[monterto]

http://www.asus.com/Multimedia/Audio_Cards/Xonar_Essence_One/
 
Has anyone had the opportunity to take a look at or audition this bit of hardware?
 
I don't know too much about ASUS as far as sound quality goes, but if nothing else the DAC/AMP is pretty as all hell.
 
Post your thoughts!

 

[soberspine]

http://www.head-fi.org/t/542563/asus-essence-one-headphone-amp-dac-cebit-2011
 
I don't knnow why it is in the computer audio section.

 

[musicbuff]

Just got one and am in the "burn in" phase (if you believe in that).  It's a tank (heavy) and beautiful.  I've hooked it to both my netbook & desktop via the USB cord provided and ripped several CD's on each computer using Exact Audio Copy (which is also a superb piece of media equipment).  The sound was full and rich but near the end of each track a soft but annoying screech could be heard on both computers.  Anybody else have the same experience?  One reason I bought the DAC was for the convenience of selecting a playlist and listening without having to constantly switch out CD's.  When I play a CD through my CD player via coaxial hookup the sound is flawless and rich with the mids (piano, horns and drums being more pronounced than I've ever heard them before).   I still haven't heard the detailed instrumentals placed in an exact area on the sound stage that I've read so much about (which is another major reason I bought the Essence).  I'm going to blame that on my speakers (paradigm atom and orb).  I'd like to purchase a pair of magneplaners to compliment my Hsu subwoofer.  But then there's the little problem of buying an amp to power those 4 ohm babies.  My Harmon Kardon won't do it.  I wish money grew on trees    I did listen through the headphone amp on my Sennheiser's and it was awesome. 
 
Does anybody know of a good amp (around $500) that will power 4 ohm speakers?
 
Well, here it is one week later and I've done some discovery on my own.  After over 100 hours of burn in, this thing is SWEET.  The sound of my computer music is unbelievable.  Why?  The USB hookup is useless.  Thank goodness for the SPDIF on my desktop.  My music is astounding and distortion free.  The soundstage is like I'm there.  I'd highly recommend this product.  And to all who scoff at "BURN IN" time, try it for yourself.  It makes all the difference!

 

[ogarza]

I just got mine today, installed the drivers and updated the firmware.
 
It sounds amazing, i'm very impressed.
 
It is heavy, solid and looks good, only 'but' is that the knobs are plastic, but this is hardly a deal breaker.
 
So far I have only tested it with my hd 600's using it as a usb dac, since I am at the office, later when I get home I will try the XLR outputs to my active monitors.
 
It sounds MUCH better than the ray samuels hornet amp I was using. There is no noise when modifying the volume, and I can turn the volume all the way up with no imput and barely hear a hiss. Volume balance is much better than the amp as well. 
 
I could not be happier.

 

[urbanhusky]

I'd really love to like it but my personal experiences weren't that thrilling.
The first unit I got lit up funky and didn't work.
The second one had a massive channel imbalance on the headphone volume knob.
The third one seemed to work like a charm - until last week.
 
Generally
The volume of the headphones is way too high for my Sennheiser HD 25 and the volume steps are very steep.
Playback via ASIO is neigh impossible since the first half second or so is skipped and there is an audible pop every time I start/stop/pause/resume playback.
Via WASAPI (foobar 2000 btw) playback freezes when a track of different sample rate should start (I have to stop and restart playback, then the DAC switches corrrectly and plays the track).
 
Other than that, the sound is really great.
 
Sounds great - except...
Last week I thought that the DAC sounded odd. I didn't remember the sound being harsh, tiring and lacking in bass.
I also sometimes have the following problem: after turning it on, it sounds very thin and voices can only barely be heard. After cycling the inputs (stop/play doesn't do anything) it sounds "fine" again. Yet, I'm never really certain that it plays as well as I think it should.
 
Yesterday I powered it on after my PC finished booting and suddenly all the detail, bass and fun was back.
 
This worries me. Has anyone else experienced similar issues?

 

[kLevkoff]

If you can afford the Maggies, I don't think an amp is going to be a problem
Maggies do run a bit even below 4 Ohms, but there are plenty of amps out there that can run them.
 
If you want a good amp, at a relatively low price, check out Emotiva...
they make several (www.emotiva.com) and almost all of them will be quite happy into a load like the Maggies.
 
 
Quote:

Just got one and am in the "burn in" phase (if you believe in that).  It's a tank (heavy) and beautiful.  I've hooked it to both my netbook & desktop via the USB cord provided and ripped several CD's on each computer using Exact Audio Copy (which is also a superb piece of media equipment).  The sound was full and rich but near the end of each track a soft but annoying screech could be heard on both computers.  Anybody else have the same experience?  One reason I bought the DAC was for the convenience of selecting a playlist and listening without having to constantly switch out CD's.  When I play a CD through my CD player via coaxial hookup the sound is flawless and rich with the mids (piano, horns and drums being more pronounced than I've ever heard them before).   I still haven't heard the detailed instrumentals placed in an exact area on the sound stage that I've read so much about (which is another major reason I bought the Essence).  I'm going to blame that on my speakers (paradigm atom and orb).  I'd like to purchase a pair of magneplaners to compliment my Hsu subwoofer.  But then there's the little problem of buying an amp to power those 4 ohm babies.  My Harmon Kardon won't do it.  I wish money grew on trees    I did listen through the headphone amp on my Sennheiser's and it was awesome. 
 
Does anybody know of a good amp (around $500) that will power 4 ohm speakers?
 
Well, here it is one week later and I've done some discovery on my own.  After over 100 hours of burn in, this thing is SWEET.  The sound of my computer music is unbelievable.  Why?  The USB hookup is useless.  Thank goodness for the SPDIF on my desktop.  My music is astounding and distortion free.  The soundstage is like I'm there.  I'd highly recommend this product.  And to all who scoff at "BURN IN" time, try it for yourself.  It makes all the difference!

 

[roiosdona]

Hi! I have the Asus Xonar essence One Muses edition. Is it a good combo with the Beyerdynamic T1 gen2?
 
Thanks!