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I heard a costly system from Esoteric.

2 days ago I was able to audition an Esoteric audio system. It consisted of the following:

Esoteric F-05 (Class A/B) integrated amplifier

Esoteric K-03 - CD/SACD Player

Over the years, I’ve been a vintage audio guy and I’m also into headphones. Someone told me that listening to an integrated amp with headphones (6.3mm) will give you an idea about how sound quality from the amp translates over speakers. I’ve found this to be very true in practice.

I gave it a go - with the NAD HP50, KEF M500, and some other (more) high-end headphones the store had. Currently, I only have the NAD’s and KEF’s, but I’ve owned dozens of high-end headphones in the past. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed. Please allow me to explain without calling me a liar. It’s nothing personal, just my impressions!

There was considerably less drive/power behind the headphones. For instance, you would literally feel the bouncing air on the cups on closed-back headphones. Literally the same as a headphone dongle with a small amount (in mW of output power). In each song I listened to, I heard familiar details, but it was glossed over by a very sharp and peaky midrange and treble. There was clearly a boost in these frequencies. Bass was anemic. Normally, with high-power headphone amps and even some vintage integrated amps (high-end back in the 90s with 0.09 or less THD etc.), I got the detail with the sonic finesse. In other words, everything the Esoteric amp and CD player did together, I’ve already heard before. It simply pushed mid-treble frequencies to the forefront.

And the cost for this system? 13 Grand for the CD Player. And at least 10 Grand or slightly more for the amp. So 23 grand or slightly more with taxes factored in.

For this kind of money, if they are including a 6.3mm port for headphone listening, shouldn’t it be optimized? Afterall, if you’re going to include that in an amp, make sure it sounds good! I’ve heard headphone systems costing much, much, much, less that sounded better.

My last disappointment was the CD skip - track seeking function. It was very slow. Even some vintage CD players had a skip function where you hold  down the track change/skip button and the numbers move like a stopwatch. On the K-03, it was by the second, or a few seconds at a time. And I had to press the play button again, rather than simply seeking the part of the song I want to listen to.

Source: high-quality CD’s that I burned with .wav files (familiar songs, and original CD’s from my CD collection)

Don’t get upset, Esoteric owners. Feel free to share your impressions without getting mad at me. I know this is a touchy subject; since the object of one’s desire (especially after spending this much money) should be justified!

jackhifiguy
jackhifiguy OP
151 posts
 

@yoyoyaya 

I didn't say primarily for headphone listening. I said for both speakers and headphones. Yet again, it makes no sense to include a feature on a costly audio component if it isn't optimized for performance. As I said before, that same money could be used for EVEN more casework.

@fatdaddy2 

You should try it yourself with a pair of headphones. The F-05. Perhaps the unit I tried was defective or something. But for this kind of money, it should not have been.

@kingdeezie 

The tone controls were set to OFF and ON - with the knobs exactly in the middle. I didn't move them. And yes, I was wearing the headphones correctly, not backwards. Left for my left ear. Right for my right ear.

The store associate also double-checked the cables and made sure they were plugged in properly before I started listening at all.

yoyoyaya's avatar
yoyoyaya
635 posts
 

jackhifiguy - did you actually listen to the system with speakers?

fred60
121 posts
 

In defense of Esoteric, the K-03 was released in 2010, 12 years ago.  The current version, the K-03XD, has gotten this review (taken from Music Direct website):

Well this is something completely different. I've not had it that long and am still running it through its paces but I'm coming to the conclusion that this outperforms any turntable that I'm familiar with. And this is coming from a true dyed in the wool, buried in the analog camp kind of person. It doesn't sound like a cd/sacd player or like any turntable that I'm familiar with. It sounds like master tape. Pretty convinced now that DSD is the way to go. No streamer i have listened to and I have heard some truly great machines don't sound like this. It has changed my world view about playback systems. The fact that some fifty cent discs from a resale shop can sound phenomenal makes it a game changer. Disc after disc in my collection sound like I never heard them before. I will definitely think twice next time some limited $135.00 plus disc comes out. That's it for now and I will be listening to a bunch of Mofi sacd discs recently purchased of music I already own on Mofi One Step pressings. It should be interesting. One more thing; it deserves an additional star. Score: ******

Just one review, but I've read similar comments on some audio threads.

 

arro222
142 posts
 

@ jackhifi

Manufacturers often stretch the "dual mono" thing.

The Esoteric makes the claim as do others, that because they separate sound boards and/or caps wired separately from the one transformer, it gives them the right to make the statement.

Where there is an egregious flight from truth is "dual mono at every stage" implication. If that were true, then the amp would have 2 separate power cords, toroidal transformers, power supply capacitors, and main circuitry. Basically it would be like "monos" in one box but truly separated "at every stage".

milpai's avatar
milpai
2,326 posts
 

@jackhifiguy,

Not sure what your intention is - to build an end-game system for headphone OR loudspeakers? You own a dozen headphones and you chose a integrated amplifier. You should know better (by now, with your experience) that a dedicated headphone amp would do a better job, since it is meant to do that.

The only think I can think of about the slow read times for the Esoteric K-03 is that it is an older product OR it is somehow making sure that the "seek" do not mess the timings. I could be completely off. But I used to have an older Marantz SA-8260 that behave exactly like what you describe. Great sound but slow seek times.

High price does not necessarily translate to high performance. Now-a-days even products from PRC costs $$$$. So make sure that you spend time and effort to evaluate the stuff you are buying. I spent 2.5 years to find the right loudspeakers for me.

BTW, I don't own a single piece of Esoteric. So making sure that you make the best possible judgement when you are buying an end-game system.

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