What to do with my K30?

Upgrading
1

Mistakenly posted this on the DCS site so trying again here…

With the upgrade program end date looming, I’m thinking about options regarding my K30. When I bought it I was using the Chord TT2/MS combo which played very well with USB. I bought a CAD cable and all was good in the world.

However, I have since changed my DAC to one that prefers ethernet and over the last few months have been optimising my network and trying all manner of combinations for cables/connection/switches/power and have landed with a Phoenixnet with the DAC (DCS Lina) and K30 connected to the switch. I mostly use Roon and believe its SQ has improved a lot lately, but also have other network options either using DCS Mosaic or Jplay or any other network player.

The set up I’ve landed on as sounding best effectively means the K30 player section is redundant and only the server is used, running Roon.

So, what should I do with the K30? The upgrade whilst improving the power supply, wouldn’t bring (in theory) any other benefits as they focus on the player section which I don’t use. My options seem to be: a) keep as is and be happy b) have the upgrade done but it doesn’t feel like it would be good value or c) change to a K41 and get a better server focussed unit.

Appreciate any thoughts on what any of the changes may or may not improve.

Thanks

2

To reiterate what I said on the dCS website, I’m very happy with my K41 Gen 4/dCS Rossini Apex combo, so I would be surprised if you weren’t happy with the K41/dCS Lina pairing…

3

Thanks (again)… at least this is the right site now :rofl:

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I have the K30 G4 and the money spent was definately worthwhile however I expect it will not have any further hardware upgrades past this one. If this is important to you I’d be going for the K41.

5

Inquire about trading your K30 for a K41 G4.

6

This was one of my early thoughts and how I came across realising Elite in the UK no longer seem to range Antipodes.

Also, I have a Phoenixnet so do you think a K41 would be better than a K30+Phoenixnet (although I suspect a K41 + Phoenixnet would top the lot).

7

I’ve been able to compare the original K30 to both the K50 G2 and K50 G4. There was a much bigger leap from K50 G2 to K50 G4 than K30 to K50 G2. The G4 upgrade is the real deal. Thus I think you would be delighted with what the G4 upgrade would bring to your K30. It seems though that you’d get more out of your money if you applied it to the K41 G4. I haven’t had the chance to hear the K41 myself, but my guess is that it will bring greater density and weight to the music. Hopefully @MarkCole can share his thoughts as well.

The PhoenixNET brings a nice improvement but I suspect K41 without the PhoenixNET would still beat the K30 with PhoenixNET, but maybe not in all areas. The K30 delivers a really nice bang for the buck. It can nearly match a K50 in the upper frequencies, but it doesn’t carry the same weight nor is it as dynamic. I suspect the same will be true relative to the K41.

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8

This is an interesting dilemma.
DCS do make great gear, you may find that on an upgraded K30 G4 the USB may win over the ethernet connection.
I guess the question is at what point does the player in the Antipodes best the player in the DCS, only you can decide.
Moving to a K41 will give you improvement over a K30 massively on ethernet without question, with the option of adding a K21/K22 later for a 2 box K50.
A K50 gives you all options, direct ethernet, USB and digital just in case DACs change or you feel like a different presentation.
On a K50 it is unlikely that your preferred connection would be ethernet.

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