Upgrade Esoteric K03XD to K01XD?

I don’t know what you use for a streamer, or what the rest of your equipment is, but might a bit perfect rip and the correct streamer compete with the K03XD? Not answering your question, but such a streamer also will improve what you do the most…stream.. Of course, I have no idea what the rest of your system looks like and based on the cost of the Esoteric, you probably have a killer streamer/server..

I understand that the above approach is more difficult with SACD in that there isn’t an easy way, that I know of, to rip SACD, but I suspect that high end streamers that cache the stream just might compete, but there might be some SACDs that are not readily available to stream.

BTW… The server/streamer that I have in mind would be the Aurender W20SE.

Thanks for your response.

I use an Esoteric N03T for a streamer, connecting with a USB cable to the K03XD.  I have a Roon NUC with an SSD inside to which I rip some CDs via the network using Anyburn.  So far, I am quite happy with that.

I considered Aurender but liked Roon so went another route.

If you don’t care much about spinning CDs, and your focus is streaming, I would recommend upgrading to the N-01XD. It’s a streaming DAC. No need for a separate streamer. You would then get rid of both K-03XD and N-03t

P.S: the streaming module inside the N-01XD is certified Roon Ready endpoint 

thyname has a good suggestion.

There are some threads about the Esoteric XD series on the AudioShark Forums:

Esoteric (audioshark.org)

Here is a quote from a dealer posting there (Mike from Suncoast Audio):

The historically speaking there wasn’t always a major difference between the K1 and K3. But with the XD series, there is a significant difference between the K-01XD and K-03XD. I believe the K-01XD carries triple the number of delta-sigma chips over the K-03XD. Sonically, there is greater layering and a smoother presentation with the K-01XD. That being said, the K-03XD is a super performer at $14k and it’s the product that got me hooked.

I think that you would need a very transparent system to get a big upgrade in sound from the K-01XD, but that’s just my guess. I know that Mike from Suncoast has a lot of really good gear at his disposal.

How do you like the.N03T streamer?

Thanks for your suggestions.

I can see the thinking behind the idea of repIacing the current streamer and cd player with the N01XD but I have a fair few cds and I'm not quite ready to abandon the possibility of playing discs altogether. 

I'm not sure how transparent my current system is.  It's certainly the best system I've ever had.  At the moment I've got a Bryston 4B3 amp and a BP26 pre, PMC fact 12 speakers supplemented by 2 Velodyne DD10s.  I'm considering replacing the amps with a Gryphon Diabolo.  Once the 333 is out and about it would be worth listening to.

I will peruse the Audioshark forum, thanks for that. 

I hope my local dealer here in the UK will be able to get hold of a K01XD to try it out at home.  I thought it would be a good idea before doing so to draw on the knowledge in this forum.

I like the N03T streamer very much; I see both Esoteric devices more or less as one machine.  It is a huge improvement over just plugging the Roon NUC into the K03XD.

I hope my local dealer here in the UK will be able to get hold of a K01XD to try it out at home. 

That would of course be the best path forward 

I can see the thinking behind the idea of repIacing the current streamer and cd player with the N01XD but I have a fair few cds and I'm not quite ready to abandon the possibility of playing discs altogether

Or you can get a simple CD transport for that purpose, hooked up to the N-01XD via AES/EBU or S/PDIF. 

Or you can get a simple CD transport for that purpose, hooked up to the N-01XD via AES/EBU or S/PDIF. 

I second that thought emphatically.

Good transports are still available, including esoteric's own under the TEAC brand name. Just get a used TEAC -- or a pro-ject if you insist on new! Regards 

Interesting ideas, thanks. 

Do you know if the DAC inside the N01XD is the same as the one in the K01XD?

My local hi-fi dealer stocks CEC transports which might be worth looking at.  I find the idea of a belt-drive CD transport intriguing.

I think the DACs are very similar if not the same.  The K-01XD would have connections to the disc drive, but I don't think that would affect the sound.  Esoteric has diagrams on their website that you could check for differences.

Do you have many SACDs?

Thanks for your reply.

I had a look at the Esoteric website but don't know what differences in diagrams would mean regarding sound quality.

I have very few SACDs.

If the DACs are the same in the 01XD devices, and better than in the K03XD, and as I play CDs not that often anymore, it makes sense, as thyname suggested, to buy the N01XD and add a reasonably priced transport.  The N01XD is somewhat cheaper than the K01XD and I would be able to trade in my K03XD and the N03T.

The N01XD has a clock output which I could attach to the transport, I assume.  I read this would enhance sound quality for CD playing.

The N01XD has a clock output which I could attach to the transport, I assume.  I read this would enhance sound quality for CD playing.

The clock output in N-01XD is a Word Clock (not reference 10 MHz master clock), and can be set to 44.1 or 48 Khz. So it depends on what the clock input format on CD transport is.

As far the quality of the DAC in the N-01XD vs. K-01XD, it is the same DAC. However, connections, layout, wiring, etc. are different, accommodating just a streaming module in the N-01XD vs. an entire CD drive in the K-01xd. I have read from people in the internet that as a DAC alone, the N-01xd is better, but, don't take my word for it.