol options for PCM on the P02/D02 and this is where I think I'll stay for a while as it gives;
- the biggest, densest and deepest soundstage
- best imaging in all 3 dimensions for the 'crucible recordings' I've used for testing for years
- the deepest, most accurate bass without over-bloom/muddiness
- the most pleasing and roundest notes, best transients and overall musical experience thus far
Caveat: I've stayed away from PCM->DSD on purpose for now. Will test that later after I burn in pure DSD for SACD once the PCM circuits hit 500 hours each. Then we're on to more testing and then even more with the high-throughput USB options; should be done about this time next year at 500 hours per permutation !
Here's the config;
- up-conversion PCM->4Fs (176.4) on P-02, 48-bit ESL3 seems to be the silver bullet!
- digital filter set to On (P-02), resulted in slightly tighter bass, thought FIR on the transport and anything on the DAC would redundant but it really seems to do wonders so filter on P-02 is back on!
- P-02 set to output ESL3 protocol, 24-bit 352.8 is impressive but 48-bit ESL3 176.4 is the best thus far (note above,...skipping test of DSD for now). D-02 set to receive ELS3/176.4 so 48-bit input on dual AES
- up sampling set to 176.4 (D-02), ELS3 *dual XLR inputs", this is 48bit output!!!
- digital filter set to S_DLY2 (D-02), no ringing, all the right elements as highlighted in my opening passage, amazing filter, at least on this system
- clock frequency 22.5792MHz master clock output from D-02, P-02 clocked to D-02, still don't miss the G-03 given clocking improvements in D-02. 22.5792Mhz sounds better than 176.4, the 512x over 44.1 seems to really round things out nicely with the right combination of precision and musicality...
That's all for now, let the burn-in continue :-) !!! |
Guido: I had a bit of ringing DLY1 but it was minor; major diffs were the more accurate and deeper soundstage (particularly depth here) that DLY2 gave. Also thought overall notes and colors were rounder and fuller without bass being bloated and while keep the very nice transients and "good stuff" in the upper frequencies. The combination of FIR on the P-02 with S_DLY2 on the D-02 seems to be the magic touch at least for now; I'm sure how I'm clocking figures in as well..... |
FYI...learned yesterday that the driver for MacOSX is not yet up to working with v10.10 (Yosemite) of the O/S. Esoteric informed me that for now, we should utilize the non-async (HS-1) mode for USB input....they will notify as soon as the USB chipset vendor remedies this issue with the driver. Normal non-async playback should work as before with iTunes, JRiver, etc....I think this implies we have to hold off using HRAudioPlayer for now until the USB driver underlying that player is fixed. |
i had tried setting the transport to 8fs while the DAC is at 4fs and I don't think that is possible; the DAC is pushed into 24/3xx as soon as the disc is loaded and is determined to be PCM. I'll double-check my settings here again.....S_DLY2 for D-02 and FIR (DF=ON) on the P-02 as a combo for filter is still sounding amazing here with the Legacy AERIS and the rest of my setup. It's a keeper! |
Trust me...they are. The more I throw at them, the more they return. At just under $20K they are one of the, top value/sound for the money in this market as far as I've heard. The new "V" is up the scale from them and sounds amazing. The new WhisperXD is also amazing in its own rite. You have to check them out; I'm sure you'll fall in love with speakers at least once, possibly more!
BTW.....over a week in on burn-in of the combination above anchored on S_DLY2; it's a definite keeper!!! Next stop after this is pure SACD/DSD burn-in and then some USB port fun...what a process, this will definitely be a labor of love to explore this new P/D combo! |
Yeah...that review keeps me up at night! Oh, to win the lottery!!! |
I don't know which version of the D-03 I have but since it came out in late 2006/early 2007, I think it is the one with higher voltages on the XLR outputs.
Regardless of anything else, as with all Esoteric gear I've owned, the XLR path sounds the best with absolute certainty. Furthermore, dual AES is definitely the way to go versus RCA, digital link or single XLR.
I had my D-03 set to 0db for its output modification level BUT per Mark Gurvey's advice, set my C-03 preamp to +12db which he told me the guys in Japan had found was an optimal setting. This combination worked very well for me and I've still got the C-03 configured this way with my D-02 with great results... |
I have a feeling the new P1/D1 will be top of the heap for a lot more than one year.....the fall off in resale value notwithstanding on Eso and other high-end gear, take a dedicated listen somewhere but don't sell your 02 level gear until you hear in detail what the P1/D1 can do. The rest of your logic on channel and power supply separation, etc...is exactly how I'd think of it too in the event I could ever contemplate the move.... |
If you do upgrade and don't start a new thread, so be it! We'll still read and respond!!! Otherwise, just drop a note here and we can jump on that thread as well once we know it is there. My picking up the 02 was series of events, some good, and some not so good coming together including a scammer that made life hell for a while but he will get his so to speak; that much is certain! That brings me to another point; Esoteric gear seems to have joined the ranks of Accuphase, Sansui and others that scammers are currently targeting. If you go to hifishark dot com, search on P02 D02 from time to time and zoom in and look at photos on various ads elsewhere, SNs, etc...and compare to what has at times been posted here, you'll see a few eery similarities. Zero/low feedback is also happening for sellers posting high-end gear more and more here and on other forums. Sad really, but as they say,...word to the wise. Some of us were not that lucky overall....
All that stated, the 02 components are beyond my expectations and I am VERY happy with them....
I agree with Eelii that specs in and of themselves mean nothing; there is so much that goes into the overall results, flaunting specs alone is usually a sign that more investigation is necessary.
As far as your buying choices, it does not look like the use Eso market will recover soon. The different between what the dealer is offering you today and what you might command for price in the future, does not appear to be a huge (although it is still a good amount of money) difference. I'd suggest you determine how patient you are willing to be or how long you could go without having to sell the 02 components after upgrading to determine what's right for you....drop me an in-mail and we can talk further by phone. I have other comments/suggestions but a live chat is much more fun, not to mention, appropriate for that.... |
Haven't heard from Tom here in a few days guys...suspect he's got the P1 and D1s hooked up and is still in a state of shock and awe :-) !!!
(Having a hard time resisting a Peter Schilling (or Bowie, take your pick) "Hello Major Tom...." musical ref here !!! |
Congratulations on your impending P1/D1 units! When do you expect to receive them? While HDMI is good, particularly with a good quality cable (like USB), I have a hard time too believing it will best the dual-AES playback route on any Esoteric unit and will be very interested to hear your experiences.....did you sell the P-02/D-03 and C-02 preamp that you were trying to move as yet? Let me know what happened, particularly with the C-02...... |
Guys...found a great add-on that makes the P-02 and D-02 even more astounding, i.e. lets them shine through with their capabilities even more.....an ESOTERIC C-02 PreAmp!!! It arrived yesterday and pasted me back in my seat in the first 15 minutes. I loved my C-03 pre-amp for many years but this C-02 is an 'in your face' huge upgrade. "WOW" and "Holy %^$&!!!" are the only words that comes to mind!
Eelii08: When are you going to update your virtual system??? |
Eelii08: Congratuations! Hope you get your new units soon! Would love to hear what both you and Tom think of them once they are up and running! |
Good luck with that; those are high-class audio-fanatic problems to be certain! Have a great day Eelii08! |
Those are high class problems and I'd give it about 5 years before Esoteric comes out with the next-generation of reasons for us all to agonize over upgrade choices :-)!!!! It was great to happen to be on phone with you while you were on your journey to go pick them up; I'm dying to hear what you think after breaking them in....very happy for you and your new set of problems :-) here! Personally very glad to have one of the side effects of your upgrade-itis sitting in my room (your C02 Preamp); don't worry, I'll take very good care of it and remind you just how good it is from time to time!
WAF as a 'reality mechanism'....that's too easy, don't get me started!!!
Happy Listening & Keep in touch! |
Please do....would love to know what you think about the 1s at a detailed level. The 2s are still kicking ass here; they continue to amaze in what they are capable of!!! Need to do some listening together soon! |
Thank you Eelii08, great to hear from you! When you post the new thread can you put a link here so that we know how to find it? Audiogon search sometimes does not find things even on keywords correctly..... |
Having trialed a UX3 and owned the DV-50S, UX-1, UX-1 Ltd, P-03U/D03 and as of late, the P-02/D-02 front-ends and C-03 preamp followed by the C-02, in every generation, I've found that balanced outputs work best in all cases sonically. Single-ended sounds very good, but this gear is meant to be played from its balanced outputs (IMHO). Same is true for DAC inputs (again IMHO), dual-AES (dual balanced) inputs on the DAC from an Esoteric Transport capable of same is definitely the way to go.... |
