Renewal and innovation at the peak of the Japanese digital High End
The monumental effort in technological innovation made by Esoteric, undisputed icon of Japanese High End audio, to develop the exceptional components of its absolute reference range, Grandioso, has been the starting point to update two of the most emblematic digital players of the brand: models K-05 and K-07. Named K-05X and K-07X, Esoteric’s two new digital sources improve on the already extraordinary features of their respective predecessors, having incorporated a series of exclusive refinements in each of their key subsystems. All this while preserving its unique constructive opulence, with very thick aluminum panels and a complex system of compartments and internal reinforcements, which characterizes each and every one of the achievements of the Japanese brand.
In the words of Esoteric itself, “The addition of an “X” in the name of a model symbolizes the presence of the no va más in technological advances, manufacturing quality and creative commitment. The K-05 and K-07 models received the highest praise as key components of Esoteric’s range of integrated Super Audio CD players, with their extraordinary ability to reproduce the essential qualities of a musical performance. continues to fascinate the most demanding. Now, a new “X” builds on this strong pedigree and further refines these qualities in the form of the new K-05X and K-07X Super Audio CD players, using technologies distilled from the Grandioso models.” With a practically identical physical appearance (the differences are concentrated in the transport tray and the function display), the two new Esoteric brilliantly exhibit the extreme perfectionism that has characterized the brand during its almost three decades of existence. Equal parts exclusive and seductive, the K-05X is a prodigious digital source designed to bring the most complex musical recordings to life in all their rich detail. Equipped with one of Esoteric’s sophisticated, one-of-a-kind VRDS-NEO transport blocks (VMK-5), the K-05X stands out especially for the inclusion of technological improvements in its key circuits from the elitist Grandioso models. Thus, the D/A conversion section is based on D/A converters with 32-bit Asahi Kasei AK4490 technology, mounted in a double monophonic arrangement that, in combination with a 34-bit signal processing algorithm, allows recordings without precedents in terms of resolution and capacity for dynamic expression. Another unique refinement of the K-05X, in this case coming from the Grandioso C1 preamplifier, is the use of advanced EDLC (Electronic Double Layer Capacitors) capacitors in the power supply of the D/A conversion subsystem, which allows for a total capacity of 500,000 uF for each channel. To this we must add another Esoteric exclusivity: the balanced separator stage with high current delivery capacity HCLD Type 2, which ensures the total absence of limitations when sending the output signal.
Regarding the main power supply, the K-05X is equipped with a high-capacity toroidal transformer that ensures levels of silence and dynamic capacity that meet the demands of the highest resolution digital audio. Another key aspect of the K-05X is its synchronization circuitry, based on a custom-made high-precision, very low-noise quartz clock, while there is an input for an external synchronization signal specific to the clock. of the latest generation Esoteric G-02. The possibilities and degree of technical sophistication of the K-05X are also reflected in a very special way in its compatibility – via USB and after loading the Esoteric HR “driver” – with DSD signals up to 11.2 MHz (DSD256) and PCM. up to 32 bits/384 kHz, as well as the possibility of choosing between four filtering modes and converting PCM signals to DSD, in addition to resampling both PCM and DSD digital signals. All this is completed with cutting-edge connectivity that includes balanced and unbalanced analog outputs.
For its part, the slightly simpler K-07X model incorporates the same technologies, exhibits a very similar construction quality and offers exactly the same features and functionalities as its older brother, with the key differences concentrating on the transport block, which, in this case, it is a VOSP type design also exclusive to Esoteric. As well as in the main power transformer, which in the K-03X is a model with a grain-oriented plate core (EI).
