ЦАПы — Esoteric Grandioso D1X SE

The Grandioso D1X SE is a monoblock D/A converter from Esoteric of Japan, supplied as two separate chassis, one for the left channel and one for the right. Esoteric places it in a lineage that began in 2004 with the D-01, which the company describes as the first monoblock D/A converter in the world.

Key specs that matter

Each unit takes two ES-Link inputs over HDMI cables carrying PCM from 44.1 to 768 kHz at 48 bit and DSD at 2.8, 5.6, 11.2 and 22.5 MHz. There is also one AES/EBU XLR input at 110 ohm, two coaxial RCA inputs at 75 ohm, one optical input and a USB 2.0 port that handles PCM to 768 kHz at 32 bit plus DSD to 22.5 MHz. Analogue outputs are XLR with ES-Link Analog at 100 ohm and 5.0 V maximum, and RCA at 47 ohm and 2.5 V. The quoted range is 5 Hz to 30 kHz at -3 dB with a 192 kHz signal, S/N is 113 dB and distortion is 0.0007%. Each chassis measures 445 x 132 x 448 mm, the left unit weighs 23.1 kg and the right one 23.0 kg, and consumption is 20 W.

Engineering and use context

Conversion runs through the Master Sound Discrete DAC, which uses no off-the-shelf DAC chips. Processing is done by an Esoteric FPGA algorithm at 64-bit and 512Fs resolution, against the 36-bit resolution of earlier Esoteric designs. Each channel carries four DAC circuits of eight elements, 32 elements in all, each with its own power supply. The SE revision adds the IDM-01 discrete amplifier module and new analogue filter parts. The HCLD output buffer sits on its own board, runs at a slew rate of 2,000 V/us and uses four parallel circuits for RCA and two hot and two cold circuits for XLR. Digital and analogue sections are electrically isolated, each channel has two toroidal transformers, and the pair holds 50 EDLC super capacitors totalling 1.3 F. PCM can be upsampled 2, 4, 8 or 16 times or converted to DSD, and a DSD filter can be switched off. The multilayer steel base, a screwless semi-floating top and a Pinpoint foot held only by chassis weight complete the build.

Pairing

The ES-Link 5 inputs are made for the Grandioso P1X SE transport, and a BNC input on each unit accepts a 10 MHz reference from the Grandioso G1X master clock. ES-Link Analog outputs connect to Esoteric preamplifiers and amplifiers that accept that current-mode link.

Alternatives

The Esoteric N-01XD SE combines network streaming and D/A conversion in one chassis.