They will look different, will get a new label and serial number to differentiate.
Height of a K50 is 141mm
Thanks for the grounding post.
No, I don’t think we stated that we prefer USB out.
I use USB at home, I like to experiment with HQPlayer, PGGB etc so for high bit-rate, the USB is a real alternative to I2S.
The performance has certainly lifted, and running say Pro USB on a MSB DAC the high quality 5v really makes a difference.
All outputs on OLADRA, K50 and K22 get a boost from the player engine upgrades.
When my K50 goes back to the factory to get upgraded to Mk 3 status, should I remove my SSD before shipping it?
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@MarkCole did I miss read this?
So the Player upgrade makes the difference as stated by @antipodes the USB comes up to S/PDIFF ?
USB after the upgrade is on par with the reclocker outputs…
Assuming the new footers on the latest K50 are the same as those fitted to the Oladra then those footers are roughly 3.2cm tall. Adding the height of the actual K50 casework minus the current feet (110mm) brings me to a total height of 142mm at best guesstimate. 
Obviously the exact heights of the new K50 footers will need to be confirmed by Mark Cole.
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I deleted the posts prior on height to not muddy the waters and adjusted my earlier post, @Chilli is accurate, I measure 140mm height for the K50.
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Are the high-quality isolation footers installable on CX and EX servers?!
Although of course this is very much an ‘all other things being equal’ statement and is very dependant on the DAC being used and the various implementations used in the DAC’s input circuits. I am satisfied that the best implemented input on the DAC I use is BNC and for the moment until and if I change DACs my interest is only in any improvements to the BNC output of my Oladra.
From what I can glean from the Antipodes announcements there will be an improvement in the Oladra BNC output albeit that it will not be as compelling as the the USB upgrade. I can live with that.
Didn’t you arrive at the conclusion that BNC was best on your DAC by evaluating how each of the K50’s outputs sounded into it? If so USB was at a disadvantage when you did that leaving the possibility that BNC might not actually be the best. Or am I missing something?
Hi Kenny, For sure I did the comparison on a 1st release K50 and also on a 2nd release K50 as well as my current Oladra. Also i have used various other usb sources such as an Innuos Statement (only has USB output) and have also used an Innuos PhoenixUSB with each of the Antipodes. I also compared optical on the ones which have it and AES. (I was rather surprised at how poor optical sounded.)
After all that I have no doubt in my mind that BNC is the best input into both my Mscaler and into the Dave direct. But then I am not alone in saying that and many Antipodes owners with a Dave and/or Mscaler agree with me (indeed you and I are both members of another group where this issue has been discussed at length).
Of course I will listen to the new USB output on the new Oladra when I get it back from being upgraded but if the Oladra usb output rises to be equal quality to the BNC output (which is what Antipodes seem to be saying) it is almost inevitable that with Dave or the Mscaler the BNC will still sound better.
But later this year or maybe next Chord will have the new Choral range Mscaler and it is quite possible that it will have a different hierarchy of input quality compared to the current Hugo Mscaler and perhaps then the Oladra USB output will come into its own.
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I have tried AES, Spdif RCA and BNC. With my system I agree that the Oladra sounds best with BNC - a slightly more open sound with more air around elements of the music.
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Well, well! Before you throw the replaced bits in the bin, let me know because I can see it will be possible to assemble myself a very decent machine from those left overs.
I am not joking, contact me.
Was the previous upgrade to CX and EX G2 or G3?
I seem to recall there was a firmware/bios update too,is that correct?
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What a lovely ‘problem’ (?). Many people will be envious. Could you share how it is made so good?
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@MarkCole I don’t believe anyone has yet asked about the following but I was wondering if you might share some additional detail. It sounds like there might be some energy storage of some kind.
“Enterprise-level resilience against data loss in a power fluctuation or outage”
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I don’t quite get where some of the negativity about this upgrade program is coming from. Yes it’s pretty expensive & in some cases very expensive, but in most cases manufacturers don’t offer any upgrades at all (despite some promises/allusions towards doing so in the future). In fact if you want the latest specification with the vast majority of manufacturers you have to P/X your existing component & buy the latest model…which is something I’ve had to do on more than one occasion.
In any case no one’s twisting your arm. If you’re happy with what you’ve got then just stick with it. It’s not as if a new model or specification coming out has suddenly rendered the one you own as being garbage.
I actually applaud Antipodes for even offering us an option to upgrade.
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