I haven't replaced the Essence III yet. I'm using it as a pre-amp for my Nad C 375BEE that's powering my stereo speakers, and it's connected to my HDVD 800 that I'm using as the amp for my HD 800. Just the other day in fact I was experimenting with op-amps again, and I've concluded that for now using Muses01 op-amps in the I/V, SE LPF and XLR Buffer slots give me the highest fidelity sound. The stock op-amps have a bit thicker midbass punch, but are noticeably less transparent than using the Muses01. I've also experimented using Muses02, and they are a bit too smooth sounding for my liking with this dac. They do their job well driving the single ended amp output on the front. But for the rear outputs they aren't suitable. It's absolutely worth changing the op-amps if you want to tweak the sound signature. As long as you have a good plier to pull them out easily, it's a relatively quick thing to change them. On Asus support site there's a manual for op-amp switching that goes through how to disassemble the dac, and which slots do what.
Thanks for the reply and advice. Just to dumb it down for this noob: After reading the instructions, can I correctly conclude that you swapped a total of six op-amps with the same Muses01's - 2 for I/V, 2 for SE LPF and two for XLR?
That's right. In the Asus op-amp swap guide there's a list of recommended op-amps, though I'm sure others would work just fine too. The Muses01 are a bit expensive if you buy 6 at once, so if you want to try out some others first to see what effect op-amp switching has, you could try the ones listed in the manual.
I bought most of my Muses01 from Mouser. At first I ordered a few on Ebay. Some from Audiotrak, which were genuine, and then some cheaper ones from a user called janeh2100 in China, which turned out to be fakes. The one who sold me fakes is still there, and I'm sure there's plenty of others selling fakes too. After buying the fakes I decided to just get the rest from Mouser and avoid further headaches.
That's right. In the Asus op-amp swap guide there's a list of recommended op-amps, though I'm sure others would work just fine too. The Muses01 are a bit expensive if you buy 6 at once, so if you want to try out some others first to see what effect op-amp switching has, you could try the ones listed in the manual.
I bought most of my Muses01 from Mouser. At first I ordered a few on Ebay. Some from Audiotrak, which were genuine, and then some cheaper ones from a user called janeh2100 in China, which turned out to be fakes. The one who sold me fakes is still there, and I'm sure there's plenty of others selling fakes too. After buying the fakes I decided to just get the rest from Mouser and avoid further headaches.
For a while I switched positions on the DC Servo op-amps and the XLR Buffer and SE LPF. Meaning I used OPA2227 on XLR Buffer/LPF, while AD827SQ sat in the DC Servo positions. Was curious how my speakers would sound with that combo, and the results were interesting, but ultimately not good enough. They created tremendous bass, but there was something crunchy and staticy about the sound, like they weren't quite comfortable in that position. I rarely use the Balanced headphone outputs, so I didn't listen to them while I switched positions on the op-amps, but the effect can be dramatic, so it's worth trying out if you get them!
What I'm running now is stock op-amps on the headphone outputs (I only use the single ended output), and on the speaker outputs I use Muses01 on I/V, and AD827SQ on Buffer and LPF. This creates the best overall balance for the sound with my speakers. But now that you brought it up, I'm curious to switch out the AD827SQ again with something else to see what happens. Maybe the Muses02 on LPF, as it's easy to just switch them around, and I'm only using the RCA outputs to my speakers right now anyway. It's all my Nad C 375BEE can take. I barely use headphones during the summer as it gets intolerably hot in the room. Feels like sacrilege putting the HD 800 on a sweaty head.
From what I've understood after reading loads and loads of forum posts about DAC DIY is that j-fet op-amps are often best in I/V, while bi-polar op-amps do best in the final output stages, like Buffer/LPF and such. But it depends on the kind of power supply the DAC has, so I think in the case of the Essence III we probably have the flexibility to use either type wherever we want. Something reassuring I learned when reading about the nitty gritty tech details is the Essence III has substantially better power supply filtering than other Asus DACs. Power supply noise was a problem with the Essence One, and it seems Asus were aware of this and completely squashed the problem with the Essence III by using the best filtering components money can buy.
WillB do you know what does the DC servo actually do as I saw the op amp swap guide. and the unit only have XLR buffer and no RCA buffer unlike the essence one.
The setup I'm using currently is Muses01 on SE LPF and XLR Buffers, and Muses02 on I/V. I didn't buy new Muses02, I just took them from the DC Servo, and put AD827SQ where the Muses02 used to be. Could be worth moving the op-amps around like this if you're curious to hear the difference it could make.
Have any of tried any of the discreet op amps that are around such as the Burson Audio Supreme Sound 5? Though that one is a little more pricey they do produce an ic version for less there are other companies who make them.
Sorry for somewhat necroposting this thread... I got the Essence III and I got the Sennheiser HD800 headphones for it. Amazing headphone if you ask me... But I know about Hifiman Susvara that is a big step up comparing to HD800. Several people tell it sounds better than i.e. Stax SR-009S. I got the different answers about if the power, if it could be sufficient or not. Some people tell "no", others tell "yes" some tell "maybe". And it's not only about power it's about controll and performance too. And if the DAC is a good match....
Anybody tried Essence III with Susvara or maybe HE-1000? Is it a good match? Audeze LCD-4 has ALMOST the same power requirements as Susvara. You think E3 have enough power for LCD-4?
The only planar magnetic headphone I've tried with the Essence III is the Audeze LCD-X. It sounded great, but it's an easier to drive headphone than the LCD-4, so probably not all that helpful of a reference. I looked at the specs for the LCD-4 and Susvara, and it looks to me like the Susvara is way more demanding than the LCD-4. The Susvara has 14db lower sensitivity. So I think the Essence III will have enough power for the LCD-4, but not enough for the Susvara. For higher-end headphones, I don't think the power output will be the ultimate limiting factor. I still use the Essence III every day, but I bought a SPL Phonitor X to use as headphone amplifier & pre-amp for my speakers. With the HD 800 the Essence III amplifier sounds congested and dynamically compressed compared to the Phonitor X. So if you're interested in the Susvara, getting a separate headphone amplifier might be a good idea. It wouldn't just give you the power to drive the headphones, but you'd also get the most out of the Essence III since the amplifiers on the dac don't show you everything the dac is capable of.
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