[ROBSCIX]

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Where you able to get your hands on any of the E1 flavors?
 
I would like to read your comment/reviews.
 
P.S: I am waiting for Amazon to stock on the ZXR.

I already did a full review of the original E1 and I am working on possibly reviewing the E1 muse Edition as I have been getting emails, PM request on that product.
If you are interested inreading it, here is the full review here:-> Link
Enjoy

 

[ROBSCIX]

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Yes this is why i am surprised that the difference is rather big. After some further listening i don´t think that the 49710 is worse, the biggest difference is that the 49720ha has analog style smooth highs (actually a bit too bright) while the 49710 is rather fast and more direct sounding and less bright. 
 
Also seems like that the ad797br is not really stable in i/v with any combination, tried it in combination with 49720, 49710, opa827, opa 2132, opa 2107 in the lpf and it always made some oscillation noises. As bypassing caps i tried 100uF electrolytic and 220nF film capacitors but both didn´t make it entirely stable.

Just might be a case of bad synergy with your other gear (headphones) and your personal tastes for what you would like to hear.  I have always liked the 49720/4562, but I prefer the dual LME49710HA model as the top of that family tree.
 
Go with what sounds best for your ears and gear.

 

[turokrocks]

Quote:

I already did a full review of the original E1 and I am working on possibly reviewing the E1 muse Edition as I have been getting emails, PM request on that product.
If you are interested inreading it, here is the full review here:-> Link
Enjoy

Thank you.

Will be waiting for the Muses impressions/review.
 
P.S: OMG...I got guru3d on my favorite bar and enjoyed reading your reviews for years (since the 3dfx days), and had no idea  it was you!!!!

...I got my first LCD (Hercules) , just after reading your review....

.

 

[Whit3Rav3n]

I tried the 49990 in the i/v, seems like it has similar qualities as the ad797 but a different sound signature. The ad797 has a more warm and analog style sound, the 49990 is rather neutral without a specific signature. It also gets pretty hot but it doesn´t makes these oscillation noises as the ad797. Right now i am using it with the opa827 in lpf and 49710 in buffer. I also tired it with the ad797 in the lpf, it gives it the analog style character of the 797 but the 797 is unstable in the lpf and it makes noises. I am going to try some more combinations later.

 

[upside]

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Thank you, but this is a $1000 DAC/AMP, and I do not accept such bad quality, and why should I fix something that should be in working condition.
 
The first one I had, felt much better in comparison (the Knobs on the old model have more control).
 
I did not even bother to put my IEM , as I am really frustrated, so I do not know if the volume even works!

 
Sorry to hear about your trouble with the replacement E1 Muses turokrocks. I just received my replacement from Asus HQ and it does indeed have the gain selector jumpers as your pictures showed. I've just plugged it in and let it run for a day and a bit but already I notice a subtle difference between my original Muses without the jumpers. The new version seems a bit more closed in and it seems to favour the mid-bass a bit more. Not quite as open and airy sounding as the original Muses. I checked both boards and other than the jumpers are identical in every other way. Is it possible for the addition of the jumpers to change the sonic signature in this way? Also, the headphone volume control needs to run about 10 percent higher to get equivalent output for my HD 650s compared to the original non-jumpered Muses even with the gain selector jumpers in the high output position.
 
Just to be clear, these sonic changes are subtle but noticable. Not night and day different but there.   
 
I'll let the E1 Muses run for a week or so before running some head to head comparisons with the non-jumper version. 

 

[Whit3Rav3n]

The jumper should not make a difference, especially not in the highes gain setting where it should have no additional resistance in the signal. The tonal differences can be the result of tolerances in the electrical components.

 

[upside]

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The jumper should not make a difference, especially not in the highes gain setting where it should have no additional resistance in the signal. The tonal differences can be the result of tolerances in the electrical components.

 
Thanks Whit3Rav3n.
 
I did notice on the original E1 Muses that there are 2 circuit board traces that ran diagonally where the new gain selector is positioned. I wonder if the final gain adjustable board does have subtle routing changes?

 

[turokrocks]

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Sorry to hear about your trouble with the replacement E1 Muses turokrocks. I just received my replacement from Asus HQ and it does indeed have the gain selector jumpers as your pictures showed. I've just plugged it in and let it run for a day and a bit but already I notice a subtle difference between my original Muses without the jumpers. The new version seems a bit more closed in and it seems to favour the mid-bass a bit more. Not quite as open and airy sounding as the original Muses. I checked both boards and other than the jumpers are identical in every other way. Is it possible for the addition of the jumpers to change the sonic signature in this way? Also, the headphone volume control needs to run about 10 percent higher to get equivalent output for my HD 650s compared to the original non-jumpered Muses even with the gain selector jumpers in the high output position.
 
Just to be clear, these sonic changes are subtle but noticable. Not night and day different but there.   
 
I'll let the E1 Muses run for a week or so before running some head to head comparisons with the non-jumper version. 

Thank you but Asus are back to rescue.
Indeed, I did notice a difference, in volume (even when still @ high gain) and in SQ (more bass..) Its not that big of a difference, but its there.
Strange! Placebo?

 

[upside]

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Thank you but Asus are back to rescue.
Indeed, I did notice a difference, in volume (even when still @ high gain) and in SQ (more bass..) Its not that big of a difference, but its there.
Strange! Placebo?

 
I don't think it's a placebo effect. I noticed it right away. It took no more than 30 seconds to swap my original Muses for the replacement and I heard the difference immediately. The original took a few hours of playback to remove a very slight harshness in the high frequencies. It maintained a very open character and a slight  reticence in the bass at all times. The replacement has never displayed the slight harshness in the upper frequencies and definitely has a warmer, rounder sound. I now have about 24 hours of continuous playback and the overall character has not changed so far. How many hours would you say you have on your replacement turokrocks?

 

[turokrocks]

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I don't think it's a placebo effect. I noticed it right away. It took no more than 30 seconds to swap my original Muses for the replacement and I heard the difference immediately. The original took a few hours of playback to remove a very slight harshness in the high frequencies. It maintained a very open character and a slight  reticence in the bass at all times. The replacement has never displayed the slight harshness in the upper frequencies and definitely has a warmer, rounder sound. I now have about 24 hours of continuous playback and the overall character has not changed so far. How many hours would you say you have on your replacement turokrocks?

Around 60 hours, but now its in the box waiting to return.

 

[upside]

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Around 60 hours, but now its in the box waiting to return.

 
Thank you turokrocks.
 
Please let us know if the replacement for the replacement (I assume you are getting another replacement) has the same sound signature.

 

[ROBSCIX]

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Thank you.

Will be waiting for the Muses impressions/review.
 
P.S: OMG...I got guru3d on my favorite bar and enjoyed reading your reviews for years (since the 3dfx days), and had no idea  it was you!!!!

...I got my first LCD (Hercules) , just after reading your review....

.

Yeah, I have been getting many,many emails, PM's about that reviewing that product.
 
To note, I review there, but I only do audio reviews.  I have never done a LCD review.
There are a few reviewser that handle different components.
Glad you liked my reviews, if you were reading mine.

 

[Gojira729]

     Having followed this thread for a while i'm happy to say that i enjoy my HD800's with the Essence One. After reading through here and gathering thoughts i decided to swap out the opamps to change the sound a little. My choices thus far have been replacement NE5532's (my first go with a tool resulted in bent pins), a few LME49720NA's (the headphone buffers already have 2 of these present), and a bunch of OPA2132P's. Oddly enough my standard Essence One did not ship with the north american power cord, and while the box lists NE5532 in the opamp sockets i had only 6 present (4 in I/V and 2 in the LPF) the remaining 3 were LM4562 (i read these are equal to the LME49720NA's). I've used 2132's in I/V and 49720's in the LPF and later swapped the latter for additional 2132's. I find the sound to my liking with the 6 OPA2132's and 2 LME49720's in the Headphones stage. Thanks to those who gave input regarding opamp combos/impressions as well as the recommendation for the Wiha chip lifter, that purchase was a nice relief to use (i opted for the ESD safe model). I would also like to thank those who helped with the firmware updates also, reading the posts was really helpful in that regard, updating it was easy and i have no issues with my unit.
     My impression of the Essence One paired with the HD800 and subsequent switch of opamps leaves me pleased with the soundstage and bass presentation, a cable change from stock to a Black Dragon cable also helped on the low end in my opinion. I've not used the balanced output yet and rotate inputs from USB to Toslink (the former for Jriver/ASIO output and the latter for other uses). The only issue i find with the unit is in regard to the volume control, while it powers the 800's nicely the difference between too quiet and too loud is a matter of about 9 o'clock and 11 o'clock on the dial. Jriver's internal volume control is handy for that issue and my thanks to Turokrocks for that.
Again... i enjoy the amp/headphones and thank all of those who helped make my experience better.

 

[turokrocks]

Quote:

Yeah, I have been getting many,many emails, PM's about that reviewing that product.
 
To note, I review there, but I only do audio reviews.  I have never done a LCD review.
There are a few reviewser that handle different components.
Glad you liked my reviews, if you were reading mine.

Yeah, I am sure I read your reviews (sound cards?)
 
Thank you for all and will be waiting for the update/d review.

 

[turokrocks]

Got the ifi iusb for the Asus