The Flagship Esoteric Grandioso M1X Amplifier received unique SJ-BJT01 transistors and thoughtful power supply

The Grandioso M1X, which Esoteric plans to release in May, is announced as a brand new flagship mono power amp. We can only partially agree with this – the fact is that outwardly the novelty is practically indistinguishable from the Grandioso M1, released 7 years ago.

On the rear panel of the Grandioso M1X, trigger switching, a service USB and a proprietary ES-LINK current analog input of the IDM-01 discrete amplifier have been added. This is all that can be seen from the outside.

The differences are worth looking for inside the case. First of all, these are the world’s first bipolar transistors with superjunction Esoteric SJ-BJT01 operating in the amplifier circuit (as of the middle of last year). With them, the slew rate of the signal increased significantly.

Power was particularly important in the development of the X Edition Grandioso M1. Suffice it to say that the individual amplifier circuits are powered separately from different custom toroidal transformers. The 3000 VA product operates exclusively on the current amplification stage.

In the same part of the circuit, specially designed branded capacitors with a capacity of 60,000 uF are installed. The control systems are serviced by three separate R-core power transformers.

The result is a maximum power of 300 watts that the Grandioso M1X is ready to deliver to an 8 ohm speaker. And if it is possible to find acoustics with an impedance of 2 ohms, the amplifier will give up to 1200 watts to such a load. These parameters of the M1X are also indistinguishable from those of its predecessor.

The amplifier is housed in a two-tier housing with a “semi-floating” top panel. Responsible for cooling are branded radiators with variable geometry fins. The housing has received a patent-pending anti-vibration mounts.

A pair of Grandioso M1X monoblocks in Japan will cost 4,800,000 yen (about $45,000).