Ya the ESS module sounds so dry and grainy... I couldn't stand if for more then few songs haha.ESS module without hardware mod sounds like chainsaw in treble for me personally. Someone said that Sparkos Opamps make that sound warmer.
Strongly recommend to get AK4499EX DAC module - In my personal opinion it is the best for now.
AKM and ROHM are so good and overall the xd05 pro is a great pairing with my mest2 as it boosts the mids a bit which the mest2 lacks.
But sadly the unit still goes into protect mode switching to turbo mode (which I don't even use anyways), even after getting a 12V3A adapter for it..