Esoteric Grandioso D1X Digital to Analogue Converter (DAC) – Made in Japan

With a discrete DAC, where component tolerances are directly linked to arithmetic precision, highly advanced quality control is also required for the manufacture of electronic circuit boards. Esoteric’s own in-house factory boasts some of the world’s leading board mounting technologies, such as soldering performed in an oxygen-free furnace, which is located in a cleanroom featuring the same level of cleanliness found in a hospital operating room. Technologies cultivated in the production of electronic circuit boards for audio, medical, aerospace, and defence industries support the high production quality of the Master Sound Discrete DAC.

Setting its sights on achieving the highest levels of D/A conversion capability, Esoteric created the world’s first monoblock D/A converter in 2004 with the D-01. The latest in this lineage of flagship D/A converters is the Grandioso D1X. Brushed up and liberally infused with new technologies, the D1X lets you fully enjoy the excellent channel separation of a dual monaural configuration coupled with truly stereophonic sound.

A fundamental element of audio quality, the Esoteric-HCLD output buffer amp is mounted on a separate board from the D/A converter, and its circuits have been upgraded to double the scale of the previous model. As an indicator of its response speed, the buffer amp’s main components boast an astoundingly high slew rate of 2,000V/μs. This buffer amp also features a four circuit parallel configuration for RCA output and an extravagant configuration of two hot and cold circuits each for balanced XLR output. This enables the D1X to approach the very limits of powerful current-mode transmission and speed, which are the most important elements of an analog output circuit, and help reproduce the full reality of music with breathtaking dynamic range and clarity.
* HCLD: High Current Line Driver

In addition to its XLR and RCA line connections to the amplifier, the D1X has also been newly equipped with Esoteric’s own ES-LINK Analog transmission system. Current-mode signal transmission is less susceptible to the effects of signal route impedance, thus enabling more powerful signal transmission. When connected to supported devices, ES-LINK Analog offers an ideal transmission system for maximizing system potential.

All analog circuits are electrically isolated from the digital circuits, and separate power supplies are used for the digital and analog circuits. Each channel features two large and powerful toroidal power supply transformers, which provide a steady supply of clean power to each corresponding circuit block.

The D1X features the ability to upconvert a PCM digital signal up to 2, 4, 8 or 16 times higher sampling frequency (Max.768kHz). It also features a PCM-to-DSD conversion function (up to 22.5MHz), and a DSD digital filter that can be freely switched ON or OFF.

MQA is an award-winning technology that delivers master quality audio in a file that’s small enough to stream or download. Using pioneering scientific research into how people hear, MQA captures and authenticates the sound of the original studio performance. Visit mqa.co.uk for more information.

USB Audio Interface Supports 22.5MHz DSD, 768kHz/32-Bit PCM, and Asynchronous Transmission

The D1X also includes a USB terminal for connection to a computer or network transport, enabling playback of studio master quality audio sources.