My Essence ST FINALLY came into my ownership today after pining for it since July.
It was my birthday present, so my family was gathered around while I opened it, and
everyone but my dad thinks I'm a complete nerd now.
At the last minute I decided to go with 3x LME49860NA, since that was the easiest thing.
I didn't even bother with the stock op-amps. The first thing I noticed after managing to get the card
and op-amps out of the packaging was how
small they were. Perhaps I stared at product photos a bit
too much.
At the moment the only thing I've listened to with it is Moving Pictures, and I haven't played games
with it or anything, so my impressions may likely change a bit later on. So far I've been enjoying this
card very very much. It's difficult to describe, but I suppose you could say everything sounds more 'open'.
Moving Pictures sounded comparatively 'squashed' on my onboard. With the Essence, everything
sounds much more distinct and clear, and the music dances around inside my head more compared
with the onboard concentrating everything into pretty much one spot. Geddy Lee actually sounds
human to me now, and instruments sound like actual
instruments instead of just notes. For the first time
my HD 555 feels satisfying in the lower octaves without needing to crank the volume up. Neil Peart's drums
in Witch Hunt have a much 'bigger' sound, with more impact and authority, and they don't sound harsh in
Red Barchetta anymore.
The soft-loud dynamic contrast has improved
immensely. I always thought the drums in the intro to
The Camera Eye were the same volume all through the intro, so I was surprised to hear them start
very soft and slowly get louder and louder. That kind of thing didn't happen only once, either.
The Essence also seems more revealing than my onboard. My friend once told me that the intro
to The Camera Eye sounded like it was played on a two dollar keyboard. I've never agreed with him
until today.
One thing I think has improved most strikingly is the treble. It seems much more
present now, and I
noticed cymbals I'd never heard before multiple times. The triangle intro and bottles breaking in YYZ
felt much more realistic, and cymbals all throughout the album are absolutely joyous to listen to.
It's probably not fair for me to write my complete impressions right at the moment, since I've had about
40 minutes with the Essence ST. I'm only one album into my library, but that being said I'm already
very pleased.
