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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2011 13:35:32 GMT
Just pressed the button for one of these, should be with me in a week or so.
Will post my thoughts on its performance asap.
Mick.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2011 16:53:39 GMT
I've just read up on that, views seem pretty positive plus it's a bit of a looker!
What will this be fighting it out with in the Harris household?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2011 17:27:16 GMT
Congrats for your new aquisition, great piece of hardware and, as Chris says, quite a looker on the outside and the inside!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2011 18:40:42 GMT
I've just read up on that, views seem pretty positive plus it's a bit of a looker! What will this be fighting it out with in the Harris household? Well to be honest Chris, even if its just a little better than my Musi 02 i will be more than happy, if its a lot better then great!! I think the musi is a cracking little device which gives excellent results at around a third of the cost. Cant say that i really go for the looks, its a bit like women for me now, its the performance i`m after ;D Mick.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2011 20:27:46 GMT
Hi Mick, It was more the fact that it has a headphone amplifier built in that had me curious as to what it would be competing against. I remembered you have the Mus02 but what is your most listened to amp to partner it? A G2MeToo (Fransafied/Mickafied) ? A MKI Sunrise (a yesterday? ) Other? If it can compete at that level then it will indeed be a good package. ---------------------------- Javier, It was interesting to see a proper toroidal driven PSU inside, along with their trademark swappable op amps.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2011 10:28:40 GMT
There are some fantastic pics is this page: soomal.com/doc/10100002604.htmBe patient because some times it takes a couple of "refreshes" for the page to load properly. The pics can be clicked and then zooomed in to a huge level of detail.
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pagan
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Post by pagan on Dec 30, 2011 13:29:57 GMT
This could be an interesting device.... using separate clocks for 44k1 and 48k signal sources. well probably generated from the dsp..
async usb2 as well, must be their own usb drivers.
besides the NE5523's it's using LM4562 for pre out and LME49720's with LME49600 headphone diver. Toroid transformer. PCM1795 looks like a 32bit version of the PCM1796.
Cheapest i've seen so far is $400.00 aus.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2011 18:00:43 GMT
£334.49 delivered from e-ShopBrokers Ltd pagan, its being shipped Wednesday, although they are not a million miles from where my Mum lives. but i am not going there for another couple of weeks.
Yes they are excellent photo`s Javier, better than i could take, so i shall not bother to take any with the bonnet open.
Hoping for good results from this unit, as all reviews i have read so far have been positive, i have been waiting months to get my hands on one.
Mick.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2011 18:33:21 GMT
There are very little differences between the 1795 and the 1796. According to their spec sheets I have only found the 32 Vs 24 bit max bit depth, 200 Vs 192KHz max supported sampling rate and also it looks the 1795 would accept DSD so maybe more like the DSD1796 instead of the PCM1796.
BTW, the Xonar has 2 x 1795 in Mono mode giving slightly better performance (126 Vs 123dB DNR)
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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2011 18:53:24 GMT
Mick, I think that's as good a price as you'll get anywhere with the unit being so new, well reviewed and in less than abundant supply. Javier, Did you read the review at audiovideohd.com? With the exception of them bemoaning no direct USB pen input, a very glowing conclusion. Sounds like it could be a cracker, all eyes on Mick
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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2011 23:04:00 GMT
I hadn't seen that one Chris. Funny review, they did all testing using Toslink which is, by far, the worst possible connection you can use with the Essence One jitter wise instead of using the logical and best performing USB port in async mode. Neither did they use any high resolution files/discs which makes for a rather poor review. After reading the complete article I think these people don't have a deep knowledge about computers, computer audio or even audio (they make some incorrect statements in the article), too common on most Spanish A/V publications and believe me, I know quite well what I'm talking about (ever heard about Revista CEC?)
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2011 0:20:18 GMT
HeHe! I missed that. I only skimmed over most of it and homed in the conclusion due to the very same things you say Andalucia is certainly not the best place to source anything HiFi or computer based. As far as I know there are only two "specialist" HiFi dealers in the whole area, one thinks McIntosh is the best the world has to offer and the other is English run...
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pagan
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Post by pagan on Dec 31, 2011 0:31:44 GMT
they did all testing using Toslink Mp3's too? Mp3 via Toslink best of both worlds ;D ;D ;D
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2011 0:37:16 GMT
Madrid is quite a bit better for all these things, there many more decent shops/retailers but still I do most my IT or HiFi shopping online. A nice site with reasonable prices, good service and a very nice catalogue is Alternate ( www.alternate.es), they are the Spanish branch of wwwalternate.de.. For HiFi www.supersonido.es is one of the best, Mick got his HD800 from them and I have used them many times.
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pagan
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Post by pagan on Dec 31, 2011 0:55:10 GMT
£334.49 delivered from e-ShopBrokers Ltd pagan, its being shipped Wednesday, although they are not a million miles from where my Mum lives. but i am not going there for another couple of weeks. Yes they are excellent photo`s Javier, better than i could take, so i shall not bother to take any with the bonnet open. Hoping for good results from this unit, as all reviews i have read so far have been positive, i have been waiting months to get my hands on one. Mick. AUS $400.00 334.49 GBP = 508.690 AUD As they are being sold through computer shops the price will come down.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2011 10:22:35 GMT
Yes, that`s a good price in Ausie,
But do i want to ship from Ausie!!, with the shipping cost, would probably would work out much the same cost.
The next cheapest i have found here is Amazon £350.
I dont think the price will drop much if at all for some time yet, supply and demand will dictate, and there seems to be plenty of the latter at present.
Mick.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2011 13:50:29 GMT
Madrid is quite a bit better for all these things, there many more decent shops/retailers but still I do most my IT or HiFi shopping online. A nice site with reasonable prices, good service and a very nice catalogue is Alternate ( www.alternate.es), they are the Spanish branch of wwwalternate.de.. For HiFi www.supersonido.es is one of the best, Mick got his HD800 from them and I have used them many times. Javier, Yes, I'm aware of the first and have used the second. Another good one is www.tpoinformatica.com/, excellent service.
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Post by elysion on Jan 1, 2012 3:59:14 GMT
I'll have a closer look on the Xonar Essence One DAC for sure. I like the my Xonar Essence STX very much and an external variant is very welcome.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2012 19:44:57 GMT
Ok its here. Excellent service from e-ShopBrokers Ltd. Ordered on the 29th Dec, received an automated reply after pushing the button, telling me the Assus would be shipped Tuesday 3rd Jan, due to the festive shut down period. Emailed me at 9am this morning, telling me that it had been sent, arrived on my doorstep at 10.15, very nicely packaged. Will get it fired up tomorrow and report back. Mick.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2012 21:42:03 GMT
Hi Mick Looking forward to reading your report.That kind of service ensures loyalty if the product is good and reasonably priced. Regards Alex
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2012 15:14:31 GMT
OK, Well if this dac, performs as well as its presented, i`m in for a treat!! The first thing that struck me when removing this unit from the extremely high quality box (you won`t want to throw this box away), is how heavy this dac is. Feels like its been machined out of a solid block of Aluminium, and looking at the finish, its certainly been well engineered, VERY impressive build quality. Just set input voltage to 230v, little slider on the back of the unit, plug in the mains lead and usb cable, hook up to the pc, swich on, all ready for driver loading. This took less than 5mins, load some sacd, hd, and "ordinary" music folders into Foobar asio, and i`m ready for a listen. First off try the onboard Amp, bl""dy superb, this is a VERY good Amp, drives my PS1000`s (low impedence) and HD800`s(high impedence) with ease and sounds great . Next, try my Panda hooked up to the Assus, sounds great, now i am comparing the two, and to be honest at the moment, i prefer the on board amp, Hmmmm!! Shows how highly i rate this on board Amp, because i REALLY like my Panda. Early days yet, and a few more comparisons to be made, also there is a later firmware download to be had, but so far no regrets at all, infact i think its a bargain, the SQ to my ears, easily matches the build quality, and is superior to my highly rated Musi 02. Happy Bunny Mick. PS. I will now remove the plastic film protective stickers that cover the knobs, thought they looked a bit dull. PS. Latest firmware has now been installed, sounds absolutely brilliiant when partnered with the sunrise, improving all the time with 6hrs under its belt, the punch and precision of instruments, combined with the spacial imaging is just fantastic. Thanks for help with the download Javier There is still the option of upgrading to better op-amps to go yet, the mind boggles Mick.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2012 22:28:32 GMT
Hi Mick (and Javier ), I don't know how much commonality there may or may not be but I've just put together a HTPC (with a little bit of help from my friend ) and incorporated in it a Xonar ST PCI sound card. I generally share your opinions of it in terms of retail presentation and build quality - they certainly give one the impression of being 'good gear' and the SQ I'm getting confirms this - another happy bunny here also . This card also offers the option of swapping op-amps (of which I've got quite a collection from my Beresford 7520 DAC experimentation days if you're interested in auditioning them sometime) so I would be interested in hearing any thoughts you may have on any swapping you may do, in time. Cheers, Dave.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2012 23:25:10 GMT
Hi Mick,
Is the above meant as, better than the on board amp of the Asus, or just different i.e. more to your taste?
Ta.
(I still think it looks dead tasty)
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2012 23:43:31 GMT
First candidates for replacement: 4 x NE5532 in I/V 2 x NE5532 in LPF
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2012 0:09:25 GMT
Hi Javier Tread carefully here.On paper, I.C.s like the LM4562 /LME49710 for example , look inviting, but Silicon Chip recently reported that an LM833 for example, may be 6dB less noisy in some circuits despite what the data sheets may suggest. This was based on results using their Audio Precision Test Set. Alex
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