Hi all, some forum members here asked me to post my thoughts on the Esoteric N-05XD DAC/streamer/preamp/HP amp that I got recently, so here goes.
In a nutshell, this is an extremely high end DAC, and if you throw in all the extra features that it has (and that are super well realized!) it’s a seriously good value, especially if you can get one used.
I replaced a Holo May KE with this, and while I loved the May and thought I would not get another amp after it, I recently got a Viva Egoista amp and I wanted to see if I could try a DAC that was truly worthy of this beastly amp. Esoteric is not a famous brand in the West but in Asia it’s very well known. They make some very expensive gear, actually the Esoteric, while not cheap, is kind of at the lowest end of their chain. But that doesn’t mean they cut corners on it. It actually uses a lot of similar or identical components (DAC, preamp, streamer etc) from its more expansive brothers.
So, the important question, how does it sound? In a word, flawless. While i thought and still think the May is really special, this is leagues better IMO. By comparison, the May was more relaxed but that could also come across as slight softness. And as impressive as the May was with soundstage and sound placement, this takes it to a whole other level, while never sounding too technical or fatiguing. It’s extremely easy to listen to, but at the same time technically it’s very proficient and is not lacking in anything.
Its streamer (developed with Lumin) is top notch, the preamp is among the best I’ve heard, and the HP out, while obviously not as powerful as my Viva for something like the Susvaras, it’s surprisingly capable especially for easier to drive HPs. Finally the company is really keeping the unit up to date with firmware updates, they recently added Roon-ready, and now even a Roon RAAT mode which sounds much better.
So, while again I realize this is not a cheap unit, I feel that the quality of all its parts and functions make the price somewhat reasonable. If you have to pay for a top notch DAC, a streamer, a preamp and a good HP amp, you’re likely to pay as much if not more than this, without the convenience of one beautifully made unit that has it all.