Asus Xonar Essence One Hi-Fi USB DAC & Headphone Amplifier

[sjith]

any FM user reviews of this usb dac

 

[mowgli80]

I have one and am very happy with the performance. The sound can be slightly on the brighter side with the original opamps but this can be easily changed with opamp rolling if you do not like it. This imho is a very big advantage with it. I made a very expensive upgrade last month by changing all the opamps to legendary OPA627 and now am not able to put the smile away from my face . BTW, there is a new DAC (STU i think) which is cheaper but with fewer features. You can compare the two and see if STU suits your requirements. All in all, it performs extremely well for the money you pay for it.

 

[PurpleHaze]

The Essence One has a really good DAC and powerful headphone amp . Overall considered as one of best VFM packages for the price.

I believe a newer and improved Muses edition model has released but not available in India and is much more expensive .

http://www.hifivision.com/av-lounge/35226-shoot-out-navi-mumbai-mumbai-meet-2013-a-37.html

Asus had demo'ed the Essence One at the Hi-Fi Vision meet , so I guess you may find some user feedback in there.


I have used it extensively to drive a AKG 702 and the synergy is really good.

 

[sjith]

thanks mowgli80 for the info abt stu. just googled it and tre is links abt it. searching for a comparison link of these two. wre u r doing these opamp upgrades doing urself ? these are coming with smd chips right ?

 

[mowgli80]

I ordered the opamps from mouser and single to dual dip-8 convertors from ebay and replaced the original opamps. Yes, the opamps are smd and really easy to replace.

 

[aphile]

I have one and am very happy with the performance. The sound can be slightly on the brighter side with the original opamps but this can be easily changed with opamp rolling if you do not like it. This imho is a very big advantage with it. I made a very expensive upgrade last month by changing all the opamps to legendary OPA627 and now am not able to put the smile away from my face . BTW, there is a new DAC (STU i think) which is cheaper but with fewer features. You can compare the two and see if STU suits your requirements. All in all, it performs extremely well for the money you pay for it.

asus stu dac is not available everywhere its available only in uk market

why its so ?

 

[kvijay.svg]

I have used asus xonar essence stx. Sound is good.