Hi-Fi

Esoteric K-05XD: The ultimate SACD player

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January 18, 2023

Esoteric K-05XD

The Japanese company Esoteric has introduced a new optical disc player K-05 XD , endowed with the functions of an external DAC. The K-05XD inherited the philosophy of the legendary K-05 series, but was practically developed from scratch.

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The player is based on the proprietary VRDS- ATLAS ” ATLAS 05″ optical disc transport , specially created for this model, and the digital-to-analog conversion unit is made in the Master Sound Discrete DAC concept with solutions developed for the Grandioso G1X precision clock generator.

The upgraded VRDS-ATLAS mechanism, as well as the player’s electronics and power supply, are housed on a durable two-layer chassis. The body of the player is made of aluminum panels. There are three power transformers in the power supply – two powerful toroidal ones for powering the digital and analog parts, as well as a small EI transformer for the control system. The Esoteric K-05XD player supports MQA decoding, including the MQA-CD variant.

The switching arsenal of the Esoteric K-05XD player includes coaxial and optical digital inputs, as well as a USB-B port. There are also digital outputs here – both balanced AES / EBU and coaxial, as well as a 10 MHz input for connecting an external clock generator on the BNC connector. Analog outputs are available in both balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA outputs. There is also a proprietary ES-LINK Analog output for switching with Esoteric amplifiers.

The Esoteric K-05 XD SACD player will be offered in silver or black finishes. The recommended retail price depends on the selected design option. The K-05XD in silver color will cost 1,045,000 yen , which at the current rate is approximately 557 thousand dollars. For the black version of the player, you will have to pay 1,067,000 yen or 569 thousand dollars. In Japan, the player is expected to be on sale in February. In Europe, the K-05XD will be available in the spring of 2023.