[leeperry]

   
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.

 
It's time to use a discrete PCI/PCI-E USB board for the One IMHO, but you could first try breaking the 5V pin of the USB cable that goes to the One as this might very well save the day.
 
 

DSD is the answer to a question nobody is asking...lol.

Couldn't have said it better

 

 

[ASUSXONAR]

  On paper it looks like a pretty comprehensive and ultimate solution. Balanced outputs, stepped attenuators, remote control, DSD. Everything including the kitchen sink. Now the question is, how much will it cost? Are they using Muses02 to cut costs, or because they sound better in this particular configuration compared to the Muses01?

MUSES02 for sound. This won't be on sale in every region though. Expect circa $1300~$1500 for this where sold I think. 

 

[TheManko]

  MUSES02 for sound. This won't be on sale in every region though. Expect circa $1300~$1500 for this where sold I think. 

Nice. That price seems reasonable for the upgrade over a Essence One Muses Edition.

 

[ASUSXONAR]

I heard a prototype early this year - it has more of an "analog" sound signature compared to the E-One. 

 

[PanzerIV]

  Nice. That price seems reasonable for the upgrade over a Essence One Muses Edition.

Well, it's kinda hard to say now that it's an upgrade toward the "E1 Muses Edition" as these Asus bastards just never told us it was actualy a VERY LIMITED edition that is now permanently discountinued since a long time ago. Same thing for the "Plus Edition" that seemed to have been gone even faster. I think they still make though the standard E1 but it's still in short supply.

What I wonder though is if this thing is really gonna cost ~1300$, will it really sound A LOT better than a standard E1 that cost only 525$ + 5% Taxes?! Hell that's almost 3 time as much so the difference better not be slight! :/

 

[TheManko]

What I wonder though is if this thing is really gonna cost ~1300$, will it really sound A LOT better than a standard E1 that cost only 525$ + 5% Taxes?! Hell that's almost 3 time as much so the difference better not be slight! :/

A lot of the extra cost comes from the fact that they're packing in so many features this time and not skimping on quality. Stepped attenuator volume controls are much more expensive than the standard ones most use because of the number of parts it requires. The power supply has also been upgraded, as is the dac chips themselves, and there's more inputs and outputs. Across the board there's more of everything, and it's of higher quality. It all adds up. Will it sound significantly better? That remains to be seen!

 

[palmfish]

If it is well engineered and built (and there's no reason to think otherwise), then it should sound basically the same as the Essence One - because the E1 is well engineered and built.

The buying public will decide if the higher quality parts and added features are worth the price premium.

 

[ben_r_]

Huh, I like what I see and read here, BUT its going to have to be A LOT less than $1300 to get me to upgrade to it.

 

[dclaz]

  I heard a prototype early this year - it has more of an "analog" sound signature compared to the E-One. 

To most people on this forum, this might sound like a good thing.. but to me it just says 'less transparent'. 
 
It does look an amazing product though. But outside my price range.

 

[Suopermanni]

That's interesting news about the Essence III. I personally would like to know IF it will be released in Australia. I know with some certainty that the STU and standard E1 was available there.

 

[PanzerIV]

  Huh, I like what I see and read here, BUT its going to have to be A LOT less than $1300 to get me to upgrade to it.

Same thing for me. Considering the E1 is 525$, I clearly won't spend more than TWICE that much as it's deeeefinitely not gonna sound any close to 2x better so that's why I was saying screw it if it's gonna be almost 3x pricier for being just a little better. I hate when they add  up so many more I/O that I will never use, only to justify a higher price as all I need is the 2 unbalanced outputs to my receiver and the headphone input. I agree though that an Aux input could proove useful though I already have all my music on my computer so no need to hook up my mp3 player on it.

I wonder though, if there's an analogue input this time, does it mean I will be able to plug an old vinyl turntable on it or because of the whole "Phono In to Line-Out" thing I wouldn't be able to?

 

[palmfish]

Same thing for me. Considering the E1 is 525$, I clearly won't spend more than TWICE that much as it's deeeefinitely not gonna sound any close to 2x better so that's why I was saying screw it if it's gonna be almost 3x pricier for being just a little better. I hate when they add  up so many more I/O that I will never use, only to justify a higher price as all I need is the 2 unbalanced outputs to my receiver and the headphone input. I agree though that an Aux input could proove useful though I already have all my music on my computer so no need to hook up my mp3 player on it.


I wonder though, if there's an analogue input this time, does it mean I will be able to plug an old vinyl turntable on it or because of the whole "Phono In to Line-Out" thing I wouldn't be able to?

Its the law of diminishing returns. You never get "twice the performance" for double the cost. The Essence One is twice the price of the O2/ODAC and doesnt offer twice the performance. You just have to decide where to draw the line.

 

[Gandah]

I now have the Calyx FEMTO dac and I can honestly say it's not twice as good as my old E1 Muses edition, however I would say it is twice as good as the E1 standard easily.... If I was to guesstimate because I no longer have the E1, I would say the muses edition is 85% SQ of the femto, which is a lot of money for a 15% gain
 
I'm looking forward to hearing the new flagship, and if the percentage above is decreased or somewhat equal I may end up with the new dac

 

[midnightfox]

 
Well, it's kinda hard to say now that it's an upgrade toward the "E1 Muses Edition" as these Asus bastards just never told us it was actualy a VERY LIMITED edition that is now permanently discountinued since a long time ago. Same thing for the "Plus Edition" that seemed to have been gone even faster. I think they still make though the standard E1 but it's still in short supply.

What I wonder though is if this thing is really gonna cost ~1300$, will it really sound A LOT better than a standard E1 that cost only 525$ + 5% Taxes?! Hell that's almost 3 time as much so the difference better not be slight! :/

 
 
Upgrading my Essence One Standard Edition with the Muses01 provided me with a very nice upgrade to my ears. 
When it comes to upgrading your audio, the increments get smaller and smaller when it comes to higher grade audio but to many people they can justify the extra costs for the best possible audio in there price bracket. 
 
I'm looking forward to finding out more information and a preview/review when it comes out later this year.

 

[Mach3]

  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.....
 

Can't wait for Asus to offically release this so I can void the warranty Those blue nichicon capacitors looks like they need a touch of fine gold upgrade!