AKM AK4490eq DAC chip

NorthStar

Member
Feb 8, 2011
24,305
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435
Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada
Fine, you win. Enjoy your AK4490 DAC chip. I'm going to listen to my K-01X now.

Ciao,
Ken

Oh, you have one of those! Wow, the music must be something else. :cool: ...The K-01X is build like a T-Rex with a brand new set of teeth. Congrats Ken!
I bet you like Jazz ?

Cheerios, \
Bob
 

sbo6

VIP/Donor
May 18, 2014
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Round Rock, TX
I heard that the Esoteric DACs throw a small soundstage....
 

Alpinist

Well-Known Member
Jun 17, 2014
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Oh, you have one of those! Wow, the music must be something else. :cool: ...The K-01X is build like a T-Rex with a brand new set of teeth. Congrats Ken!
I bet you like Jazz ?

Cheerios, \
Bob

Hi Bob,

Yes, I got it a few weeks ago. I love its musicality. It produces music with tremendous ease and a very relaxed non-fatiguing sound. Music has terrific body with wonderful midrange musical density. It is very linear with excellent bass and treble extension. It also produces a high level of resolution with speed and powerful dynamics. The K-01X produces an expansive soundstage with much more air around instruments and vocalists than prior Esoteric DACs.

You're right, I do love jazz. I was just listening to Jimmy Cobb's Jazz in the Key of Blue. My favorite Chesky SACD.

Best,
Ken
 

NorthStar

Member
Feb 8, 2011
24,305
1,323
435
Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada
Hi Bob,

Yes, I got it a few weeks ago. I love its musicality. It produces music with tremendous ease and a very relaxed non-fatiguing sound. Music has terrific body with wonderful midrange musical density. It is very linear with excellent bass and treble extension. It also produces a high level of resolution with speed and powerful dynamics. The K-01X produces an expansive soundstage with much more air around instruments and vocalists than prior Esoteric DACs.

You're right, I do love jazz. I was just listening to Jimmy Cobb's Jazz in the Key of Blue. My favorite Chesky SACD. \

Best,
Ken

Awesome Ken; you're the type of guy I'd like to hang around with and trade/exchange music. /

? Your username, Alpinist; you are a mountain climber? \
 

Alpinist

Well-Known Member
Jun 17, 2014
530
143
280
USA
Awesome Ken; you're the type of guy I'd like to hang around with and trade/exchange music. /

? Your username, Alpinist; you are a mountain climber? \

Bob,

It's fun sharing great jazz selections, so many gems out there.

Yes, I am a mountain climber. I've climbed lots of peaks in the Canadian Rockies and Bugaboos, and quite a few in the Alps as well.

Best,
Ken
 

NorthStar

Member
Feb 8, 2011
24,305
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435
Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada
I was a treeplanter for almost thirty years. ...Putting couple thousand trees in the ground every single day, sometime more sometime less.
But not @ high elevation, max around 7,000 feet. ...And everything below, down to almost sea level in some areas.
 
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Ken Newton

Well-Known Member
Dec 11, 2012
243
2
95
...using ultra low phase noise clocks (-114Dbc @ 10hz)...

Blizzard, that's quite the impressive close-in phase noise spec. Is this a custom clock circuit, or some commercially available module? If it's custom, what circuit details can you provide? If it's commercial available, what is the module's identity? Thanks.
 

sbo6

VIP/Donor
May 18, 2014
1,660
593
480
Round Rock, TX
Hi Bob,

Yes, I got it a few weeks ago. I love its musicality. It produces music with tremendous ease and a very relaxed non-fatiguing sound. Music has terrific body with wonderful midrange musical density. It is very linear with excellent bass and treble extension. It also produces a high level of resolution with speed and powerful dynamics. The K-01X produces an expansive soundstage with much more air around instruments and vocalists than prior Esoteric DACs.

You're right, I do love jazz. I was just listening to Jimmy Cobb's Jazz in the Key of Blue. My favorite Chesky SACD.

Best,
Ken

Congrats on the new player. Sounds like it is a significant step forward vs the last gen. I have a K-03 and love it. Also that Cobb SACD is excellent, great choice!
 

Blizzard

Banned
Sep 30, 2015
3,049
3
0
Blizzard, that's quite the impressive close-in phase noise spec. Is this a custom clock circuit, or some commercially available module? If it's custom, what circuit details can you provide? If it's commercial available, what is the module's identity? Thanks.

It's the NDK NZ2520SD. If you sort and measure an entire reel of 500, you'll find about 4 or 5 that measure this good. But, if you don't, you don't know what your getting. The phase noise of these clocks can vary +- 15db from clock to clock. It takes 2 hours to measure each clock, and a $100000 machine to do it.

http://www.ndk.com/en/products/search/clock/1187861_1433.html
 

BobShermanEsq

Well-Known Member
Sep 28, 2015
231
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LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,411
2,509
1,448
Great photo! We got a private tour of the studio and got to walk around the Back to the Future set, take pictures by the Delorean, etc...its funny because its not life size, its like 7/8th size or something.
 

Alpinist

Well-Known Member
Jun 17, 2014
530
143
280
USA
Congrats on the new player. Sounds like it is a significant step forward vs the last gen. I have a K-03 and love it. Also that Cobb SACD is excellent, great choice!

Thanks! It was much more of an improvement than I anticipated. The K-03 is a terrific sounding digital player, one of the best. Jazz in the Key of Blue has three of my favorite musicians on it: Jimmy Cobb - Drums, Roy Hargrove - Fluglehorn and Trumpet, and Russell Malone - Guitar.
 

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
22,442
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London
Great photo! We got a private tour of the studio and got to walk around the Back to the Future set, take pictures by the Delorean, etc...its funny because its not life size, its like 7/8th size or something.

The Secret Cinema's Back to the Future was fun. Actors enacting scenes in person while the movie is being played on a giant screen outdoors. There were a lot of claps and cheers, kind of like watching a live sports match.
 

Ric Schultz

Well-Known Member
Jun 21, 2013
227
56
333
Soquel, CA
Running DACs in mono/parallel gives better sound. Teac is doing that in their new NT-503 DAC/network player. Check out: http://audio.teac.com/product/nt-503/
Something like $1000. You could add low jitter clocks, super discrete output stages, better regulators, better parts, Mad Scientist Magic Tubes and other such cool tweak things and have a really excellent DAC/player.
 

NorthStar

Member
Feb 8, 2011
24,305
1,323
435
Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada
Running DACs in mono/parallel gives better sound. Teac is doing that in their new NT-503 DAC/network player. Check out: http://audio.teac.com/product/nt-503/
Something like $1000. You could add low jitter clocks, super discrete output stages, better regulators, better parts, Mad Scientist Magic Tubes and other such cool tweak things and have a really excellent DAC/player.

Looks awesome on paper. ...And the design (exterior) looks very sweet too. ...Plus it is very affordable.
 

Blizzard

Banned
Sep 30, 2015
3,049
3
0
Running DACs in mono/parallel gives better sound. Teac is doing that in their new NT-503 DAC/network player. Check out: http://audio.teac.com/product/nt-503/
Something like $1000. You could add low jitter clocks, super discrete output stages, better regulators, better parts, Mad Scientist Magic Tubes and other such cool tweak things and have a really excellent DAC/player.

Or you can design something much better from scratch :)
 

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