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Asus Essence One Headphone Amp/DAC (CeBIT 2011)
Oct 19, 2013 at 3:33 AM Post #2,611 of 3,573
Looks amazing, I love the retro look, looks like the STU dac. The only thing I'm not quite sure about is the balanced mini-XLR connectors, not that I'm unhappy about balance HP's out but rather why use mini-XLR I think this Maybe a deal-breaker for some people who already have balance cables and don't want to use ugly adapters. 4 Pin or 3 pin SE combo jacks would of been a better choice I feel
 
What I really like is the RCA AUX input this is going to give people with old analog transports new life.....
 

 

 

 
Oct 19, 2013 at 2:28 PM Post #2,613 of 3,573
I personally think this XLR headphone cable thing is a ridiculous fad. Unfortunately, it seems to have become a requirement for any amp to be considered "high end" even though it adds nothing to sound quality (except the perceived quality increase caused by higher gain).

The good news is that it will give this Asus "audiophile cred" and doesnt detract from the sound in any way. The bad bews is that it will no doubt make this component more expensive than it otherwise might have been.
 
Oct 19, 2013 at 9:11 PM Post #2,615 of 3,573
palmfish said:
I personally think this XLR headphone cable thing is a ridiculous fad. Unfortunately, it seems to have become a requirement for any amp to be considered "high end" even though it adds nothing to sound quality (except the perceived quality increase caused by higher gain).

The good news is that it will give this Asus "audiophile cred" and doesnt detract from the sound in any way. The bad bews is that it will no doubt make this component more expensive than it otherwise might have been.
Click to expand...

Not that long ago I would of agreed with you and still do when it comes to low impedance HPs, but now owning a balanced setup I now know I prefer and enjoy balanced more especially using high impedance HPs
 
winterandsummer said:
   those are male xlr (output) for active monitor 
(as oppose to female xlr (inputs) for headphones )
Click to expand...

Really? I find it very hard to believe they are for monitor speakers located on the front panel, bit silly if this is true.
 
Can anyone confirm this plz?
 
Oct 19, 2013 at 11:23 PM Post #2,617 of 3,573
palmfish said:
I personally think this XLR headphone cable thing is a ridiculous fad. Unfortunately, it seems to have become a requirement for any amp to be considered "high end" even though it adds nothing to sound quality (except the perceived quality increase caused by higher gain).

The good news is that it will give this Asus "audiophile cred" and doesnt detract from the sound in any way. The bad bews is that it will no doubt make this component more expensive than it otherwise might have been.
Click to expand...

Asus are definitely throwing in every feature anyone could possibly think to ask for with this one, like DSD. It'd be a miracle if DSD became popular. I'd be shocked if the number of people who care about DSD are in the 4 digits. But since it's a feature several audiophile dacs have it's there, just like the balanced outputs both front and back. It's going to be everything for everyone, and if the price is right it has the potential to be a no-brainer for anyone interested in a high end dac+amp.
 
Oct 20, 2013 at 8:39 PM Post #2,621 of 3,573
That's really good news as I was wondering if there would be a new product release soon but obviously Asus reps never know anything or they try to make us believe so as I've asked their chat and email support 2 weeks ago and they knew nothing (-_-). It doesn't surprise me with the STU that will be the lower-end model, the Essence One middle range and the Essence III their new high-end. I just hope it's not about 1000$ just because of some new fancy features that most of us will prolly not use. Anyhow it's good to know as I just bought an E1 and I have 30 days to return it so I will definitely send it back knowing that a better unit is on the way soon!

I've got a few questions however so far from my current use of the E1:
 
1- I get some very very small buzzing sound through my speakers when moving my mouse but it only happens if...
              * My gaming mouse is set to 1000Hz. At 500Hz it's 2-3x less perceptible and not at all at 125Hz.
              * If I move my mouse at 1000Hz on a darker background. If I open my browser and that it's all white, I get no buzzing at all.
              * It only happens when using the E1 through USB.
              * PS: I'm on the latest driver (8.0.11.6), Audio Chip Firmware (0111) but only the E1 Firmware (1.23) as I cannot update the MCU's firmware as when I open the program and click "connect" while in maintenance mode, it just won't connect... lame PoS!

2- What is the difference in sound quality if you're connected through SPDIF rather than USB? I think I read the E1 only upsample in USB but I'm not sure. I remember there was a limitation from spdif that usb didn't have but I can't remember what exactly. I use an (Auzentech X-Meridian 2G) with upgraded Opamps, what happens if I use the optical out from this card rather than usb?
 
Oct 20, 2013 at 9:22 PM Post #2,622 of 3,573
panzeriv said:
 
1- I get some very very small buzzing sound through my speakers when moving my mouse but it only happens if...
              * My gaming mouse is set to 1000Hz. At 500Hz it's 2-3x less perceptible and not at all at 125Hz.
              * If I move my mouse at 1000Hz on a darker background. If I open my browser and that it's all white, I get no buzzing at all.
              * It only happens when using the E1 through USB.
              * PS: I'm on the latest driver (8.0.11.6), Audio Chip Firmware (0111) but only the E1 Firmware (1.23) as I cannot update the MCU's firmware as when I open the program and click "connect" while in maintenance mode, it just won't connect... lame PoS!

2- What is the difference in sound quality if you're connected through SPDIF rather than USB? I think I read the E1 only upsample in USB but I'm not sure. I remember there was a limitation from spdif that usb didn't have but I can't remember what exactly. I use an (Auzentech X-Meridian 2G) with upgraded Opamps, what happens if I use the optical out from this card rather than usb?
Click to expand...

Sounds like noise is being generated by the motherboard and getting into the Essence One. I've got similar problems with noise like that, but only with my HDVD 800 and my graphics card HDMI out. It doesn't affect my Essence One. Having had this problem for a while I've read up on it quite a bit and it's something that just seems to happen with certain motherboards. Try using a different USB port on your motherboard and see if that helps. USB2 and USB3 ports use different controllers, so that might isolate it. It didn't work in my case, but on other forums people have reported it working. Another solution is turning off power saving features on your motherboard like C1 state support. Only do this if you're familiar with BIOS settings though. This didn't solve it in my case either, but again it's something I've seen reported as a solution.
 
SPDIF and USB should sound the same on the Essence One. Theoretically there can be a difference in jitter between the two since the signals are going through different components. But as far as I know the Essence One uses good stuff on all the ports, so it should be a negligible difference. Upsampling works on all the ports.
 
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