Product Description
Since its inception in 1987, Esoteric has been at the forefront of innovation as a high-end audio brand from Japan, continually pushing the boundaries of high quality sound reproduction. The Esoteric brand is known for its outstanding acoustic engineering that has sustained its reputation and prestige, its massive investment without regard to cost, its “museum quality” craftsmanship, and its beautiful designs worthy of music reproduction.
The legendary VRDS-ATLAS Super Audio CD transport mechanism, Master Sound Discrete DAC and Master Sound Discrete Clock with proprietary discrete circuits, and the most advanced network audio playback technology utilizing a unique linear power supply system provide Esoteric’s hallmark sound that is reminiscent of vinyl sound.
It is no exaggeration to say that Esoteric’s history is synonymous with digital playback innovation in high-end audio.
Finally, the SE version of the N-01XD is now available with new discrete clock technology and improved analog circuitry in the DAC. We are proud of our brand and always strive for the best sound.
The SE model we are releasing this time reflects every conceivable technological accumulation from the time the original model was launched to the present. Enjoy the enhanced presence, dynamics, and beautifully organic and musical textures of the new SE model.
Master Sound Discrete DAC
Bringing Out All the Dynamics and Energy of Music.
Unattainable by integrated chips, our goal was to assemble carefully selected and tested discrete components into a complete circuit that could perfectly reproduce all the dynamics and energy of music. Our top engineering teams put their pride on the line to design and produce a quality of sound that can only be found in the “Master Sound Discrete DAC” discrete D/A converter.
The N-01XD SE’s Master Sound Discrete DAC is the most revolutionary two-channel stereo DAC circuit in Esoteric’s history, and is based on the original circuit developed for the Grandioso D1X SE Monoblock D/A Converter. As an extension of the D1X SE’s design philosophy, an abundance of luxurious materials have been invested in the construction of N-01XD SE’s Master Sound Discrete DAC, including 32 separate elements for each channel. Each of these 32 elements, including such key components as a clock driver, logic circuitry, capacitors and resistors, are kept independent to ensure the purest output with virtually no loss of musical energy.
The N-01XD SE incorporates Esoteric’s exclusive Delta-Sigma (ΔΣ) modulator supporting 64-bit/512Fs audio frequency sampling. To perform D/A conversion on par with the excellent DSD and PCM format characteristics, separate FPGA* digital processing algorithms have been developed for each conversion process. This enables the N-01XD SE to extract the optimum sound quality from CDs, Super Audio CDs, and network audio playback.
In the new SE model, the discrete parts of the analog circuitry on the DAC board have been refreshed for even better sound quality. The amplifier element is the original “Integrated Discrete-Amplifier Module IDM-01”. The materials, circuit patterns, and layout have been carefully studied by Esoteric’s engineers as if designing an amplifier with a discrete configuration, and the extremely short signal path that takes advantage of integrated circuits amplifies the vibrancy of music in a dynamic and subtle way. The IDM-01 and other analog parts, such as analog filter resistors and capacitors, have been carefully selected to achieve a more vivid live sound, improved audible dynamics, and a more organic texture.
