Esoteric Super Audio CD/CD Transport/36 Bit Dual Mono D/A Converter P-02/D-02 - Manual (Page 5)

Esoteric’s P-02 SACD/CD transport and D-02 system DAC,
aim at the highest level of audio performance.
This is only possible using separate audio components,
based on the company's evolving product design concepts.
The P-02 and D-02 have incorporated a number of new technologies
such as "ES-LINK3" and "35-bit D/A processing."
The P-02 and D-02 are new design implementations from Esoteric,
which are totally dedicated to evolving the critical listening
experience for music enthusiasts.
Super Audio CD / CD Transport
Super Audio CD / CD Transport
35bit Dual Mono D/A Converter
35bit Dual Mono D/A Converter
VRDS-NEO "VMK-3.5-20S"
The P-02 is equipped with the Esoteric-original VRDS-NEO "VMK-
3.5-20S" transport mechanism. This mechanism enhances read-
out accuracy by using a high-precision turntable whitch corrects
the “wobbling effect” of the disc during rotation. The disc tray loader
is provided with a shutter mechanism to further reduce resonance
and airborne particles from entering the transport.
The VRDS-NEO "VMK-3.5-20S" transport mechanism uses a pair
of ceramic ball bearings in the spindle shaft bearing assembly. The
P-02 has adopted a duralumin turntable with micron-level accu-
racy and a 20mm-thick steel turntable bridge assembly to achieve
a total weight of 5.2kg. The P-02 has a well proven mechanism,
including a strong neodymium-magnet-driven, coreless, three-
phase brushless spindle motor, thread feed control, and a sliding-
shaft pickup that assures the laser beam is always precisely
aligned at right angles to the disc.
Spindle servo driver circuit "VS-DD"
The P-02 has adopted a discrete amplifier circuit called "VS-DD
(VRDS Spindle Discrete Driver)" for driving the spindle motor. A
dedicated toroidal core power supply unit stabilizes power current
to the motor, achieving both a very smooth spindle rotation and
highly precise servo control. Thanks to the isolated motor design,
digital audio circuits are free from noise and from power supply
fluctuation potentially caused by high current motor operation.
Various digital output terminals
The P-02 transport is equipped with output terminals of three types
and five channels (XLR x2, coaxial x1, iLINK 4p/6p x1 each), includ-
ing an ES-LINK3 compliant dual XLR terminal for user connections
to a wide range of external equipment.
The front panel is provided with a load-
ing indicator lamp that illuminates in
blue when a disc is inserted into the
unit. The indicator lamps remains on
during the loading process.
P-02 (top side)
P-02 (bottom side)
D-02 (top side)
D-02 (bottom side)
The ultimate music transport
"35-bit D/A processing" dual monaural D/A converter
The D-02's D/A converter ICs incorporate top-end 32-bit AK4399
chipsets by ASAHI KASEI Microdevices Corporation. Eight circuits
per channel are provided to achieve phenomenal linearity and low
noise. In addition to direct processing of DSD signals, the D-02
has newly adopted a "35-bit D/A processing" algorithm that con-
verts PCM signals to analog signals, at a high resolution of 35 bits.
As a result of this new technology, the D-02 achieves an
improved level of delicate sound quality and imaging with ultra
high resolution.
The D/A converter circuits are mounted on separate analog
audio boards for each of the left and right channels. All compo-
nents, including the power circuits and power transformers, are
separated for right and left channels to implement a fully dual
monaural configuration. This identical layout per channel,
achieves ideal power supply performance and excellent chan-
nel separation, enabling high-quality playback with a deep and
wide soundstage.
Low distortion, high linearity, discrete Class A buffer
The D-02 features fully discrete Class A buffer amplifiers with four
circuits per channel, which is twice the amount of components
used in the K series players. These extended buffer circuits are
configured as a "double-parallel fully balanced buffer amp," when
the XLR outputs are selected, and switched to a "quadruple-
parallel unbalanced buffer amp," configuration when RCA outputs
are selected. The D-02 offers an exceedingly high drive capability
by means of a low-distortion and high linearity Class A buffer am-
plifier and a high-voltage toroidal core power supply unit of +/-22V.
Wide-ranging D/D conversion functions
The D-02 provides a wide variety of D/D conversion modes for
the PCM format, including x2 and x4 up-conversion, and PCM-
to-DSD conversion, in addition to original frequency, native data
PCM processing.
Four types of digital filters and digital filter OFF mode
The D-02 has four types of user selectable digital filters for PCM
signal processing. Two types of short-delay digital filters and two
types of Finite Impulse Response (FIR) digital filters are included.
These short-delay digital filters eliminate the pre-echo effect in the
impulse waveform to reproduce a more natural audio signal. A
digital filter OFF mode is also available.
Five digital input systems
for high sampling rate support
The D-02 is equipped with wide-ranging digital inputs of five types
for eight channels (XLR x2, i.LINK 4p/6p x1, USB x1, coaxial x2, and
optical x1). The D-02 can be used for high-sampling-rate sources
of up to 24-bit/192kHz. XLR x2 provides additional support for
high-sampling-rate/high-bit inputs of 48-bit/192kHz (ES-LINK3)
and 24-bit/384kHz (Dual AES 8Fs).
Asynchronous, 24-bit/192kHz USB input
Esoteric provides original PC driver software to support asynchro-
nous, 24-bit/192kHz high resolution data input through its USB
interface. The internal USB isolator prevents interference from PC
generated noise and enhances studio master-quality degital
source playback performance. Both 32 bit and 64 bit PC operat-
ing systems are supported for asynchronous USB transmission.
High-precision digital volume attenuator
The D-02 is implemented with a high quality 32 bit digital volume
attenuator function, and can be directly connected to a power
amplifier.
Excellent usability
The D-02 can switch the output voltage of XLR audio outputs in
accordance with the input sensitivity of the amplifier (0dB/+6dB).
Either Hot 2 or Hot 3 can be assigned for XLR audio outputs.
The state-of-the-art,
35 bit resolution
VRDS-NEO "VMK-3.5-20S"
Aluminum body and leather-finish remote control
Delivers a stress-free musical experience
in its original form to listeners.