jamieuk147
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2012
- Posts
- 193
- Likes
- 10
Can I just ask... So for me to get dolby surrond sound gaming on my headphones I would need to have a internal sound card in my PC as well?
Yes, I believe you would Jamie - this is specifically a 2 channel music playback device, AFAIK it has no support for dolby etc...
DMarasovic, thanks for the feedback I think I will give those a go sometime. They were on my candidate list before I upgraded, but I read too many comments regarding oscillation/stability issues with them. Where abouts would you recommend I order from? I see they're dirt cheap from China on eBay (£2.50 a chip) but I have heard stories you get a lot of fake chips on eBay.
A quick question about how the "asymmetric upsampling" work.
If 44/88/176 kHz --> 352kHz
and
48/96/192 --> 384kHz
I assume this upsampling is done by the SHARC chip. Then how does the dual PCM1795's (I think this is the DAC in the Essence One) handle the 300+kHz data when it's only able to handle up to ~192kHz?
Also, with the firmware updates, did they fix the common complaint about high frequency roll-off with the upsampling?
Honestly i'm not sure technically, but from my personal experience I do not like the upsampling ability. It brings a bit more clarity to instruments, but it has a more 'tinny' sound to my ears and less 'warmth'. I also tried the foobar2000 DSP upsampling ability, and while that also increases the sample rate, it again, takes something away from the warmth of the sound in doing so.
Yes, the firmware did fix the high frequency roll-off. I didn't experience it because I updated the firmware knowing this when I got it.
Upgrading the firmware requires you use a USB 2.0 port (I tried with a USB 3.0 port and it fails). Also, there are 2 firmwares to update (which wasn't really clear from their website). There is an Essence One firmware (latest 1.27), and an Audio Chip F/W (latest 0111).
For those looking to roll op-amps, I recommend for your first go at it that you should swap out the 2 low pass filter op-amps from slot 2 in the manual (it comes with NE5532's) with LM4562NA's. It was a noticeable improvement in the low-end sound depth and impact.
@syryanyang On my unit there's no unpleasant noise when using the USB input.
Two weeks ago I've purchased an Essence One to go along with my HD 650 and K 550 headphones. I've previously used a Xonar Phoebus (which is comparable to Essence STX on the headphone output) and the step up is huge. The HD 650's have woken up with this. They were not "lazy" anymore The K550's are no longer sibilant and have way more bass now
I know that only 10% are going to believe this but after changing the stock cables with a Wireworld Ultraviolet USB cable and a Wireworld Stratus Power cable everything changed. I was blown away. Like I've replaced the Essence one with another (more expensive) DAC. I suggest that you at least give audiophile USB and Power cables a try. I wasn't a believer before but I sure am now.
Thursday I've also got a new pair of LCD-2 Rosewood to go with them. The Essence One drives them beautifully and the sound is great. Big bass, great mids, and detailed sweet treble.
Has anybody tried the MUSES op-amps yet? I'm thinking of replacing all stock op-amps to match the configuration in the MUSES edition, basically turning my stock Essence One into a Muses edition Essence One. Will this work or are there any other hardware changes in the new edition?