Esoteric K-03

Digital Source Device / SACD / CD Player
ESOTERIC releases the K-01, the flagship model of our all-in-one advanced D/A converter and Super Audio CD/CD player series, capitalizing on ESOTERIC's state-of-the-art technology and derived from our award winning P-01/D-01 series separates. It has been seven years since the debut of the original X-01, with its high-precision and high-rigidity VRDS-NEO SACD/CD transport mechanism. The X-01/X-03 series, which have stayed at the top of ESOTERIC's all-in-one SACD/CD player lineup, have been completely updated and make their debut as the all-new "K" series in November 2010.

The design concept of the K series is extremely clear and simple -- a 2-channel D/A converter and stereo player that gives a stress-free musical experience, without adding or removing anything from the original source material. All aspects of the design and engineering process for the K series had extremely tough requirements to further advance ESOTERIC's top technology. Design and engineering was completed applying all of ESOTERIC's know-how in mechatronics technology, state-of-the-art audio technology, and evolutionary materials including DAC implementation, for which cost was not a consideration. The K series is committed to advancing the "state of the art" for the 2 channel audio purist, for both high resolution audio files and disc based audio playback applications.

The K-03 is equipped with our new VRDS-NEO "VMK-3.5-10" mechanism, which has further advanced substantially beyond existing VRDS models, and a dual mono configuration of 32-bit monaural D/A converters with four parallel/differential DAC circuits per channel. The analog audio circuit has a separate power transformer. The on-board high-precision clocking circuit has also been advanced. Three sets of 192 kHz/24-bit digital inputs supporting the most advanced high-sampling digital sources are also built-in. USB driver software supports 192 kHz/24-bit asynchronous transmission for connecting with a PC.

The K-03 is a high performance model that follows the philosophy of the top-end all-in-one K-01 digital source, 2-channel playback device.