[raoultrifan]

Just received a couple of dual V5s from Burson. Now all I need is time to do a test. LPF and VAS stages is what I'm mostly interested to test first.
 
Thanks, 
Raul.

 

[DMarasovic]

I am glad that more and more people have a chance to use Burson V5's as I do now.
 
Here are my impressions how V5's upgraded my E1 after years of searching and swapping :
 
http://tinyurl.com/zfj9zr3
 
Best regards,
Damir

 

[raoultrifan]

Thanks Damir, 
 
This is exactly what I'm going to test soon, when I'll borrow the second Essence One from my friend for a decent A/B test.
 
BTW, is the top cover touching the Bursons? Can you fully close the top cover now?
 
Thanks, 
Raul.
 
P.S.: On my tests with O2 I realized that in voltage gain stage V5's are getting more details than MUSES8820 or LME49720 or NJM2068. I hope I'll get the same from my Essence One. http://www.head-fi.org/t/616331/o2-amp-odac/4965#post_12382477
 
L.E.: Now I've seen your last pictures where I can easily see that V5's can't fit inside E1 without desoldering the DIP8 sockets.

 

[DMarasovic]

  Thanks Damir, 
 
This is exactly what I'm going to test soon, when I'll borrow the second Essence One from my friend for a decent A/B test.
 
BTW, is the top cover touching the Bursons? Can you fully close the top cover now?
 
Thanks, 
Raul.
 
P.S.: On my tests with O2 I realized that in voltage gain stage V5's are getting more details than MUSES8820 or LME49720 or NJM2068. I hope I'll get the same from my Essence One. http://www.head-fi.org/t/616331/o2-amp-odac/4965#post_12382477
 
L.E.: Now I've seen your last pictures where I can easily see that V5's can't fit inside E1 without desoldering the DIP8 sockets.

Hi Raul,
I have to dismantle E1 for desoldering DIP8 socket. This will be the opportunity to try your mods and make measurings on PSU.
Will be posting results here when done.
 
Best regards,
Damir

 

[DMarasovic]

  Hi Raul,
I have to dismantle E1 for desoldering DIP8 socket. This will be the opportunity to try your mods and make measuring on PSU.
Will be posting results here when done.
 
Best regards,
Damir

Finally, Bursons are in the closed case of Essence one.

To make this, the low pass filter (LPF) DIP8 sockets must be desoldered and removed from PCB.
This is delicate operation that can damage the unit and should be done by qualified person.
The lower front side (2mm) of the right Burson SS V5 should be sanded until yellow compound to make it sit well.
Closed case makes a shield against RF interferences from Wifi, dect and mobile phones, and the background is darker.
 
Raul,
I am short of time to deeply investigate PSU mods. Oscilloscope showed 5 mV traces of 100 Hz and 380 kHz signal on 5 V line.
+- 12 V are clean (measured at PSU socket, reference was Line out ground socket).
My plan is to order some quality capacitors and solder under the PCB to bypass voltage traces.
 
Essence One sounds better than ever, and op-amp rolling is over.
 
Regards,
Damir

 

[raoultrifan]

   
The lower front side (2mm) of the right Burson SS V5 should be sanded until yellow compound to make it sit well.
 
Raul,
I am short of time to deeply investigate PSU mods. Oscilloscope showed 5 mV traces of 100 Hz and 380 kHz signal on 5 V line.
+- 12 V are clean (measured at PSU socket, reference was Line out ground socket).
My plan is to order some quality capacitors and solder under the PCB to bypass voltage traces.

 
Hi Damir, I'm very glad you did this! I'll probably need to sand myself these SS op-amaps to fit'em inside E1, just need some time for this.
 
The +5mV ripple is very high and caps will not get rid of it, sorry. Also, ripple rejection ratio of PCM1795 can't be seen on the datasheet, so I "suspect" would be around 50dB and this is why this +5mV ripple makes this DAC to sound a bit...grainy sometimes, though the SNR and THD figures are quite good. I recommend you to get some TPS/TPA regulators as replacement for existing power regulators, if you can fit'em inside E1; at least this is on my to do list, just don't know when I'll have the time for this.
 
Regards, 
Raul.

 

[DMarasovic]

   
I recommend you to get some TPS/TPA regulators as replacement for existing power regulators, if you can fit'em inside E1; at least this is on my to do list, just don't know when I'll have the time for this.  

I have ordered some TPS 7A47 and 7A33. It will consume some time to do a little pcb and cooling arrangement.
 
Regards,
Damir

 

[raoultrifan]

Great Damir, now waiting to see the final work done! I'm sure it's gonna be just fine.
 
If you can measure the noise & ripple somewhere on the motherboard before and after regulators replacement, then it would be great.
 
I understand that 7A33 drop-in replacements might have issues with over 0.5A, so perhaps you'll need a small bridge made of copper or aluminum to transfer heat, because through PCB it may not be OK, but I'm sure you'll double check temps under load on the first run.
 
Good luck, 
Raul.

 

[masterfuu]

Did anyone compare standard vs muses edition on hd800 and advantages or disadvantages ?

 

[raoultrifan]

Hi, 
 
In this forum there are many of us that compared STD. vs. MUSES edition. Most of us observed with the MUSES a bit more details, a cleaner sound and more space...better scene.
 
Some decent reviews goes here: http://soundnews.ro/2011/09/09/asus-xonar-essence-one-review-english-version/ vs. http://soundnews.ro/2013/02/13/asus-xonar-essence-one-muses-edition-review-english-version/ and of course http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/asus/1.html.
 
Just get 4 x orginal MUSES01 and place'em in I/V stage or at least 2 x MUSES01 in case you'll never go balanced (enough details here:http://www.head-fi.org/t/542563/asus-essence-one-headphone-amp-dac-cebit-2011/3195#post_12060151).
 
Happy listening!

 

[masterfuu]

  Hi, 
 
In this forum there are many of us that compared STD. vs. MUSES edition. Most of us observed with the MUSES a bit more details, a cleaner sound and more space...better scene.
 
Some decent reviews goes here: http://soundnews.ro/2011/09/09/asus-xonar-essence-one-review-english-version/ vs. http://soundnews.ro/2013/02/13/asus-xonar-essence-one-muses-edition-review-english-version/ and of course http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/asus/1.html.
 
Just get 4 x orginal MUSES01 and place'em in I/V stage or at least 2 x MUSES01 in case you'll never go balanced (enough details here:http://www.head-fi.org/t/542563/asus-essence-one-headphone-amp-dac-cebit-2011/3195#post_12060151).
 
Happy listening!

Thank you for quick and detailed reply. The HD800 is arriving this Friday and I got standard mint E1 for just $290 of ebay (maybe of one you head-fier sold it to me who knows
 
So that is my situation I only plan on using HD800 for now and maybe for few years. Question is if standard E1 will bring smile to my face or should I upgrade to Muses (will sound improve with muses over standard on HD800 to justify extra $$). Also reason why I ask here is because I do not trust professional reviews they are sometimes biased and paid for. I like to hear from regular people that tried this combo.
 
EDIT: Also only plan on listen via Optical no USB. My UBS has lots of noise so just use Optical.

 

[raoultrifan]

You need to trust Sound News reviews about E1, they are not biased at all. HD800 and E1 is the perfect match.

 

[masterfuu]

You need to trust Sound News reviews about E1, they are not biased at all. HD800 and E1 is the perfect match.

Now question is stock E1 or muses better match for hd800. If muses is better by how much and is it worth spending extra $$

 

[raoultrifan]

Yes, it worth spending additional $$ for MUSES01, but this is not something that needs to be done immediately. Just accommodate with your new setup, then you can start rolling your op-amps. You'll have a lot of opinions and reviews on the pages from this forum. Most people found MUSES01 the best match for Essence One when used in I/V stage, some others thinks that LT1498 might do the job as well for much lower costs (never tried those).

 

[Hopup]

Can someone here explain me more detailed why I/V stage has 4 opamps?