I've been into this hobby for 7 years. My DAC is actually pretty good, I've read reviews comparing it to the mojo, it's just the amp that's a bit weak, but if I get Clears I may not need one.
That would be too expensive. And the Clears are easy to drive and I don't even need an separate amp if I get one.
You reaffirm my point. The Mojo sucks. Many others agree. Being better than Mojo means nothing.
Read this review -
https://www.headfonia.com/the-asus-dac-xonar-essence-one/
Tell me what do you think of this DAC if you only depend on reviews for your purchases?
" Sound improvements of the Muses edition, however, is not subtle as it clearly trounced the standard edition with its vastly more spacious sound to become perhaps the most spacious sounding DAC I’ve heard in the $1K mark. Along with the more expansive soundstage you also get a flatter frequency response especially to the stock unit. "
End Words
It really surprises me that the Asus was able to perform this well in the comparison with big names like Burson, Fostex, and Violectric. I know that Asus is a much bigger company with a huge amount of engineering know-how, but it’s just that they haven’t been particularly focused to the Hi-Fi segment hence I find it surprising that they were able to achieve that sort of a sound quality with the Xonar Essence One. For the ~$600 price that it’s being offered for, this box is an extremely good value. Sans for the inferior DAC resolution, the Xonar Essence One certainly makes for a more complete one-box DAC/Amp solution than even my highly esteemed Fostex HP-A8 (no balanced out!). We don’t give out star ratings but if we do it’s definitely a full 5 stars.
The performance is there, but the big question is how the market will respond to an audio product with the Asus name on it. Is a strong brand, but one that’s never been associated with high end audio products. Even with a review as positive as this, I’m still crossing my finger if the enthusiasts will pick it up. Maybe they should’ve done what iRiver did, creating a new name for their audiophile product line (Astell & Kern), but who knows for sure? Do you think they should’ve gone with a new brand name for the Xonar Essence One? Let me know in the comments.
— update Asus Xonar Essence One Muses Edition —
The Muses Edition is here and the only thing that tells it apart from the standard version is the black color of the lion graphics on the top of the enclosure. Sound improvements of the Muses edition, however, is not subtle as it clearly trounced the standard edition with its vastly more spacious sound to become perhaps the most spacious sounding DAC I’ve heard in the $1K mark. Along with the more expansive soundstage you also get a flatter frequency response especially to the stock unit. What I didn’t hear is an improved black background and a cleaner sound with less grain: the Muses edition is still guilty of these two offenses. Thanks to Asus Indonesia for providing the sample units.
But.
Guess what? I had this DAC. And it performs worse than a simple Modi. And my current DAC (costs USD 40) is something I prefer to Modi Multibit (USD 250) and the Modi Multibit trumped than USD 900 amp/dac.
So stop going by price.
Your DAC most probably isn't better than the USD 900 dac/amp above, and is in all probability a lot worse.
If you want to go by reviews, almost all praise the Asus to be one of the best under $1k when it launched a few years ago. Wasn't true though.
