[Kenion]

You should consider going into mass production after you have finished your prototype and selling them for a reasonable price

 

 

[cssarrow]

Quote:

You should consider going into mass production after you have finished your prototype and selling them for a reasonable price

 

that would be plagiarizing 

.
 
Tim

 

[Kenion]

Quote:

that would be plagiarizing 

.
 
Tim

 
Hah, you are probably right...

 

[Sk1n5]

Added 0.1uF/50V capacitors to my AD797Bs in the I/V stage. My jaw dropped at the difference. I knew they had a minor oscillation without, I'd verified it myself, but i didn't think an oscillation up in the MHz range would actually have an effect on sound quality. Guess I was wrong. Now I wish I still had my o-scope to check it for sure.

 

[cssarrow]

Quote:

Added 0.1uF/50V capacitors to my AD797Bs in the I/V stage. My jaw dropped at the difference. I knew they had a minor oscillation without, I'd verified it myself, but i didn't think an oscillation up in the MHz range would actually have an effect on sound quality. Guess I was wrong. Now I wish I still had my o-scope to check it for sure.

Did the extra cap make a large difference?
 
Can you describe the differences? I haven't bypassed it with a cap yet, so if it's that large, i'll get some 0.1uF's and give them a try on my AD797s.
 
Tim
 
 

---

Fixed The Eyelet​

Inserted braided shield strands into hole & solder.
 

 
Insert wima film cap
 

 
wrap strands around lead leg, solder.
 

 
Tim

 

[Sk1n5]

Think of when you first enter a theater where you have to turn a corner to actually have a line of sight to the orchestra. It sounds really good before, but once you round that corner it just sounds "right". Also even though I don't have my o-scope anymore I'm going to say this killed the oscillation. The case doesn't get nearly as warm now.

 

[Gandah]

Quote:

Think of when you first enter a theater where you have to turn a corner to actually have a line of sight to the orchestra. It sounds really good before, but once you round that corner it just sounds "right".

I love your analogy, this is a great way to describe how different gear sounds comparison to other gear. I'm going to use this analogy a lot from now on, thanks Sk1n5

 

[Sk1n5]

Quote:

I love your analogy, this is a great way to describe how different gear sounds comparison to other gear. I'm going to use this analogy a lot from now on, thanks Sk1n5

Thanks. Also, decided to test 0.22uF capacitors since I had them anyways. Same audio quality but now the case doesn't even get warm. Very interesting.

 

[cssarrow]

Quote:

Thanks. Also, decided to test 0.22uF capacitors since I had them anyways. Same audio quality but now the case doesn't even get warm. Very interesting.

So you're saying 0.22uF sounds as good as 0.1uF but even with less oscillation?
 
I was about to grab some 0.1uF, but will get 0.22uF now if that's the case.
 
Will try some AD797B bypassed with 0.22uF in the Headphone Buffer & RCA Buffer to see how they sound versus the LME49710HA.
 
Tim

 

[Sk1n5]

Quote:

So you're saying 0.22uF sounds as good as 0.1uF but even with less oscillation?
 
I was about to grab some 0.1uF, but will get 0.22uF now if that's the case.
 
Will try some AD797B bypassed with 0.22uF in the Headphone Buffer & RCA Buffer to see how they sound versus the LME49710HA.
 
Tim

 
 
Without the oscilloscope I can only assume, but I've had it running now for an hour and the case is at ambient temp. Before it would start to warm up after about five minutes.

 

[cssarrow]

Quote:

 
 
Without the oscilloscope I can only assume, but I've had it running now for an hour and the case is at ambient temp. Before it would start to warm up after about five minutes.

As long as SQ is still the same, that's good enough for me 

 
Tim

 

[Sk1n5]

So I've been sitting here listening to my Essence One now continuously since I put the modified AD797Bs in and I have to say if the MUSES01s sound better than this I'm going to have to get them. To give another analogy, listening to acoustic guitar reminds me of sitting in front of my Grandpa and listening to him play. For reference I'm using Grado PS-500s, and my full lineup of opamps is the AD797Bs in the I/V, OPA627BMs in the LPF, and OPA627AUs in the headphone buffer.

 

[jabbilabbi]

Quote:

Clarified by Xonar.
It took me some time to think too, wasn't sure the $50 would be worth it, but to me, it has. Makes sound more "live,lifelike,transparent, realism, etc, same word" middle vocals contain a rich detail swavey touch to them. They're not overbearingly clear like some DAC/Amps that are so clear, sometimes it ends up making the treble painful to hear. These are wonderful, extends bass so well. This one does a lot better than the HDP when it comes to making sounds more vinyl(less digital) sounding. Upsampling works great for increase in overall presentation, however with that increase of resolution, the fullness of the mids sounds less superb. I only listen with upsampling on certain songs, like jazz for example. (btw i listen to all genre of music, even kpop and indian music)

Pros worth noteing:
1. Outputs RCA/XLR and Headphone simultaneously (two volume bars) (Fully balanced XLR output)
2. Contains its own linear power supply
3. Looks nice, no sharp edges
4. Upsampling helps with certain songs
5. asynchronous usb for extremely low jitter
6. WIMA & nichicon capacitors, great PCB layout (multiple layers).
7. OP AMP design with consumer in mind (rhymed haha), shares their inner secrets unlike other high end makers and lets people customize the sound to their liking *see con*
8. 2x DAC Chip Texas Instrument BurrBrown PCM1795 does 24bit/192khz (HDP can't do that, nope, nope)
9. Converts music files (with upsampling) to their respected "real" 8 times frequency. (32bit)
10. Not fully enclosed, semi-open back for heat dissipation.
11. Mute Button
12. THD+N at 1kHz at 0.000316 %(-110 dB). VERY LOW. I've seen thousand dollar dac/amps with 0.0005 and up.
13. SNR : 120 dB a very spectacular number.
14. Asus conducts tests of distortion, SNR, etc, on each one of their products, shows you they have the balls to back up their product.
 
Cons worth noteing:
1. For the price, the aluminum casing is great, however they should of made an extra touch and make the buttons/volume nozzle aluminum as well. but really not a big deal.
2. With the giant size of the toroidal & Essence one, they could of increased the power supply pcb size added some more soothing capacitors for better dc output and increase wattage driving power for headphones. I believe the one now has 600mW for 32 ohm headphones, would be nice if it were able to hit the 1W spec for planar (HE-500 and up) As of now, it's good enough to drive the HE-400, LCD-2. I don't have the LCD-3 so i can't say. HE-500 runs "GREAT" on them. However, it may improve with 400mW extra.
3. The MUSES01 is a little overpriced, $50 on digikey, $59.90 on ebay. It makes you wonder how different they sound than their younger brother/sister the MUSES 8920.
4. Not sold everywhere, i found them on Amazon, Ebay, and Newegg. Prices are $575 and over (usually with free shipping). Better to buy off ebay, no tax.
5. Op Amps not explained very well. For a company that makes audiophile dac/amp and has tested numerous op amps, they should of given customers a whole piece of paper on which type of op amp delivers what kind of sound. (talk about a waste of effort not releasing such information)
6. No Remote
 
I just felt like sharing some of these information with you so i can go back and pick out important things i might have missed for my final review.
I was surprised to find out that they had their own Audio Experts Team and keeps it strictly there (they do not consult with other departments in their company. They are also able to get parts cheaper (come on.. we know taiwan makes a large portion of chips) and higher quality control because they are a marketing titan.
 
Tim

 
Tim,
 
I am curious where you got your specs of the E1. Specifically you claim that it can do 600mW @ 32ohms.
I'm looking online and in the user manual and can't find any details on the power output abilities.

 

[cssarrow]

Quote:

 
Tim,
 
I am curious where you got your specs of the E1. Specifically you claim that it can do 600mW @ 32ohms.
I'm looking online and in the user manual and can't find any details on the power output abilities.
 

I believe ASUS said this awhile back, but am not so sure.
However, it was measured on 6moons to follow the specs. 
 
 
650mW at 32Ω
75mW at 600Ω
610mW at 50Ω
395mW at 100Ω
 
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/asus/2.html
 
Question #3/
 
Tim

 

[jabbilabbi]

Quote:

I believe ASUS said this awhile back, but am not so sure.
However, it was measured on 6moons to follow the specs. 
 
 
650mW at 32Ω
75mW at 600Ω
610mW at 50Ω
395mW at 100Ω
 
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/asus/2.html
 
Question #3/
 
Tim

 
Hi Tim,
 
According to Asus webpage http://www.asus.com/Sound_Cards_and_DigitaltoAnalog_Converters/Xonar_Essence_One/#specifications
 
They say "Headphone : 7 Vrms ( Vp-p)"
 
and so @ 32 ohms   that would be   P = V^2/R      ( P = 7^2/32 )  ( P = ~1.53 Watts)
 
 
-Alex