New Xonar Essence "One"

V

Vega

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Oct 12, 2004
Messages
7,147
This thing looks awesome. It does bit-perfect 192Khz. This is so my next DAC. I would project around $300 on release.

Here are some early working specs..
1. Hardware

Front IO:
Headphone out (1/4)
Headphone amp gain knob
Line out volume (independent to headphone volume)
LED indicators showing current playback sample rate
LED showing bit perfect (lights up when you’re kernel streaming)
Source select (USB/SPDIF)
Mute – it fades out instead of cut out the sound immediately, whichwill protect your gear, the same rules apply when you un-mute.
Power
Upsampling on/off
There is an estimated a 3% boost to SNR/THD when upsampling.

Back I/O:
Line out: RCA & XLR, unlike ST/STX, line out doesn’t share thesame DAC with headphone out. (XLR is balanced I/O and RCA is unbalanced)
S/PDIF in (both types)
USB in
AC in – a linear power adapter built inside to get the best power available

2. Software

A “invisible” driver, without it’s own UI and DSP settings. It gives you 192K and bit-perfect ASIO support it needs driver installation to work.

Circuit Details:
Input: USB2.0, S/Pdif
MAIN DAC: TI PCM1795
HeadAmp: NS LME49600TS -support up to 600ohm headphones.
Upsampling to 352.8Khz(44.1/88.2/176.4Khz) or 384Khz (48/96/192Khz), 32bit
Outputs: 1/4" headphone output
Unbalanced RCA line out
Balanced XLR Line out

P1000877.JPG


P1000878.JPG
 
I have the Asus Essence STX, love it to bits. My only problem with it is that it's not external.... problem solved!
 
I have been looking forward to this. I just ordered a Creative X-Fi HD to play with in the mean time :)
 
Well played, let's see if Asus can roll with the big boys on the external dac front :) Many of today's outboard DACs are usb plug and play without the need for sophistocated software installs.

As much as I want to see this win I get the feeling it won't catch on.
 
Upsampling to 352.8Khz(44.1/88.2/176.4Khz) or 384Khz (48/96/192Khz), 32bit
Click to expand...
The merits of such insane upsampling are moot but good old trusty 'bigger numbers = better performance' marketing works a charm on the buying public.
It's a given that this will be a great sounding piece of kit, making an external DAC is child's play for a company like ASUS but I'll be suprised if it sells for less than $250.
 
Last edited:
Just had an email from Asus this morning!

Dear Ross

It is expected to be available the start of September, and is estimated at 269.99 Inc VAT

It will immediately be available from www.scan.co.uk

Kindest Regards,

ASUSTeK UK
Click to expand...

That's flipping expensive!! (that's £ not $). But to be expected.
 
Last edited:
Bloody hell. I wonder what it'll cost for American customers.
 
Rossi~ said:
Just had an email from Asus this morning!
That's flipping expensive!! (that's £ not $). But to be expected.
Click to expand...

Yep as expected. And I'll most likely be mounting it inside my Silverstone CW02B.
Thanks for sharing that mate! :D

Will this allow multi-channel analog-out like the Essence ST + H6 daughter-board?
Is it just an EssenceST in an external form, or are there some big architectural improvements?
 
Thanks for sharing. I was just browsing for new top of the line ASUS audio cards yesterday. Since I am looking for a replacement.

Was hoping for an internal successor to STX. But it sure looks nice, I just have no need, using a real head phone amp in my setup. On a side note, I wish Wadia would hurry up and give us that DAC 121.
 
jalyst said:
Yep as expected. And I'll most likely be mounting it inside my Silverstone CW02B.
Thanks for sharing that mate! :D

Will this allow multi-channel analog-out like the Essence ST + H6 daughter-board?
Is it just an EssenceST in an external form, or are there some big architectural improvements?
Click to expand...

No problem :)

Nope, the Essence One is a stereo only DAC/Amp. There is no digital output and no multi-channel analogue output.
 
No digi-out either? Hmm, def. gunna have to give this the flick I think.
Still haven't played much with OPAMPS for my ST anyway...
Plus there's a raft of other hard/soft-mods one can do to drastically improve it.
So there's still plenty of room for improvement w/o upgrades I guess.
 
If you've missed it so far, here it is.
http://www.guru3d.com/news/asus-launches-xonar-essence-one-with-headphone-amplifier/

fullimage.php

fullimage.php

fullimage.php


Hi-Fi audio achieved with the world’s first 8x symmetrical upsampling technology
While common upsampling USB DACs indistinguishably transfer various audio sources to 192kHz, the Xonar Essence One upsamples 44.1/88.2/176.4kHz input to 352.8kHz and 48/96/192kHz input to 384kHz symmetrically (Note: 44.1*8=352.8kHz; 48*8=384kHz). As a result, data volume is also increased by upsampling the bit-rate to 32bit, corresponding to the original content and faithfully preserving the details of the user’s music collection.

Extreme audio clarity with 120dB SNR and a dedicated power supply
The average SNR, of other USB DACs is about 110dB, but with an extremely high 120dB SNR, the Xonar Essence One provides audiophiles with clearer sounds, enabling minute sound details to be heard while significantly reducing noise levels. A dedicated power supply ensures that clean power is delivered so the sharpest sound is heard, with excellent immunity to noise from the AC line.
Click to expand...
 
Sweet, been waiting for something like this! SBLive 5.1 Platinum to Terratec Aureon 7.1 Universe. And since then I've been hobbling on onboard audio. Dowant for my Grado SR225s! And the mute thing (gradual) sounds awesome.
 
sweet asynchronus usb? maybe?
Matrix Mini I competition?
 
Last edited:
Oh yes. My 650's would pair quite nicely with this. I would totally replace my E9+E7 with this.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top