by Michael

CD/SACD Player Shootout: EMM Labs XDS1 versus Esoteric K-01

In this corner, weighing in at about 200 lbs [well, that is what it FEELS like – leaning over to get this on a rack is no feat for the timid. Neli was able to do it, but not without a few remarks :-)], but really at 68.4 lbs, the Esoteric K-01. And in the other corner, at 37.5 lbs, the EMM Labs XDS1.

We have been dealers for EMM Labs for about 7 years, if I remember correctly. We would like to be dealers for Esoteric someday, when we expand our operations, [in the not too terribly distant future we are fervently hoping!].

That said, the shootout did not reveal any serious surprises that a skeptical reading through the current voluminous content on the web does not already point out.

The system was for this shootout was:

Hansen Prince speakers
Lamm ML2.1 amps
ARC Ref 5 preamp
Nordost Odin speaker and interconnect
Elrod Statement Silver power cords on pre and amps
Bybee power distributor
Harmonic Resolution Systems SXR equipment rack, M3x platforms and Nimbus
Jorma Design Prime (single-ended) interconnect on the CD players
First Synergistic Hologram D then Nordost Odin power cords on the CD players


A photo of the Esoteric K-01 remote


A photo of the Esoteric K-01 remote


A photo of the EMM Labs XDS1 remote (we forgot to bring it to the shootout [it’s always something], so this is a photo from this morning)


Here are Neli and P. configuring the Esoteric K-01 to generate output on the single-ended outputs. We also tried both the 4X oversampling and DSD filters [I thought the DSD filter was more digital sounding, Neli and P. thought it had more resolution and liked it better]. Previous tests had shown little difference in performance between balanced (XLR) and single-ended (RCA) interconnects [irregardless of the ARC reportedly being a balanced architecture].


[The Fluke multimeter was used to bias the Lamm amps after their recent move to this location, with presumably a different wall voltage than the previous location across town].

That Odin interconnect is kind sticking out of the rack at an odd angle, isn’t it? 🙂 All I know is that *I* was out of the room at the time :-).


The Esoteric K-01

Both the K-01 and XDS1 were put up on HRS Nimbus Couplers – significantly better than the sound with the standard feet.


The Esoteric K-01


The EMM Labs XDS1


The EMM Labs XDS1


The EMM Labs XDS1

We played mostly light Jazz, large scale classical, and the 1st cut off of Radiohead Amnesiac. All told we spent about 5 hours at this shootout.

We first did a round of shootout with the Synergistic power cord on the players, and then a round with the Nordost Odin power cord.

The Odin brought the performance of the 2 players MUCH closer together [bringing subtlety and imaging to the K-01 and more slam to the XDS1] but their differences were still quite evident.

Esoteric K-01
[Note that other power cords may do as well here in place of the Synergistic – not just the $$$ Odin, but just note that this player IS power cord sensitive, more so than the EMM Labs I think]

* More authority [in the end, I thought this the most compelling aspect of the sound of the K-01]

* More HiFi sounding [sounded more like a stereo than music – a lack of subtle information made each note stand alone as opposed to forming a whole. 95% of this went away with the Odin power cord. There was little or no imaging(!) either until we replaced the power cord]

* A little leaner [but not in such a way that detracted from the music, IMHO]

EMM Labs

* More like music [for many reasons, I think. Voices had more information in them, allowing us to hear emotion. Notes had more information, allowing us to string them together into songs. Much more listening to music as opposed to listening to how each note sounds]

* Softer, more laid back [The K-01 was more forcefully dynamic]

—————

This shootout really revealed the strengths of these 2 players: The XDS1 sounding like music in spite of being solid-state :-), and the K-01 having great powerful midi- and macro-dynamics [and not just in the bass], in spite of being solid-state 🙂

Strangely enough, these 2 players were closest on the track I played, the Radiohead. Notes are coming from all over the place anyway, so the K-01 did great, and the XDS1 really brings out the voice of the singer and his longing to be left alone. On this track the K-01 was more like a kid running around in a candy store, listening to this note, then that note…the XDS1 more holistic, more drug-like .

I also want to say that, contrary to what I have read elsewhere, the K-01 does NOT have more resolution – in fact it has less – the K-01 does emphasize the main body of each note more than the XDS1 however, and that might be interpreted as detail by some, but the overall information here is really is less because the subtle, more nuanced parts of the notes are quite a bit less prominent.

in Emm Labs / Featured Emm Labs Posts / High-end Audio HiFi and Stereo / Reviews 31 comments
 by Michael

HRS SXR double-wide equipment rack: changing the height (or adding a shelf)

The happy owner of a new HRS SXR equipment rack wanted to change the height of the first shelf of the rack, from 10 inches to 12 inches, so that he could put his Lamm ML2.1 amps on the bottom shelf.

So we ordered up some new posts and went over to swap out the 10″‘ers for the 12″‘ers. I brought my camera.

A lot of photos but this whole procedure only took about a half hour, though I did forget to time it… so I could be off by a bit [i.e. don’t feel bad if it takes you longer, and if you do it faster? The heck with you :-)].

These racks are like audiophile erector sets: you can, by screwing and unscrewing posts, make them taller, wider (single-wide, double-wide, triple-wide and on and on), add more shelves [we’ve only seen them go as high as 4 shelves, but…they go down to 1-shelf which is amp-stand height. In fact single-wide 1-shelf tall SXR racks are exactly that: amp stands. Everything is interchangeable, and everything is so tightly spec’d, it just all works, no matter what your assortment of pieces parts is].


We turned the rack upside down and removed the screw on spikes.


Next we remove the nuts that hold on the bottom shelf. Here we are using the wrench that comes with the SXR to loosen a nut.


Once they are loosened, once anything is loosened, the precision construction allows us to just use our fingers and spin the nuts up off of the post [this is actually quite fun, just make sure you slow down when the nut nears the top of the post so it doesn’t go flying :-)].


Next remove the special polymer washers. The polymer used by these washers appear to be similar to the polymers used in the feet of the HRS platforms and in the Nimbus Couplers [soft hockey-puck-like things that go under a component chassis to control nastiness-causing brightness-causing blumpy-bass-causing vibrations – it consistently works really really well unlike everything else we and our friends and customers have tried]


Lifting the bottom shelf off the upside-down SXR rack


No, it is not all that heavy, per se, but the tolerances are tight enough that you have to lift it STRAIGHT up.


Put the bottom shelf to one side…


Next is to remove the posts that connect the bottom shelves to the, in this case, top shelf of this two-self rack.


This orange doohickey wrench thing is a really cool thing:

1. It allows up to loosen the posts which are screwed on tighter than finger tight
2. It will not mar the posts in any way
3. It allows is to tighten the posts exactly the right amount, acting as a torque wrench [if you try and tighten the post too much, it will start to slip… i.e. the coefficient of friction of the rubbery material of the wrench is just perfect to allow us to tighten the posts p-e-r-f-e-c-t-l-y].

These are bigger than the wrench that was shipped with the early racks, and, along with the bright orange color you would think we would not possibly misplace it. Yeah, you would think that [we did find it but it took a minute of looking – and I do NOT remember it being underneath my chair that I spent most of this process lounging around in ;-)]


I went around and loosened all the posts. Here Neli was being fancy and unscrewing 2 at once.


All the posts have been removed.


These bolts sticking out of the shelf are the same as the bolts on the end of the posts. Everything works with everything else because of these kinds of consistencies and extreme attention to detail.


Screw the new [taller in this case] posts on the upside-down top shelf.


Next put a tiny amount of oil on the threads of the new posts so that everything goes together silky smooth [seems to work :-)]


All the posts have been screwed on.


The bottom shelf has been alley-ooped back on the rack…


After putting the polymer washers back on, we put the nuts back on with Neli then tightening the nuts with the special wrench [again, a lot of manly spinning of the nuts onto the posts like they were tops on strings or something. Great manly-man fun :-)]


After we screwed the spikes on to the posts.


Ta da!

Because the floor was actually flat here, unlike our built-by-guys-on-drugs mid-70s home, the rack was perfectly level and there was no need to adjust the spiked feet to level the rack.

Took about a half hour I think, with most of the time spent by Phil and I unwrapping the new posts and re-wrapping the old posts in packing material sufficient [forgot to take photos! :-(] to guard against…well….

You know, after WWIII and we are all dust and after the radioactive wastes cool down, our 6-eyed descendents will have some kick-ass equipment racks to play around with.

in Featured HRS Posts / High-end Audio HiFi and Stereo / How-to / HRS / In The Field 1 comments
 by Michael

Lamm ML2 amps on bottom shelf of HRS SXR equipment rack

In order to form a more compact system one can do several things, many of which, however, lead to a compromised system sound.

Compact systems are still desirable for a number of reasons: ease of use [being able to walk right up to the source components], aesthetics [components strewn about can result in a geeky aura around your system ;-)], and they just help make more room for other things in the sometimes all-too-crowded listening room.


Lamm amps on a SXR rack

Here is something that improves the sound AND reduces the footprint of the system components: Putting ones amps on the equipment rack itself.

Here is an example where we put Lamm ML2.1 amps on the bottom shelf of a Harmonic Resolution Systems SXR rack. The bottom shelf is 12 inches tall [it was originally 10 inches, but we ordered replacement 12″ posts and swapped them out in about 1/2 hour(?) – photos forthcoming]


Lamm ML2.1 amplifiers on a SXR rack

The reason this kicks ass is that the HRS amps stands [which have no peers performance-wise based on our experience with the top contenders to-date and work as normal amp stands that sit out in the middle of the floor], are the EXACT same components as used for the bottom shelf of the SXR.

So essentially we are morphing, Transformers-style, an equipment rack into a combination first-class amp stand and equipment rack.

And, because the amps are somewhat better protected by the rack, and more out of the way of the speaker sound waves, this is probably an even better place for them than the traditional amp stand location [a less sturdy rack, however, might itself pick up vibrations from the sound, and then transfer these negative vibrations to the amp through the rack, something a stand-alone amp stand would not do].

And it looks cool too.

And it takes up a lot less space 🙂

in Featured HRS Posts / High-end Audio HiFi and Stereo / HRS / Lamm 0 comments