Asus Essence One Series User Manual
Essence One Series Hi-Fi U SB DA C (Digital-to-Anolo g Con ver ter) U ser Guide
E9117 First E dition F ebruary 2014 Cop yright © 2014 ASUST eK Comput er Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this manual, including the products and sof tware described in it, may be reproduced , transmitted, tr anscribed, stored in a r etrieval system, or translated in to any language in any form or b y any means, ex cept documentation kept b y the purchaser for backup purposes, without the express written permission of ASUST eK C OMPUTER INC. (â ASUSâ). Product warranty or service will not be extended if : (1) the product is repaired, modiîed or altered, unless such r epair , modiîcation of alteration is authorized in writing by ASUS; or (2) the serial number of the product is defaced or missing. ASUS PROVIDES THIS MANU AL â AS ISâ WITHOUT W ARRANT Y OF ANY KIND , EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED , INCL UDING BUT NO T LIMITED T O THE IMPLIED W ARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANT ABILIT Y OR FITNESS FOR A P ARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL ASUS, ITS DIREC T ORS, OFFICERS, EMPL O YEES OR AGENT S BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT , SPECIAL, INCIDENT AL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL D AMA GES (INCL UDING DAM AGES FOR L OSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS, L OSS OF USE OR DA T A, INTERRUPTION OF BUSINESS AND THE LIKE), EVEN IF ASUS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES ARISING FROM AN Y DEFEC T OR ERROR IN THIS MANU AL OR PRODUCT . SPECIFICA TIONS AND INFORMA TION CONT AINED IN THIS MANU AL ARE FURNISHED FOR INFORMA TIONAL USE ONL Y , AND ARE SUBJEC T T O CHANGE A T ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE , AND SHOULD NOT BE C ONSTRUED AS A C OMMITMENT BY ASUS. ASUS ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILIT Y OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS OR INACCURA CIES THA T MA Y APPEAR IN THIS M ANU AL, INCL UDING THE PRODUCTS AND SOFT W ARE DESCRIBED IN IT . Products and corporat e names appearing in this manual may or may not be regist ered trademarks or copyrights of their respective companies , and are used only f or identiîcation or explanation and to the o wnersâ beneît, without intent to infringe.
C ontents Safety Information ...................................................................... 4 V oltage Selection ...................................................................................... 4 Repairs ......................................................................................................4 F uses ..........................................................................................................4 Other Safety Information .........................................................................5 Philosophy ................................................................................... 6 Design Story ................................................................................ 6 F eature Summary ....................................................................... 7 Product Line Up .......................................................................... 9 Design Highlights ....................................................................... 9 Package c ontents....................................................................... 11 Driver installation ...................................................................... 12 F unctionality .............................................................................. 13 1. USB DA C ( Digital-to-Analog Con v ertor) ....................................... 13 2. Stand alone DA C .............................................................................. 14 3. Headphone ampliîer ...................................................................... 14 Fr ont P anel ................................................................................. 15 Rear Panel .................................................................................. 16 Connections ............................................................................... 18 Input ........................................................................................................ 18 1. NB/PC-USB connections ........................................................................18 2. T oslink and Coaxial S/PDIF audio input c onnections ......................... 19 Output ..................................................................................................... 20 1. With A mpliîer and Passiv e Speaker S ystem .......................................20 2. With A ctive Speaker directly .................................................................21 3. With H eadphone/Headset .....................................................................21 Speciîcations ............................................................................. 22 Opamp Swap Guide ................................................................... 24 1. Disassembly ..................................................................................... 25 2. Swap Guide ...................................................................................... 25 Audio P recision T est Repor t ...................................................... 28 Appendix: Glossary .................................................................. 32
4 ASUS Essence One Series Safety Information F or your own saf ety please read the following important safety instructions carefully before att empting to connect this unit to the mains power supply . T hey will also enable you to get the best performance from and prolong the lif e of the unit. V oltage S election The rear panel includes a voltage selection switch with two settings: â115â and â230â . Check to see that it is properly conîgur ed for your location bef ore connecting AC power . Actually , the AC input has a very wide input voltage range and can operat e over a frequency range of 47.5 to 52.5 or 57 to 63 Hz. At 115, the Essenc e One Series will operate normally ov er a range of 95 to 132 V AC. At 230, the Essence One Series will operate normally ov er a range of 190 to 264 V AC. CAUTION: A lways insure tha t the voltage setting is correct for y our locality. Incorrect conîguration may blow fuses or cause erratic oper ation. 230 230V 115V 11 5 VOL T AGE SELECTOR VOL T AGE SELECTOR Repairs Do not ser vice or repair this pr oduct unless properly qualiîed. Only a qualiîed technician should perform repairs. F uses The fuse holder is built into a dra wer next to the IEC power connector . CAUTION: F or continued îre hazard protection alway s replace the fuses with the correct size and type (1A 250V , 5 x 20 mm). Use tools to replac e the fuses.
5 ASUS Essence One Series Other S afety Informa tion 1. Read and keep these instructions for future ref erence. 2. F ollow all instructions and take note of all warnings. 3. Do not use this apparatus near water or expose the devic e to moisture. 4. Clean machine sur face with a cloth. A void using detergen t or cleaning îuid. 5. Do not block any ventilation openings . Install in accordance with the manufacturer â s instructions. 6. Do not install near any heat sourc es such as radiators, heat r egisters , stoves , or other apparatus (including ampliîers) that produc e heat. 7. The polarized or grounding-type plug is f or user safety . A polarized plug has two blades with one wider than the other . A grounding type plug has two blades and a third grounding pr ong. The wide blade or the third prong is provided f or your safety . If the provided plug does not ît int o your outlet, consult an electrician for replacement of the outlet. 8. Prot ect the power cord fr om being stepped on or compressed particularly at the point where it exits from the appar atus. 9. Only use attachments/accessories appro ved by the manufacturer . 10. Use only with the cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or table speciîed by the manufacturer , or sold with the apparatus. When using a car t, take care to av oid tipping over the load when moving the device. 11. Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when not in use for a long period of time. 12. Refer all repairs to qualiîed service personnel. Servicing is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any wa y , such as when the power -supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the appar atus, the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moistur e, does not operat e normally , or has been dropped.
6 ASUS Essence One Series Philosoph y W e at ASUS, recognizing tha t computers and digital devices ar e the major platforms for audio entertainment, started out with consumer-sound cards in 2007 to build the ASUS brand in the audio industry. This gives our ASUS brand a more stable f oundation through gradual gr owth, making it possible to move int o the Hi-Fi/audiophile market. In 2009, we launched Essence ST/STX, one of our mid-range products that covered a wide variety of applications, from high-end music applications to games. Essence ST/STX was very popular in forums and user communities, leading us to c onclude that the time was right for more upscale audiophile pr oducts. W e then started work on a prototype which eventually became the Essence One Series, with its greater îe xibility, mor e spacious PCB and higher power deliv ery â all attributed to Essence One Series being an external device rather than an internal card . ASUS now has a large team dedicat ed to designing and engineering audio products. W e have been able to e xpand our audio product range into more div erse categories in recent y ears, and have met c onsiderable success . In 2010 we partnered with Sennheiser on a headset-soundcard set, which conîrmed our lev el of expertise as par tners of one of the worldâ s leading audiophile brands. Design Story ASUS has an eclectic group of visionaries and acoustic engineers coming from the art, user experience, and the entertainment industr y with a shared passion for music . Knowing that digital media constantly changes and evolv es based on our personal experience, the ASUS team c onstantly evaluates the design segmen ts with diîerent outlook and perspective, striving to pro vide new and better experience for music lov ers and audiophiles. Being Present Instead of deîning hard-stoned desired r esults, we believ e that sound is about appreciating the presen t. T op- grade componen t is just one tiny part of the puzzle that we mold and build to bring you the â essence of soundâ . Through our meticulous testing and product performance checks, we examine our design rules and lay out with excruciating detail because an y misstep could lead to a misr epresentation of the originality of sound. Made for Y ou Across all our pr oducts, you will înd that the Essence of Sound is sublime rather than overdomina ting, composed y et powerful. The Essence series follo w the Confucius thinking of âRespec tâ and âHarmonyâ â we respect that personal taste for music may vary and hence weâv e included swappable op-amps for further customization. W e recogniz e that beautiful sound is about being in harmony with the surrounding and the environment . Hence having an independent volume c ontrol for audiophiles â smooth volume switching experience becomes crucial .
7 ASUS Essence One Series Aesthetically Pleasing ASUS is well known for its quality control , but beyond the hard and c old facts of humidity storage and drop test, ther eâ s the soft appeal and the intrinsic proper ties that we look into when it c omes to material selection. Whether it is sweat-pr oof and înger print free surface înish, an elegant color palette or smooth curvatures, it is our commitment to bring a state-of ar t audio with innovative material application and usage. F eatur e Summary â¢î NativeîDSDîSupportîviaîDOPî â¢î W orldâ sîî¶rstî8Xîsymmetricalîupsamplingîtechnologyîrestoresîlosslessîaudio â¢î Built-inî600ohmîheadphoneîampliî¶erîdrivesîallîheadphonesîonîtheîmarket â¢î Ultra-highî120dBîSNRîforîtheîpur estîsoundî â¢î Userîcustomizableîtoneîcharactersîwithî11îswappableîOP -amps â¢î Dedicatedîinternalîlinearîpow erîsupplyîensuresîtheîcleanestîaudioî Ultimate audio enjoymen t with native Direct Stream Digital (DSD ) support via DOP Digital Stream Digital (DSD ) is an encoding technology at 1 bit repr esentation of the audio wavef orm, allowing high reproduction of the original audio . With na tive DSD support via DOP , the DSD container bypasses operating system through ASIO PCM, hence allowing audiophiles to enjoy high-îdelity audio . 384kHz/24Bit 8X Symmetrical Upsampling T echnology to restore lossless audio The Essence One Series series can support up to 384kH z for multiples of 48kHz and 352.8kHz for multiples of 44.1kHz. This ensures that all sample ra tes are symmetrically upsampled without any loss of resolution that pr ovides pure r epresentation of audio content. Built-in 600ohm headphone ampliîer drives all headphones on the mark et Supports up to 600ohms impedance, allowing headphone enthusiasts to enjoy the best of their favorite headphones without an y additional ampliîcation needed. The headphone ampliîer powers up all Hi-F i headphones with high per formance and lo w distortion. Ultra-high 120dB SNR for the pur est sound The SNR of normal USB DA C is about 110dB. W ith the extremely high SNR (>120dB), the Essence One Series provides audiophiles clearer sounds with ev ery details with signiîcantly reduced noise lev el. User customizable tone char acters with 11 swappable OP-amps Op-amp is the key par t that ampliîes the analog signal in your soundcard and aî ects tone characters (darker , br ighter , sound image etc..) W e respect your personal taste and prefer ences and on our model you will înd 11 swappable op-amp sockets. The Essence One Series allows easy customization to swap in y our favorite op-amps for a fully customized audio experience .
8 ASUS Essence One Series Dedicated internal linear pow er supply ensures the cleanest audio A clean power sourc e is crucial for ensuring minimal supply contamination and consistent pow er delivery. The toroidal comes with a specially designed silic on strip to prevent h ysteresis loss The internal power supply supports all international voltages and has generous margins f or over and under v oltage conditions. It provides cleanest pow er for cleanest sound with ex cellent immunity to noise on the AC line . Minimal Clock Jitter with Asynchronous Data T ransfer: Most USB audio uses Synchronous Data Tr ansfer mode to adjust internal clock t o compensate diî erent data transf er rate between PC and USB A udio Device. However , the jitter is worse if the transf er rate is a lot diî erent between PC and Device . F or the Essence One Series, the USB DA C monitors the PC clock transfer speed and adjusts the data transfer speed ac cordingly based on a buîer sta tus to the system. When the PC clock is îring too fast, this is regulat ed and the data transfer f eed is adjusted to slow down and vic e versa. This greatly improves the pr ecision of digital audio and provides more detail with less list ening fatigue. Bit-per fect with ASIO 2.2 driver: Bit-perfect mode allows user to use ASIO or similar function while doing audio playback, avoiding an y sample rate con version being done by PCâ s operating system. This feature keeps audio contents of all r esolutions being played as its original sample rat e without any potential quality loss during sample rate c onversion. The ASIO 2.2 driver simpliîes the proc ess of multiple audio streams, bypassing la tency issues in Window s, to deliv er a low-latency , high îdelity sound île that is identical to the original audio île. Dedicated volume c ontrols: Most USB DACs on the market only comes with one or no v olume control f or both headphone and speaker . This pr events user from keeping their fa vorite volume lev el and has to keep adjusting volume when switching between devic es. Not to mention that a careless move can easily cause damage t o your headphones. The Essence One Series has an independent volume contr ol for headphone and speaker such that user can keep their favorite v olume level without switching back and f orth when listening to diîer ent output devices. T oslink and Coaxial S/PDIF inputs: The Essence One Series is îtted with both Coaxial and T oslink inputs, enabling connection of multiple sources. The digital inputs accept data formats a t sample rates up to 192 kHz. Balanced XLR output: Essence One Series also features balanc ed (XLR) outputs. This is a higher quality output that is useful for eliminating un wanted noises and interference . Since a balanced line contains two signal carrying conductors of equal magnitude but opposite polarity, noises induced along the cable path cancel each other out when they reach the destination load. This makes balanced lines the professional applications f or long cable connection which induced noises might be a problem. XLR connectors should be wired as follows: Pin 1- Ground; P in 2- Hot (in-phase); Pin 3- C old (phase-inverted).
9 ASUS Essence One Series Product Line Up Essence ONE Essence ONE PLUS EDITION Essence ONE MUSES EDITION Essence ONE MKII Essence ONE MKII MUSES EDITION Key A udience Entry-level audiophiles Op-Amp lovers and DIY adventurers HI-FI adventurers Entry-level audiophiles HI-FI adventurers Key F ocus Desire to enjoy high îdelity music on both headphone and speaker Desire to DIY and customize sound based on personal prefer ences Desire to experience high îdelity music with world known Muse01 Op- Amp Desire to enjoy high îdelity music on both headphone and speaker Desire to experience high îdelity music with world known Muse01 Op- Amp Audio Clarity 120dB SNR Hi-Fi audio clarity Audio Pr ecision Ultra jitter-free îdelity with asynchronous USB audio int erface Op-Amp Selection & T onal Customiza tion Customizable tone characters with 11 swappable Op- Amps, focusing on 6 key Op- Amps Op-Amp T weaking Kit with additional TI-2132 (4 pcs) and NS-4562 (2 pcs) and tweaking tool set Unimaginably heart-touching and spacious sound powered by MUSES 01 Op-Amp (6 pcs) Customizable tone characters with 11 swappable Op- Amps, focusing on 6 key Op- Amps Unimaginably heart-touching and spacious sound powered by MUSES 01 Op-Amp (6 pcs) Po werful Headphone Ampliîer Headphone ampliîer for up to 600ohm headphone impedance Clean Po wer Dedicated linear power supply Additional Fea tures 8X Upsampling to 384kHz -- -- -- Native DSD Support via DOP Native DSD Support via DOP Design Highlights Po wer Management â¢î High-î¶delityîLDOîRegulationî Using the highly regarded LDO r egulators, the po wer source is r egulated twice to reduce heat ener gy and ensure stable power . â¢î RobustîCapacitorî WIMA FKP2 capacitor serves as a stable water reservoir for stabilizing po wer source , hence reducing ripples. â¢î T oroidalîtransf ormerî Specially designed toroidal transf ormer to reduce h yster esis loss and prevent easy worn-out.
10 ASUS Essence One Series Signal Management â¢î 4-LayerîHyperîgr oundingîwithîbalancedîdesignî 4 layer PCB boar d for separating Digital and Analog sig nals on diîeren t grounds and heat source . Not only are the analog and digital signals ar e on diîerent la yers, it is sandwiched in between multiple ground lay ers to further prevent signal interferences. â¢î Asynchronousîdataîtr ansfer PC uses a diîerent clock sy stem than E3 and hence a buîer will monit or the data speed such that when the PC clock is îring too fast, this is regulat ed and the data transfer f eed is adjusted to slow down. This greatly impro ves the precision of digital audio and provides more detail with less list ening fatigue. â¢î 384kHz/î24Bitî8XîUpsamplingî T echnolo gyîî While common upsampling USB DA Cs just transfer wha tever audio sourc e to 192kHz indistinguishably , Essence One Series upsamples 44.1/88.2 /176.4kHz input to 352.8kHz and 48/96/192kHz input to 384kHz in a symmetrical way, pr eserving the originality of your music collection. It also upsamples bit-rate to 32bit corresponding to the original con tents. (Note: 44.1x8=352.8kHz; 48x8=384kHz) NO TES: â¢î Sampleîrateîisîtheînumberîofîsamplesîofîaudioîcarriedîperîsecond ,î measured in Hz or kHz (one kHz being 1,000 H z). The more samples per second (the higher the "sample rate"), the better the quality . â¢î Bitîrateîmeasur esîhowîmuchîdataîisîtransmittedîinîaîg ivenîamountîofî time. The higher the bit rate, the higher the quality of the audio playback and the larger the île. â¢î Upsamplingîisîtheîproc essîofîincreasingîtheîsamplingîrateîofîaîsignal .î F or instance, upsampling rast er images such as photographs means increasing the resolution of the image . â¢î Ther efore ,îupsamplingîbothîsampleîrateîandîbitîrat eîwillîmakeîyourî audio source sound clearer . â¢î CustomîResist orîwithîhighîtemperatureîandîhea tîtoleranc eî 0.1% tolerance and high toler ance for tempera ture changes with /-0.5ppm/Celsius with ultra-low noise and better stability . â¢î DCîServoîtoîreducingîDCîbiasing:îî The DC servo design helps to reduce decoupling and this helps t o extend bass per formance with richer and deeper sounds. Ease of Use & C ustomization â¢î DSDîSupportî DSD Support for USB 2.0
11 ASUS Essence One Series â¢î BitîPerfectîModeî Bit-perfect mode allows user to use ASIO or similar function while doing audio playback, avoiding any sample r ate conv ersion being done by PCâ s operating system. This feature keeps audio conten ts of all resolutions being played as its original sample rate without an y potential quality loss during sample rate conv ersion. NO TE : When you run bit-perfect in W indows , the âBIT PERFEC T â LED in the front panel will light up . Component Selection â¢î DA C:î TIîPCM1795:îExcellen tîdynamicîper formanceî(123dBîdynamicîrange)îandî improved t olerance to clock jitter â¢î DSP:îADIîADSP -21261îHigh-per formanceîaudioîprocessingîcapabilitiesîandîstr ongî reliability for handling upsampling and DSD support â¢î WIMAîFKP2/FKS2:îHighîtemperatureît oleranceîwithîrobustîperformanceî â¢î SwappableîOp-amps:îNE5532 â¢î SwappableîOp-amps:îLM4562î(forîSpeakerîout)î â¢î SwappableîOp-amps:îLME49720NAî(forîHeadphoneîout) â¢î HeadphoneîAmpliî¶er:îNSîLME49600TSî(forîHeadphoneîout)î P ackage conten ts This package should contain the following: â¢î EssenceîOneîSeriesîHi-FiîUSBîDA Cîxî1 â¢î USBîcableî(âB-A â îtype)îxî1 â¢î Po werîcordîxî1î(Someîv ersionsîmayîhaveî2îpo werîcordsîf orîdiî²er entîcountries) â¢î 6.3mmîtoî3.5mmîadaptorîxî1 â¢î Quickîstartîguideîxî1 â¢î Userîguideîxî1 â¢î AudioîP recisionî(AP)îtestîr eportîxî1 â¢î InstallationîdriverîCDîxî1 NO TE : The package contents vary with models. Refer to the package contents f or each model on ASUS website at www .asus.com
12 ASUS Essence One Series Sy stem requir ements T o ensure a successful installation of the ASUS Essence One Series USB D AC, your computer must meet the follo wing requirements: â¢î IBMîcompatibleîPCîwithîoneîUSB2.0î(orîhigher)îcompatibleîportîforîtheîUSBîaudioî device â¢î Microsoft ® Window s ® XP/7/8/8.1 (32/64 Bit) / MacOSX 10.6 â¢î Intel ® Pen tium ® 4 1.4GHz or AMD Athlon 1400 CPU or faster CPU â¢î 256îMBîDRAMîsystemîmemory â¢î 60îMBîavailableîHDDîspaceîf orîdriverîinstallationîpackage â¢î CD-ROMîdriveî(orîDVD-R OMîdrive)îforîsoftwareîinstallation â¢î High- qualityîheadphonesîorîpoweredîanalogîspeakersît oîenjoyîtheîultra-highî îdelity sound of the card Driver installa tion After connecting ASUS Essence One Series with your computer by the bundled USB cable, you need t o install the device driver that enables the Essence One Series to work with Window s operating system. NO TES: â¢î Theîdriverîisîonlyîneededîwhenîy ouîconnectîASUSîEssenceîOneîSeriesî with PC/NB. â¢î Theîv ersionîandîcontentîofîtheîsupportîCDîareîsubjectîtoîchangeîwithoutî notice. T o install the device driver: 1. Inser t the ASUS Essence One Series support CD into your optical drive. If Autorun is enabled, the ASUS Essence One Series driver screen appears aut omatically . Go to step 4. If Autorun is not enabled in your c omputer , per form step 2. 2. Click My Computer on y our desktop and double- click the optical drive icon. 3. Double -click the setup.e xe icon loca ted on the optical drive. 4. F ollow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation. Read the END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT in the pr ocess and make sure that y ou understand and accept it befor e continuing the installation. 5. When the installation înishes, y ou may be prompted t o restart your computer . Y ou can choose to restart the computer later if desired .
13 ASUS Essence One Series F unctionality 1. USB DA C ( D igital-to-Analog C onv ertor) Clear , detailed, life -like sound for y our digital music collection in PC/NB, with all the connection(XLR, RCA) you need for end devices. Steps: â¢î ConnectîPC/NBîwithîanîUSBîcableî â¢î NeedîtoîinstallîdriverîinîyourîPC/NBîtoîwork â¢î Selec tî âUSBâ îinîfrontîpanelîasîtheîinputîsourc e USB or NB PC
14 ASUS Essence One Series 2. Stand alone D A C With S/PDIF in and input select, it also serves as an independent DAC which c onnects with digital inputs such as CD audio source and then pla ys to the end devices. Steps: â¢î ConnectîwithîotherîaudioîresourceîwithîS/PDIFîinputî(byîCoaxial/Opticalîcable) â¢î Selec tîCO Aî(coaxialîinput)îorî T OSî(opticalîinput)îinîtheîfrontîpanelîasîtheîinputî source 3. Headphone ampliîer Grants 100% performance of ALL hi-end headphones, even with impedance up to 600ohms, pro viding extra dynamics and sound details. Steps: â¢î Connectîwithîhigh- qualityîheadphones/headsets UNBALANCED OUTPUT BALANCED OUTPUT DIGITAL INPUT USB L R R L T OSLINK COAXIAL VOLT AGE SELECTOR AC IN 230 S/PDIF CD/DVD player
15 ASUS Essence One Series F ront P anel Xonar Essence One HEADPHONE VOLUME VOLUME BIT PERFECT 192 96 88.2 48 44.1 176.4 _ _ MUTE INPUT USB TOS COA UPSAMPLING POWER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 9 1. Po wer On/Oî Press t o turn on and again to turn oî . 2. Upsampling function on/oî (1) Press to turn on the upsampling function which increases sample rate to 352.8 or 384kHz symmetrically and bit rate to 32bit (2) When the upsampling func tion is turn on, the LED light of Bit perfect / sample rate indicator will ligh t oî . NO TE : For models EONE MKII/ EONE Muses MKII , the upsampling LED indicator turns red when the DSD function is on. Under the DSD mode, the upsampling mode is disabled. 3. Input selection Press t o select among USB, T oslink or Coaxial Inputs. The corresponding LED will light up to show which sourc e has been selected. 4. Mute Press t o mute headphone and speaker output; again to unmute . 5. Speaker V olume control The V olume Contr ol controls the output lev el of the balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA analog outputs. 6. Bit per fect / sample rate indicat or (1) The relevant LED will light up to indicate the sample r ate of your audio sourc e (44.1kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kH z, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz, and 192 kH z) (2) Bit per fect: light on under ASIO model 7. Headphone V olume control The V olume Contr ol is used to contr ol the output levels of the headphone jacks. 8. 1/4â Headphone output Connect your high-quality headphones/headsets with 6.3mm connector (Please use the attached 6.3mm to 3.5mm connector if your headphones/headsets ar e of 3.5 mm ports)
16 ASUS Essence One Series 9. Set screws These 4 screws ar e used to hold the machine bed (including PCB board and pow er module) and machine housing together . For repairâ s sake, ASUS technicians may need a small screwdriver t o loosen the 4 screws to r emove the fron t panel and then draw the machine bed out for checking PCB board (or pow er module). UNBALANCED OUTPUT BALANCED OUTPUT DIGITAL INPUT USB L R R L TOSLINK COAXIAL VOLT AGE SELECTOR AC IN 230 1 2 3 4 6 7 5 1. Unbalanced RCA Output (line -out) Conv entional stereo outputs f or connection to the line-level phono/RCA inputs of a speaker NO TES: â¢î Mostîaudioîequipmentîhasîunbalancedîaudioîinputsîandîoutputs.î Thisî means that the audio output (left, right, or mono) appears on a single wire, and is r eferenc ed to â0V â or âGroundâ . T ypical connectors used are RCA âphono â connectors and 1/4â (6.3mm) or 1/8â (3.5mm) jack plugs/ sockets. â¢î Unbalancedîaudioîw orksîwellîforîshortîcableîrunsîinîlowînoiseî environments . F or long distances connection or complex setups where RF noise may be a problem, Balanced XLR Output is r ecommended to eliminate unwan ted noises. 2. Balanced XLR Output(line- out) ASUS Essence One Series also features true balanc ed (XLR) outputs. Connect Essence One Series with equipment such as speakers of Balanced XLR connections. NO TES: â¢î Aîlotîofîprof essionalîequipmentîwillîhaveîbalanc edîaudioîinputsîandî outputs, usually on 3-pin âXLR â connectors. The line is said to be balanced since the two signal carrying conductors are of equal (though opposite) potential. â¢î BalancedîXLRîOutputîisîaîhigherîqualityîoutputîthatîcanîrejectînoiseîandî interference with equipment with balanced inputs , especially per fect for long cable runs or anywhere that induced noises might be a pr oblem Rear P anel
17 ASUS Essence One Series 3. Coaxial S/PDIF Input Connect your digital sourc e, such as CD/DVD play ers or computer with S/PDIF output, to digital input. Use either S/PDIF c oaxial or T oslink optical type, each being of equal quality . 4. T oslink Optical Input As mentioned in point 3, this port is for T oslink Optical I nput. NO TES: â¢î BothîCoaxialîandî T oslinkîI nputsîcanîbeîusedîtoîconnectîandîrunî equipment at the same time â¢î Thisîunitîonlyîacc eptsîtwo- channelîLPCMîdigitalîaudioî(e.g .îDolbyîDigitalî 2.0). Y ou cannot connect a D olby Digital 5.1 or a D TS signal as they will not be recogniz ed. If you wish to connect a DVD or similar device, please ensure that the sound output of your pla yer is set to two-channel PCM. 5. USB port Connect a PC via a T ype B to Type A USB lead . NO TES: â¢î TheîEssenceîOneîSeries â sîoperationîisîindependentîofîyourîPCîsoundcard-î it will operate whether your PC has a soundcar d or not. Please select Essence One Series as the default audio playback device in your syst em. This can be conîrmed in the Contr ol P anelâ s Sounds, Speech and Audio Devices properties window under the V olume tab. â¢î Y ouîneedîtoîinstallîtheîdeviceîdriverîthatîenablesîtheîEssenceîOneîSeriesî to work with W indows operating sy stem. 6. V oltage selection (115/230V ) Always insur e that the voltage setting is correct for y our locality . See page 4 â V oltage Selectionâ for more inf ormation. 7. Po wer port (A C in) Plug the supplied power adapt or into the Essence One Series once you hav e completed all connections.
18 ASUS Essence One Series C onnections Input 1. NB/PC-USB connections NO TE: Do not turn on the machine until all connections have been made. (1) Connect a USB âBâA â t ype lead (as illustrated at left) from the Essenc e One Seriesâ s USB input to one of the USB ports on the PC/NB. (2) T urn on the Essence One Series using the front panel On/Oî switch and make sure that the USB input is selected (USB LED lit). (3) Install the device driver that enables the Essence One Series to work with W indows operating system. USB or NB PC
19 ASUS Essence One Series NO TES: â¢î TheîPCâ sîpreviousîaudioîoutputîdeviceîshouldînowîbeîtempor arilyî disabled and the Essence One Series becomes the default audio playback device for the PC/NB . This can be conîrmed in the C ontrol P anelâ s Sounds, Speech and Audio Devices pr operties window under the V olume tab. â¢î IfîyouîwishîtoîdisconnectîyourîEssenceîOneîSeriesîandîreturnît oîusingî your previous soundcar d, etc., simply disc onnect it or switch oî the power on the fron t panel. If the PC fails to disable the Essence One Series and automatically re-enable your default soundcard, you can manually disable the Essence One Series in the hardware device manager . T o do this, navigat e to the Device Manager (click Start â Control P anel â ( Vista: Performance and Maintenance â) S ystem â Hardwar eâ D evice Manager in Windows XP). Scr oll down the device manager window and expand the heading Sound, Video and Game C ontrollers to display a list of the connected devices. The Essence One Series will be listed as â ASUS Essence One Seriesâ . Click on this description to highlight in blue and then click on the Disable icon at the top of the window . A warning message will appear: âDisabling this device will cause it to stop functioning. Do you really want t o disable it?â Click Y es to disable the Essence One Series. The pr evious audio playback device will now be r e - instated by Windows. 2. T oslink and Coaxial S/PDIF audio input c onnections UNBALANCED OUTPUT BALANCED OUTPUT DIGITAL INPUT USB L R R L T OSLINK COAXIAL VOLTAGE SELECT OR AC IN 230 S/PDIF CD/DVD player (1) Connect your digital sourc e (ex. CD/DVD players or some PC/NB with SPDIF output) to Digital Input. Either S/P DIF Coaxial or T oslink optical types can be used, each being of equal quality . NO TE: Both Coaxial and T oslink I nputs can be used to connect and run equipment at the same time.
20 ASUS Essence One Series Output 1. With A mpliîer and Passiv e Speaker S ystem (1) Use either the unbalanced (RCA/Phono) or balanced (XLR) outputs of the Essence One Series to connect unbalanced or balanced inputs of an ampliîer . (2) Connect the ampliîer with a Passiv e Speaker System. NO TE: It is possible to use the RCA phono connec tions and the XLR balanced connections at the same time, e.g . for connecting to diî erent ampliîers or multi-room operations . However , no same audio quality is guaranteed as using RCA and XLR output non-simultaneously . Amplifier Passive Speaker System L R L R Unbalanced Input Balanced Input UNBALANCED OUTPUT BALANCED OUTPUT DIGITAL INPUT USB L R R L TOSLINK COAXIAL VOLT AGE SELECTOR AC IN 230 Option #2: XLR connection Option #1: RCA connection
21 ASUS Essence One Series 2. With A ctive Speaker directly (1) Connect Essence One Series with a set of active speakers directly. 3. With H eadphone/Headset (1) Connect Essence One Series with high-qualit y headphones/headsets directly . UNBALANCED OUTPUT BALANCED OUTPUT DIGITAL INPUT USB L R R L TOSLINK COAXIAL VOLT AGE SELECTOR AC IN 230 Active speaker
22 ASUS Essence One Series Speciîcations Items Description Audio P erformance Output Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A- W eighted): 120dB Output T otal Harmonic Distortion Noise at 1kHz@-3dB (A -W eighted): -110dB Output/Input Full-Scale V oltage Balanced Output: 4Vrms Unbalanced Output: 2Vrms Headphone: 7Vrms Frequency Response (-3dB, 24-bit/192kHz output ): <10Hz to 48kHz Bus Compatibility USB USB 2.0 High speed S/PDIF IEC 60958 Main Chipset Audio Pr ocessor C-Media CM6631/ CM6631A S/PDFI Receiver AKM 4113 DSP ADI ADSP-21261 D-A Conv erter for Analog Inputs TI PCM1795 OP Amp Headphone I/V: NE5532 LPF: NE5532 Current Buî er: LME49600 Balanced / Un-balanced I/V NE5532 Balanced / Un-balanced LFP NE5532 Clock Crystal clock 12MHz For USB 24.576MHz For S/PDIF Oscillator 45.1584MHz (for 44.1, 88.2, 176.4KHz sample rate) 49.152MHz (For 48, 96, 192KHz sample rate) Sample Rate and Resolution Analog Playback Sample Rate and Resolution 44.1K/48K/88.2K/96K/176.4K/192KHz @ 16/24bit Upsampling capability Up to 352.8kHz (44.1/88.2 /176.4kHz input) or 384kHz (48/96/192kHz input), 32bit I/O Ports Output Jack: Balanced Output (XLR) Unbalanced Output (Dual RCA) 6.3mm Jack headphone output Metal with plated gold, black housing continued on the next page
23 ASUS Essence One Series Speciîcations * Specifications are subject to change without notice. Input Jack: USB jack Coaxial / T oslink jack Metal with plated gold, black housing Po wer Input Jack: IEC AC Inlet V olume controller Balanced Output: Quad Units T aper B Potentiometer Headphone Output: Quad Units T aper B Potentiometer V oltage Selector AC 115V/223V Slide Switch Acc essories Acc essories USB cable (âB-A â t ype) x1 Po wer cord x1 (Some versions ma y have 2 pow er cords for diîerent c ountries) 6.3mm to 3.5mm adaptor x1 Quick Start Guide x1 User Guide x1 Installation driver CD x1
Essence One Series Hi-Fi U SB DA C (Digital-to-Analo g Con ver ter) Opamp Sw ap Guide
25 ASUS Essence One Series 1. Disassembly 1. Loosen the four scr ews in the front panel and the two scr ews in the rear panel with a screwdriver . Essence One HEADPHONE VOLUME VOLUME BIT PERFECT 192 96 88.2 48 44.1 176.4 _ _ MUTE INPUT USB TOS COA UPSAMPLING POWER UNBALANCED OUTPUT BALANCED OUTPUT DIGIT AL INPUT USB L R R L TOSLINK COAXIAL VOLT AGE SELECTOR AC IN 230 Fr ont Panel Rear Panel 2. Push the pow er connector on the rear panel to remo ve the machine bed (including the PCB board and power module) fr om the machine housing. UNBALANCED OUTPUT BALANCED OUTPUT DIGIT AL INPUT USB L R R L TOSLINK COAXIAL VOLT AGE SELECTOR AC IN 230 2. Sw ap Guide Change all the OP-amps of the same types in the same slot. F or example, if you need to change D AC I/V (slot 1), you w ould need to change all the OP- amps of the same types in all slot 1. If you need to change DAC buî er (slot 2), you need to change the OP -amps of the same types in all slot 2.
26 ASUS Essence One Series All outputs (Headphone output, RCA output, XLR output) Headphone output RCA output XLR output 1 â 2 â 3A â 3B â 4 â 4 4 4 1 1 1 1 2 2 3B 3B 3A 1. Ser ves as I/V (current t o voltage conv ertor) that turns current from DA C into voltage for output purpose . Changing this will aîect all outputs (including Headphone output, RCA output and XLR output). 2. Ser ves as L ow P ass Filt er that îlters background noises . Changing this will aîect all outputs (including Headphone output, RCA output and XLR output). 3A. Ser ves as buîer tha t enhances the output signal for the speaker . Changing this will aîect the RCA output. 3B. Ser ves as buîer tha t enhances the output signal for the speaker . Changing this will aîect the XLR output 4. Ser ves as buîer tha t enhances the output signal for the headphone . Changing this will aîect the headphone output. Output Opamp
27 ASUS Essence One Series Recommended OP amp List Brand Model name NS LME49860 NS LME49720NA NS LM4562NA TI OP A2111 TI OP A2132 TI OP A2107 ADI OP275 ADI AD823 NJRC MUSE01 NJRC MUSE02 Sound Impression DA C I/V Slot 1 DA C buîer Slot 2 Sound Impression TI â OP A2107 TI â OP A2132 Brighter vocal, slightly less booming sound TI â OP A2107 NS â LME49860 Even brighter than the abov e combination, and more detailed with less but tighter booming sound NS â LME49720 NS â LM4562NA Less warm than stock OP -amps, more extensive detailed and dampened mid-range, Essence ST/STX style NS â LM4562NA NS â LM4562NA Wider sound stage but less detailed than the abo ve combination NS â LM4562NA NJRC â MUSE02 Powerful, punchy sound with good sound stage; less detailed present. NS â LME49720NA NJRC â MUSE02 Brighter , thinner sound and more detailed than the above combination The following table lists the sound impr ession brought by diî erent combina tions of op-amp pairing.
Essence One Series A udio Pr ecision T est Repor t V ersion 1.0 2011/07/01 â¢î Disclaimer:î Theîinformationîandîc ontentsîcontainedîinîthisît estîreportîareîforîEssenceî One Series user â s referenc e only and may not be altered in an y manner . T est results may vary with diîerent testing en vironment and equipment.
29 ASUS Essence One Series Audio P recision T est Repor t T est Signals: 96KHz, 24bit (192KHz, 24bit for frequency response test) Noise Lev el (SNR~120dB) Au di o Pr ec isio n 07 /1 5/ 11 1 0:34 :2 0 A -A FFT SPECTRU M AN AL YS IS -160 0 -140 -120 -100 -8 0 -6 0 -4 0 -2 0 d B r A 2k 24 k 4k 6k 8k 10 k 12 k 14 k 16 k 18 k 20 k 22 k Hz Fr equency Response Au di o Pr ec is io n 07 /1 5/ 11 1 1: 11 :4 9 -5 0 -4 -3 -2 -1 d B r B -5 0 -4 -3 -2 -1 d B r A 10 50 k 20 50 10 0 20 0 50 0 1k 2k 5k 10 k 20 k Hz
30 ASUS Essence One Series THD N F ull Band (-114~-110dB for 20~20KHz) Au di o Pr ec isio n 07 /1 5/ 11 1 0: 40 :5 4 -120 0 -110 -100 -9 0 -8 0 -7 0 -6 0 -5 0 -4 0 -3 0 -2 0 -1 0 d B r A 20 20 k 50 10 0 20 0 50 0 1k 2k 5k 10 k Hz THD N 1KHz 0.0003% (-110dB) @997Hz Au di o Pr ec isio n 07 /1 5/ 11 1 0:37 :2 5 A -A FFT SPECTRU M AN ALYSI S -160 0 -140 -120 -100 -8 0 -6 0 -4 0 -2 0 d B r A 2k 24 k 4k 6k 8k 10 k 12 k 14 k 16 k 18 k 20 k 22 k Hz
31 ASUS Essence One Series Dynamic Range (~120dB) Au di o Pr ec isio n 07 /1 5/ 11 1 0: 35 :3 8 A -A FFT SPECTRU M AN ALYSI S -160 0 -140 -120 -100 -8 0 -6 0 -4 0 -2 0 d B r A 2k 24 k 4k 6k 8k 10 k 12 k 14 k 16 k 18 k 20 k 22 k Hz Crosstalk -132dB @ 1KHz -142~-115dB for 20~20KHz Lef t Au di o Pr ec is io n 07 /1 5/ 11 1 0: 46 :2 0 -160 0 -140 -120 -100 -8 0 -6 0 -4 0 -2 0 d B 20 20 k 50 10 0 20 0 50 0 1k 2k 5k 10 k Hz
32 ASUS Essence One Series Right Au di o Pr ec is io n 07 /1 5/ 11 10: 48 :3 0 -180 0 -160 -140 -120 -100 -8 0 -6 0 -4 0 -2 0 d B 20 20 k 50 10 0 20 0 50 0 1k 2k 5k 10 k Hz Appendix: Glossar y â¢î NoiseîLev elî The level of an y undesired system noise signals o ver the audio spectrum, including AC mains hum, white noises, stra y magnetic îeld, etc . â¢î SNRî Signal-to-Noise Ratio, the ratio of the maximum amplitude sig nal to the sum of the noise energy . The higher , the better . â¢î THD Nî T otal Harmonic Distor tion plus Noise, measur ed by attenuating the fundamental signal with a narrow band notch îlter , then measuring the remaining signal which consists of harmonics of various order . T his implies the linearity of the audio converter and the lower , the better . â¢î Fr equencyîResponseî A measure of a device â s ability to respond to a îx ed input voltage, at diî erent input frequencies, and the diî erence in amplitude r eproduced for each fr equency. The îatter curve at wider frequency range is better . â¢î DynamicîRangeî The diîer ence, usually expr essed in dB, between the highest and low est amplitude portions of a signal which a device can linearly handle. Ideally it should be very close to SNR value and the higher , the better . â¢î Crosstalkî Unwanted sig nal coupling from another channel of ster eo or multi-channel transmission. The lo wer value is better .
E9117 First E dition F ebruary 2014 Cop yright © 2014 ASUST eK Comput er Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this manual, including the products and sof tware described in it, may be reproduced , transmitted, tr anscribed, stored in a r etrieval system, or translated in to any language in any form or b y any means, ex cept documentation kept b y the purchaser for backup purposes, without the express written permission of ASUST eK C OMPUTER INC. (â ASUSâ). Product warranty or service will not be extended if : (1) the product is repaired, modiîed or altered, unless such r epair , modiîcation of alteration is authorized in writing by ASUS; or (2) the serial number of the product is defaced or missing. ASUS PROVIDES THIS MANU AL â AS ISâ WITHOUT W ARRANT Y OF ANY KIND , EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED , INCL UDING BUT NO T LIMITED T O THE IMPLIED W ARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANT ABILIT Y OR FITNESS FOR A P ARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL ASUS, ITS DIREC T ORS, OFFICERS, EMPL O YEES OR AGENT S BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT , SPECIAL, INCIDENT AL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL D AMA GES (INCL UDING DAM AGES FOR L OSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS, L OSS OF USE OR DA T A, INTERRUPTION OF BUSINESS AND THE LIKE), EVEN IF ASUS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES ARISING FROM AN Y DEFEC T OR ERROR IN THIS MANU AL OR PRODUCT . SPECIFICA TIONS AND INFORMA TION CONT AINED IN THIS MANU AL ARE FURNISHED FOR INFORMA TIONAL USE ONL Y , AND ARE SUBJEC T T O CHANGE A T ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE , AND SHOULD NOT BE C ONSTRUED AS A C OMMITMENT BY ASUS. ASUS ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILIT Y OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS OR INACCURA CIES THA T MA Y APPEAR IN THIS M ANU AL, INCL UDING THE PRODUCTS AND SOFT W ARE DESCRIBED IN IT . Products and corporat e names appearing in this manual may or may not be regist ered trademarks or copyrights of their respective companies , and are used only f or identiîcation or explanation and to the o wnersâ beneît, without intent to infringe.
C ontents Safety Information ...................................................................... 4 V oltage Selection ...................................................................................... 4 Repairs ......................................................................................................4 F uses ..........................................................................................................4 Other Safety Information .........................................................................5 Philosophy ................................................................................... 6 Design Story ................................................................................ 6 F eature Summary ....................................................................... 7 Product Line Up .......................................................................... 9 Design Highlights ....................................................................... 9 Package c ontents....................................................................... 11 Driver installation ...................................................................... 12 F unctionality .............................................................................. 13 1. USB DA C ( Digital-to-Analog Con v ertor) ....................................... 13 2. Stand alone DA C .............................................................................. 14 3. Headphone ampliîer ...................................................................... 14 Fr ont P anel ................................................................................. 15 Rear Panel .................................................................................. 16 Connections ............................................................................... 18 Input ........................................................................................................ 18 1. NB/PC-USB connections ........................................................................18 2. T oslink and Coaxial S/PDIF audio input c onnections ......................... 19 Output ..................................................................................................... 20 1. With A mpliîer and Passiv e Speaker S ystem .......................................20 2. With A ctive Speaker directly .................................................................21 3. With H eadphone/Headset .....................................................................21 Speciîcations ............................................................................. 22 Opamp Swap Guide ................................................................... 24 1. Disassembly ..................................................................................... 25 2. Swap Guide ...................................................................................... 25 Audio P recision T est Repor t ...................................................... 28 Appendix: Glossary .................................................................. 32
4 ASUS Essence One Series Safety Information F or your own saf ety please read the following important safety instructions carefully before att empting to connect this unit to the mains power supply . T hey will also enable you to get the best performance from and prolong the lif e of the unit. V oltage S election The rear panel includes a voltage selection switch with two settings: â115â and â230â . Check to see that it is properly conîgur ed for your location bef ore connecting AC power . Actually , the AC input has a very wide input voltage range and can operat e over a frequency range of 47.5 to 52.5 or 57 to 63 Hz. At 115, the Essenc e One Series will operate normally ov er a range of 95 to 132 V AC. At 230, the Essence One Series will operate normally ov er a range of 190 to 264 V AC. CAUTION: A lways insure tha t the voltage setting is correct for y our locality. Incorrect conîguration may blow fuses or cause erratic oper ation. 230 230V 115V 11 5 VOL T AGE SELECTOR VOL T AGE SELECTOR Repairs Do not ser vice or repair this pr oduct unless properly qualiîed. Only a qualiîed technician should perform repairs. F uses The fuse holder is built into a dra wer next to the IEC power connector . CAUTION: F or continued îre hazard protection alway s replace the fuses with the correct size and type (1A 250V , 5 x 20 mm). Use tools to replac e the fuses.
5 ASUS Essence One Series Other S afety Informa tion 1. Read and keep these instructions for future ref erence. 2. F ollow all instructions and take note of all warnings. 3. Do not use this apparatus near water or expose the devic e to moisture. 4. Clean machine sur face with a cloth. A void using detergen t or cleaning îuid. 5. Do not block any ventilation openings . Install in accordance with the manufacturer â s instructions. 6. Do not install near any heat sourc es such as radiators, heat r egisters , stoves , or other apparatus (including ampliîers) that produc e heat. 7. The polarized or grounding-type plug is f or user safety . A polarized plug has two blades with one wider than the other . A grounding type plug has two blades and a third grounding pr ong. The wide blade or the third prong is provided f or your safety . If the provided plug does not ît int o your outlet, consult an electrician for replacement of the outlet. 8. Prot ect the power cord fr om being stepped on or compressed particularly at the point where it exits from the appar atus. 9. Only use attachments/accessories appro ved by the manufacturer . 10. Use only with the cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or table speciîed by the manufacturer , or sold with the apparatus. When using a car t, take care to av oid tipping over the load when moving the device. 11. Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when not in use for a long period of time. 12. Refer all repairs to qualiîed service personnel. Servicing is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any wa y , such as when the power -supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the appar atus, the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moistur e, does not operat e normally , or has been dropped.
6 ASUS Essence One Series Philosoph y W e at ASUS, recognizing tha t computers and digital devices ar e the major platforms for audio entertainment, started out with consumer-sound cards in 2007 to build the ASUS brand in the audio industry. This gives our ASUS brand a more stable f oundation through gradual gr owth, making it possible to move int o the Hi-Fi/audiophile market. In 2009, we launched Essence ST/STX, one of our mid-range products that covered a wide variety of applications, from high-end music applications to games. Essence ST/STX was very popular in forums and user communities, leading us to c onclude that the time was right for more upscale audiophile pr oducts. W e then started work on a prototype which eventually became the Essence One Series, with its greater îe xibility, mor e spacious PCB and higher power deliv ery â all attributed to Essence One Series being an external device rather than an internal card . ASUS now has a large team dedicat ed to designing and engineering audio products. W e have been able to e xpand our audio product range into more div erse categories in recent y ears, and have met c onsiderable success . In 2010 we partnered with Sennheiser on a headset-soundcard set, which conîrmed our lev el of expertise as par tners of one of the worldâ s leading audiophile brands. Design Story ASUS has an eclectic group of visionaries and acoustic engineers coming from the art, user experience, and the entertainment industr y with a shared passion for music . Knowing that digital media constantly changes and evolv es based on our personal experience, the ASUS team c onstantly evaluates the design segmen ts with diîerent outlook and perspective, striving to pro vide new and better experience for music lov ers and audiophiles. Being Present Instead of deîning hard-stoned desired r esults, we believ e that sound is about appreciating the presen t. T op- grade componen t is just one tiny part of the puzzle that we mold and build to bring you the â essence of soundâ . Through our meticulous testing and product performance checks, we examine our design rules and lay out with excruciating detail because an y misstep could lead to a misr epresentation of the originality of sound. Made for Y ou Across all our pr oducts, you will înd that the Essence of Sound is sublime rather than overdomina ting, composed y et powerful. The Essence series follo w the Confucius thinking of âRespec tâ and âHarmonyâ â we respect that personal taste for music may vary and hence weâv e included swappable op-amps for further customization. W e recogniz e that beautiful sound is about being in harmony with the surrounding and the environment . Hence having an independent volume c ontrol for audiophiles â smooth volume switching experience becomes crucial .
7 ASUS Essence One Series Aesthetically Pleasing ASUS is well known for its quality control , but beyond the hard and c old facts of humidity storage and drop test, ther eâ s the soft appeal and the intrinsic proper ties that we look into when it c omes to material selection. Whether it is sweat-pr oof and înger print free surface înish, an elegant color palette or smooth curvatures, it is our commitment to bring a state-of ar t audio with innovative material application and usage. F eatur e Summary â¢î NativeîDSDîSupportîviaîDOPî â¢î W orldâ sîî¶rstî8Xîsymmetricalîupsamplingîtechnologyîrestoresîlosslessîaudio â¢î Built-inî600ohmîheadphoneîampliî¶erîdrivesîallîheadphonesîonîtheîmarket â¢î Ultra-highî120dBîSNRîforîtheîpur estîsoundî â¢î Userîcustomizableîtoneîcharactersîwithî11îswappableîOP -amps â¢î Dedicatedîinternalîlinearîpow erîsupplyîensuresîtheîcleanestîaudioî Ultimate audio enjoymen t with native Direct Stream Digital (DSD ) support via DOP Digital Stream Digital (DSD ) is an encoding technology at 1 bit repr esentation of the audio wavef orm, allowing high reproduction of the original audio . With na tive DSD support via DOP , the DSD container bypasses operating system through ASIO PCM, hence allowing audiophiles to enjoy high-îdelity audio . 384kHz/24Bit 8X Symmetrical Upsampling T echnology to restore lossless audio The Essence One Series series can support up to 384kH z for multiples of 48kHz and 352.8kHz for multiples of 44.1kHz. This ensures that all sample ra tes are symmetrically upsampled without any loss of resolution that pr ovides pure r epresentation of audio content. Built-in 600ohm headphone ampliîer drives all headphones on the mark et Supports up to 600ohms impedance, allowing headphone enthusiasts to enjoy the best of their favorite headphones without an y additional ampliîcation needed. The headphone ampliîer powers up all Hi-F i headphones with high per formance and lo w distortion. Ultra-high 120dB SNR for the pur est sound The SNR of normal USB DA C is about 110dB. W ith the extremely high SNR (>120dB), the Essence One Series provides audiophiles clearer sounds with ev ery details with signiîcantly reduced noise lev el. User customizable tone char acters with 11 swappable OP-amps Op-amp is the key par t that ampliîes the analog signal in your soundcard and aî ects tone characters (darker , br ighter , sound image etc..) W e respect your personal taste and prefer ences and on our model you will înd 11 swappable op-amp sockets. The Essence One Series allows easy customization to swap in y our favorite op-amps for a fully customized audio experience .
8 ASUS Essence One Series Dedicated internal linear pow er supply ensures the cleanest audio A clean power sourc e is crucial for ensuring minimal supply contamination and consistent pow er delivery. The toroidal comes with a specially designed silic on strip to prevent h ysteresis loss The internal power supply supports all international voltages and has generous margins f or over and under v oltage conditions. It provides cleanest pow er for cleanest sound with ex cellent immunity to noise on the AC line . Minimal Clock Jitter with Asynchronous Data T ransfer: Most USB audio uses Synchronous Data Tr ansfer mode to adjust internal clock t o compensate diî erent data transf er rate between PC and USB A udio Device. However , the jitter is worse if the transf er rate is a lot diî erent between PC and Device . F or the Essence One Series, the USB DA C monitors the PC clock transfer speed and adjusts the data transfer speed ac cordingly based on a buîer sta tus to the system. When the PC clock is îring too fast, this is regulat ed and the data transfer f eed is adjusted to slow down and vic e versa. This greatly improves the pr ecision of digital audio and provides more detail with less list ening fatigue. Bit-per fect with ASIO 2.2 driver: Bit-perfect mode allows user to use ASIO or similar function while doing audio playback, avoiding an y sample rate con version being done by PCâ s operating system. This feature keeps audio contents of all r esolutions being played as its original sample rat e without any potential quality loss during sample rate c onversion. The ASIO 2.2 driver simpliîes the proc ess of multiple audio streams, bypassing la tency issues in Window s, to deliv er a low-latency , high îdelity sound île that is identical to the original audio île. Dedicated volume c ontrols: Most USB DACs on the market only comes with one or no v olume control f or both headphone and speaker . This pr events user from keeping their fa vorite volume lev el and has to keep adjusting volume when switching between devic es. Not to mention that a careless move can easily cause damage t o your headphones. The Essence One Series has an independent volume contr ol for headphone and speaker such that user can keep their favorite v olume level without switching back and f orth when listening to diîer ent output devices. T oslink and Coaxial S/PDIF inputs: The Essence One Series is îtted with both Coaxial and T oslink inputs, enabling connection of multiple sources. The digital inputs accept data formats a t sample rates up to 192 kHz. Balanced XLR output: Essence One Series also features balanc ed (XLR) outputs. This is a higher quality output that is useful for eliminating un wanted noises and interference . Since a balanced line contains two signal carrying conductors of equal magnitude but opposite polarity, noises induced along the cable path cancel each other out when they reach the destination load. This makes balanced lines the professional applications f or long cable connection which induced noises might be a problem. XLR connectors should be wired as follows: Pin 1- Ground; P in 2- Hot (in-phase); Pin 3- C old (phase-inverted).
9 ASUS Essence One Series Product Line Up Essence ONE Essence ONE PLUS EDITION Essence ONE MUSES EDITION Essence ONE MKII Essence ONE MKII MUSES EDITION Key A udience Entry-level audiophiles Op-Amp lovers and DIY adventurers HI-FI adventurers Entry-level audiophiles HI-FI adventurers Key F ocus Desire to enjoy high îdelity music on both headphone and speaker Desire to DIY and customize sound based on personal prefer ences Desire to experience high îdelity music with world known Muse01 Op- Amp Desire to enjoy high îdelity music on both headphone and speaker Desire to experience high îdelity music with world known Muse01 Op- Amp Audio Clarity 120dB SNR Hi-Fi audio clarity Audio Pr ecision Ultra jitter-free îdelity with asynchronous USB audio int erface Op-Amp Selection & T onal Customiza tion Customizable tone characters with 11 swappable Op- Amps, focusing on 6 key Op- Amps Op-Amp T weaking Kit with additional TI-2132 (4 pcs) and NS-4562 (2 pcs) and tweaking tool set Unimaginably heart-touching and spacious sound powered by MUSES 01 Op-Amp (6 pcs) Customizable tone characters with 11 swappable Op- Amps, focusing on 6 key Op- Amps Unimaginably heart-touching and spacious sound powered by MUSES 01 Op-Amp (6 pcs) Po werful Headphone Ampliîer Headphone ampliîer for up to 600ohm headphone impedance Clean Po wer Dedicated linear power supply Additional Fea tures 8X Upsampling to 384kHz -- -- -- Native DSD Support via DOP Native DSD Support via DOP Design Highlights Po wer Management â¢î High-î¶delityîLDOîRegulationî Using the highly regarded LDO r egulators, the po wer source is r egulated twice to reduce heat ener gy and ensure stable power . â¢î RobustîCapacitorî WIMA FKP2 capacitor serves as a stable water reservoir for stabilizing po wer source , hence reducing ripples. â¢î T oroidalîtransf ormerî Specially designed toroidal transf ormer to reduce h yster esis loss and prevent easy worn-out.
10 ASUS Essence One Series Signal Management â¢î 4-LayerîHyperîgr oundingîwithîbalancedîdesignî 4 layer PCB boar d for separating Digital and Analog sig nals on diîeren t grounds and heat source . Not only are the analog and digital signals ar e on diîerent la yers, it is sandwiched in between multiple ground lay ers to further prevent signal interferences. â¢î Asynchronousîdataîtr ansfer PC uses a diîerent clock sy stem than E3 and hence a buîer will monit or the data speed such that when the PC clock is îring too fast, this is regulat ed and the data transfer f eed is adjusted to slow down. This greatly impro ves the precision of digital audio and provides more detail with less list ening fatigue. â¢î 384kHz/î24Bitî8XîUpsamplingî T echnolo gyîî While common upsampling USB DA Cs just transfer wha tever audio sourc e to 192kHz indistinguishably , Essence One Series upsamples 44.1/88.2 /176.4kHz input to 352.8kHz and 48/96/192kHz input to 384kHz in a symmetrical way, pr eserving the originality of your music collection. It also upsamples bit-rate to 32bit corresponding to the original con tents. (Note: 44.1x8=352.8kHz; 48x8=384kHz) NO TES: â¢î Sampleîrateîisîtheînumberîofîsamplesîofîaudioîcarriedîperîsecond ,î measured in Hz or kHz (one kHz being 1,000 H z). The more samples per second (the higher the "sample rate"), the better the quality . â¢î Bitîrateîmeasur esîhowîmuchîdataîisîtransmittedîinîaîg ivenîamountîofî time. The higher the bit rate, the higher the quality of the audio playback and the larger the île. â¢î Upsamplingîisîtheîproc essîofîincreasingîtheîsamplingîrateîofîaîsignal .î F or instance, upsampling rast er images such as photographs means increasing the resolution of the image . â¢î Ther efore ,îupsamplingîbothîsampleîrateîandîbitîrat eîwillîmakeîyourî audio source sound clearer . â¢î CustomîResist orîwithîhighîtemperatureîandîhea tîtoleranc eî 0.1% tolerance and high toler ance for tempera ture changes with /-0.5ppm/Celsius with ultra-low noise and better stability . â¢î DCîServoîtoîreducingîDCîbiasing:îî The DC servo design helps to reduce decoupling and this helps t o extend bass per formance with richer and deeper sounds. Ease of Use & C ustomization â¢î DSDîSupportî DSD Support for USB 2.0
11 ASUS Essence One Series â¢î BitîPerfectîModeî Bit-perfect mode allows user to use ASIO or similar function while doing audio playback, avoiding any sample r ate conv ersion being done by PCâ s operating system. This feature keeps audio conten ts of all resolutions being played as its original sample rate without an y potential quality loss during sample rate conv ersion. NO TE : When you run bit-perfect in W indows , the âBIT PERFEC T â LED in the front panel will light up . Component Selection â¢î DA C:î TIîPCM1795:îExcellen tîdynamicîper formanceî(123dBîdynamicîrange)îandî improved t olerance to clock jitter â¢î DSP:îADIîADSP -21261îHigh-per formanceîaudioîprocessingîcapabilitiesîandîstr ongî reliability for handling upsampling and DSD support â¢î WIMAîFKP2/FKS2:îHighîtemperatureît oleranceîwithîrobustîperformanceî â¢î SwappableîOp-amps:îNE5532 â¢î SwappableîOp-amps:îLM4562î(forîSpeakerîout)î â¢î SwappableîOp-amps:îLME49720NAî(forîHeadphoneîout) â¢î HeadphoneîAmpliî¶er:îNSîLME49600TSî(forîHeadphoneîout)î P ackage conten ts This package should contain the following: â¢î EssenceîOneîSeriesîHi-FiîUSBîDA Cîxî1 â¢î USBîcableî(âB-A â îtype)îxî1 â¢î Po werîcordîxî1î(Someîv ersionsîmayîhaveî2îpo werîcordsîf orîdiî²er entîcountries) â¢î 6.3mmîtoî3.5mmîadaptorîxî1 â¢î Quickîstartîguideîxî1 â¢î Userîguideîxî1 â¢î AudioîP recisionî(AP)îtestîr eportîxî1 â¢î InstallationîdriverîCDîxî1 NO TE : The package contents vary with models. Refer to the package contents f or each model on ASUS website at www .asus.com
12 ASUS Essence One Series Sy stem requir ements T o ensure a successful installation of the ASUS Essence One Series USB D AC, your computer must meet the follo wing requirements: â¢î IBMîcompatibleîPCîwithîoneîUSB2.0î(orîhigher)îcompatibleîportîforîtheîUSBîaudioî device â¢î Microsoft ® Window s ® XP/7/8/8.1 (32/64 Bit) / MacOSX 10.6 â¢î Intel ® Pen tium ® 4 1.4GHz or AMD Athlon 1400 CPU or faster CPU â¢î 256îMBîDRAMîsystemîmemory â¢î 60îMBîavailableîHDDîspaceîf orîdriverîinstallationîpackage â¢î CD-ROMîdriveî(orîDVD-R OMîdrive)îforîsoftwareîinstallation â¢î High- qualityîheadphonesîorîpoweredîanalogîspeakersît oîenjoyîtheîultra-highî îdelity sound of the card Driver installa tion After connecting ASUS Essence One Series with your computer by the bundled USB cable, you need t o install the device driver that enables the Essence One Series to work with Window s operating system. NO TES: â¢î Theîdriverîisîonlyîneededîwhenîy ouîconnectîASUSîEssenceîOneîSeriesî with PC/NB. â¢î Theîv ersionîandîcontentîofîtheîsupportîCDîareîsubjectîtoîchangeîwithoutî notice. T o install the device driver: 1. Inser t the ASUS Essence One Series support CD into your optical drive. If Autorun is enabled, the ASUS Essence One Series driver screen appears aut omatically . Go to step 4. If Autorun is not enabled in your c omputer , per form step 2. 2. Click My Computer on y our desktop and double- click the optical drive icon. 3. Double -click the setup.e xe icon loca ted on the optical drive. 4. F ollow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation. Read the END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT in the pr ocess and make sure that y ou understand and accept it befor e continuing the installation. 5. When the installation înishes, y ou may be prompted t o restart your computer . Y ou can choose to restart the computer later if desired .
13 ASUS Essence One Series F unctionality 1. USB DA C ( D igital-to-Analog C onv ertor) Clear , detailed, life -like sound for y our digital music collection in PC/NB, with all the connection(XLR, RCA) you need for end devices. Steps: â¢î ConnectîPC/NBîwithîanîUSBîcableî â¢î NeedîtoîinstallîdriverîinîyourîPC/NBîtoîwork â¢î Selec tî âUSBâ îinîfrontîpanelîasîtheîinputîsourc e USB or NB PC
14 ASUS Essence One Series 2. Stand alone D A C With S/PDIF in and input select, it also serves as an independent DAC which c onnects with digital inputs such as CD audio source and then pla ys to the end devices. Steps: â¢î ConnectîwithîotherîaudioîresourceîwithîS/PDIFîinputî(byîCoaxial/Opticalîcable) â¢î Selec tîCO Aî(coaxialîinput)îorî T OSî(opticalîinput)îinîtheîfrontîpanelîasîtheîinputî source 3. Headphone ampliîer Grants 100% performance of ALL hi-end headphones, even with impedance up to 600ohms, pro viding extra dynamics and sound details. Steps: â¢î Connectîwithîhigh- qualityîheadphones/headsets UNBALANCED OUTPUT BALANCED OUTPUT DIGITAL INPUT USB L R R L T OSLINK COAXIAL VOLT AGE SELECTOR AC IN 230 S/PDIF CD/DVD player
15 ASUS Essence One Series F ront P anel Xonar Essence One HEADPHONE VOLUME VOLUME BIT PERFECT 192 96 88.2 48 44.1 176.4 _ _ MUTE INPUT USB TOS COA UPSAMPLING POWER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 9 1. Po wer On/Oî Press t o turn on and again to turn oî . 2. Upsampling function on/oî (1) Press to turn on the upsampling function which increases sample rate to 352.8 or 384kHz symmetrically and bit rate to 32bit (2) When the upsampling func tion is turn on, the LED light of Bit perfect / sample rate indicator will ligh t oî . NO TE : For models EONE MKII/ EONE Muses MKII , the upsampling LED indicator turns red when the DSD function is on. Under the DSD mode, the upsampling mode is disabled. 3. Input selection Press t o select among USB, T oslink or Coaxial Inputs. The corresponding LED will light up to show which sourc e has been selected. 4. Mute Press t o mute headphone and speaker output; again to unmute . 5. Speaker V olume control The V olume Contr ol controls the output lev el of the balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA analog outputs. 6. Bit per fect / sample rate indicat or (1) The relevant LED will light up to indicate the sample r ate of your audio sourc e (44.1kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kH z, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz, and 192 kH z) (2) Bit per fect: light on under ASIO model 7. Headphone V olume control The V olume Contr ol is used to contr ol the output levels of the headphone jacks. 8. 1/4â Headphone output Connect your high-quality headphones/headsets with 6.3mm connector (Please use the attached 6.3mm to 3.5mm connector if your headphones/headsets ar e of 3.5 mm ports)
16 ASUS Essence One Series 9. Set screws These 4 screws ar e used to hold the machine bed (including PCB board and pow er module) and machine housing together . For repairâ s sake, ASUS technicians may need a small screwdriver t o loosen the 4 screws to r emove the fron t panel and then draw the machine bed out for checking PCB board (or pow er module). UNBALANCED OUTPUT BALANCED OUTPUT DIGITAL INPUT USB L R R L TOSLINK COAXIAL VOLT AGE SELECTOR AC IN 230 1 2 3 4 6 7 5 1. Unbalanced RCA Output (line -out) Conv entional stereo outputs f or connection to the line-level phono/RCA inputs of a speaker NO TES: â¢î Mostîaudioîequipmentîhasîunbalancedîaudioîinputsîandîoutputs.î Thisî means that the audio output (left, right, or mono) appears on a single wire, and is r eferenc ed to â0V â or âGroundâ . T ypical connectors used are RCA âphono â connectors and 1/4â (6.3mm) or 1/8â (3.5mm) jack plugs/ sockets. â¢î Unbalancedîaudioîw orksîwellîforîshortîcableîrunsîinîlowînoiseî environments . F or long distances connection or complex setups where RF noise may be a problem, Balanced XLR Output is r ecommended to eliminate unwan ted noises. 2. Balanced XLR Output(line- out) ASUS Essence One Series also features true balanc ed (XLR) outputs. Connect Essence One Series with equipment such as speakers of Balanced XLR connections. NO TES: â¢î Aîlotîofîprof essionalîequipmentîwillîhaveîbalanc edîaudioîinputsîandî outputs, usually on 3-pin âXLR â connectors. The line is said to be balanced since the two signal carrying conductors are of equal (though opposite) potential. â¢î BalancedîXLRîOutputîisîaîhigherîqualityîoutputîthatîcanîrejectînoiseîandî interference with equipment with balanced inputs , especially per fect for long cable runs or anywhere that induced noises might be a pr oblem Rear P anel
17 ASUS Essence One Series 3. Coaxial S/PDIF Input Connect your digital sourc e, such as CD/DVD play ers or computer with S/PDIF output, to digital input. Use either S/PDIF c oaxial or T oslink optical type, each being of equal quality . 4. T oslink Optical Input As mentioned in point 3, this port is for T oslink Optical I nput. NO TES: â¢î BothîCoaxialîandî T oslinkîI nputsîcanîbeîusedîtoîconnectîandîrunî equipment at the same time â¢î Thisîunitîonlyîacc eptsîtwo- channelîLPCMîdigitalîaudioî(e.g .îDolbyîDigitalî 2.0). Y ou cannot connect a D olby Digital 5.1 or a D TS signal as they will not be recogniz ed. If you wish to connect a DVD or similar device, please ensure that the sound output of your pla yer is set to two-channel PCM. 5. USB port Connect a PC via a T ype B to Type A USB lead . NO TES: â¢î TheîEssenceîOneîSeries â sîoperationîisîindependentîofîyourîPCîsoundcard-î it will operate whether your PC has a soundcar d or not. Please select Essence One Series as the default audio playback device in your syst em. This can be conîrmed in the Contr ol P anelâ s Sounds, Speech and Audio Devices properties window under the V olume tab. â¢î Y ouîneedîtoîinstallîtheîdeviceîdriverîthatîenablesîtheîEssenceîOneîSeriesî to work with W indows operating sy stem. 6. V oltage selection (115/230V ) Always insur e that the voltage setting is correct for y our locality . See page 4 â V oltage Selectionâ for more inf ormation. 7. Po wer port (A C in) Plug the supplied power adapt or into the Essence One Series once you hav e completed all connections.
18 ASUS Essence One Series C onnections Input 1. NB/PC-USB connections NO TE: Do not turn on the machine until all connections have been made. (1) Connect a USB âBâA â t ype lead (as illustrated at left) from the Essenc e One Seriesâ s USB input to one of the USB ports on the PC/NB. (2) T urn on the Essence One Series using the front panel On/Oî switch and make sure that the USB input is selected (USB LED lit). (3) Install the device driver that enables the Essence One Series to work with W indows operating system. USB or NB PC
19 ASUS Essence One Series NO TES: â¢î TheîPCâ sîpreviousîaudioîoutputîdeviceîshouldînowîbeîtempor arilyî disabled and the Essence One Series becomes the default audio playback device for the PC/NB . This can be conîrmed in the C ontrol P anelâ s Sounds, Speech and Audio Devices pr operties window under the V olume tab. â¢î IfîyouîwishîtoîdisconnectîyourîEssenceîOneîSeriesîandîreturnît oîusingî your previous soundcar d, etc., simply disc onnect it or switch oî the power on the fron t panel. If the PC fails to disable the Essence One Series and automatically re-enable your default soundcard, you can manually disable the Essence One Series in the hardware device manager . T o do this, navigat e to the Device Manager (click Start â Control P anel â ( Vista: Performance and Maintenance â) S ystem â Hardwar eâ D evice Manager in Windows XP). Scr oll down the device manager window and expand the heading Sound, Video and Game C ontrollers to display a list of the connected devices. The Essence One Series will be listed as â ASUS Essence One Seriesâ . Click on this description to highlight in blue and then click on the Disable icon at the top of the window . A warning message will appear: âDisabling this device will cause it to stop functioning. Do you really want t o disable it?â Click Y es to disable the Essence One Series. The pr evious audio playback device will now be r e - instated by Windows. 2. T oslink and Coaxial S/PDIF audio input c onnections UNBALANCED OUTPUT BALANCED OUTPUT DIGITAL INPUT USB L R R L T OSLINK COAXIAL VOLTAGE SELECT OR AC IN 230 S/PDIF CD/DVD player (1) Connect your digital sourc e (ex. CD/DVD players or some PC/NB with SPDIF output) to Digital Input. Either S/P DIF Coaxial or T oslink optical types can be used, each being of equal quality . NO TE: Both Coaxial and T oslink I nputs can be used to connect and run equipment at the same time.
20 ASUS Essence One Series Output 1. With A mpliîer and Passiv e Speaker S ystem (1) Use either the unbalanced (RCA/Phono) or balanced (XLR) outputs of the Essence One Series to connect unbalanced or balanced inputs of an ampliîer . (2) Connect the ampliîer with a Passiv e Speaker System. NO TE: It is possible to use the RCA phono connec tions and the XLR balanced connections at the same time, e.g . for connecting to diî erent ampliîers or multi-room operations . However , no same audio quality is guaranteed as using RCA and XLR output non-simultaneously . Amplifier Passive Speaker System L R L R Unbalanced Input Balanced Input UNBALANCED OUTPUT BALANCED OUTPUT DIGITAL INPUT USB L R R L TOSLINK COAXIAL VOLT AGE SELECTOR AC IN 230 Option #2: XLR connection Option #1: RCA connection
21 ASUS Essence One Series 2. With A ctive Speaker directly (1) Connect Essence One Series with a set of active speakers directly. 3. With H eadphone/Headset (1) Connect Essence One Series with high-qualit y headphones/headsets directly . UNBALANCED OUTPUT BALANCED OUTPUT DIGITAL INPUT USB L R R L TOSLINK COAXIAL VOLT AGE SELECTOR AC IN 230 Active speaker
22 ASUS Essence One Series Speciîcations Items Description Audio P erformance Output Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A- W eighted): 120dB Output T otal Harmonic Distortion Noise at 1kHz@-3dB (A -W eighted): -110dB Output/Input Full-Scale V oltage Balanced Output: 4Vrms Unbalanced Output: 2Vrms Headphone: 7Vrms Frequency Response (-3dB, 24-bit/192kHz output ): <10Hz to 48kHz Bus Compatibility USB USB 2.0 High speed S/PDIF IEC 60958 Main Chipset Audio Pr ocessor C-Media CM6631/ CM6631A S/PDFI Receiver AKM 4113 DSP ADI ADSP-21261 D-A Conv erter for Analog Inputs TI PCM1795 OP Amp Headphone I/V: NE5532 LPF: NE5532 Current Buî er: LME49600 Balanced / Un-balanced I/V NE5532 Balanced / Un-balanced LFP NE5532 Clock Crystal clock 12MHz For USB 24.576MHz For S/PDIF Oscillator 45.1584MHz (for 44.1, 88.2, 176.4KHz sample rate) 49.152MHz (For 48, 96, 192KHz sample rate) Sample Rate and Resolution Analog Playback Sample Rate and Resolution 44.1K/48K/88.2K/96K/176.4K/192KHz @ 16/24bit Upsampling capability Up to 352.8kHz (44.1/88.2 /176.4kHz input) or 384kHz (48/96/192kHz input), 32bit I/O Ports Output Jack: Balanced Output (XLR) Unbalanced Output (Dual RCA) 6.3mm Jack headphone output Metal with plated gold, black housing continued on the next page
23 ASUS Essence One Series Speciîcations * Specifications are subject to change without notice. Input Jack: USB jack Coaxial / T oslink jack Metal with plated gold, black housing Po wer Input Jack: IEC AC Inlet V olume controller Balanced Output: Quad Units T aper B Potentiometer Headphone Output: Quad Units T aper B Potentiometer V oltage Selector AC 115V/223V Slide Switch Acc essories Acc essories USB cable (âB-A â t ype) x1 Po wer cord x1 (Some versions ma y have 2 pow er cords for diîerent c ountries) 6.3mm to 3.5mm adaptor x1 Quick Start Guide x1 User Guide x1 Installation driver CD x1
Essence One Series Hi-Fi U SB DA C (Digital-to-Analo g Con ver ter) Opamp Sw ap Guide
25 ASUS Essence One Series 1. Disassembly 1. Loosen the four scr ews in the front panel and the two scr ews in the rear panel with a screwdriver . Essence One HEADPHONE VOLUME VOLUME BIT PERFECT 192 96 88.2 48 44.1 176.4 _ _ MUTE INPUT USB TOS COA UPSAMPLING POWER UNBALANCED OUTPUT BALANCED OUTPUT DIGIT AL INPUT USB L R R L TOSLINK COAXIAL VOLT AGE SELECTOR AC IN 230 Fr ont Panel Rear Panel 2. Push the pow er connector on the rear panel to remo ve the machine bed (including the PCB board and power module) fr om the machine housing. UNBALANCED OUTPUT BALANCED OUTPUT DIGIT AL INPUT USB L R R L TOSLINK COAXIAL VOLT AGE SELECTOR AC IN 230 2. Sw ap Guide Change all the OP-amps of the same types in the same slot. F or example, if you need to change D AC I/V (slot 1), you w ould need to change all the OP- amps of the same types in all slot 1. If you need to change DAC buî er (slot 2), you need to change the OP -amps of the same types in all slot 2.
26 ASUS Essence One Series All outputs (Headphone output, RCA output, XLR output) Headphone output RCA output XLR output 1 â 2 â 3A â 3B â 4 â 4 4 4 1 1 1 1 2 2 3B 3B 3A 1. Ser ves as I/V (current t o voltage conv ertor) that turns current from DA C into voltage for output purpose . Changing this will aîect all outputs (including Headphone output, RCA output and XLR output). 2. Ser ves as L ow P ass Filt er that îlters background noises . Changing this will aîect all outputs (including Headphone output, RCA output and XLR output). 3A. Ser ves as buîer tha t enhances the output signal for the speaker . Changing this will aîect the RCA output. 3B. Ser ves as buîer tha t enhances the output signal for the speaker . Changing this will aîect the XLR output 4. Ser ves as buîer tha t enhances the output signal for the headphone . Changing this will aîect the headphone output. Output Opamp
27 ASUS Essence One Series Recommended OP amp List Brand Model name NS LME49860 NS LME49720NA NS LM4562NA TI OP A2111 TI OP A2132 TI OP A2107 ADI OP275 ADI AD823 NJRC MUSE01 NJRC MUSE02 Sound Impression DA C I/V Slot 1 DA C buîer Slot 2 Sound Impression TI â OP A2107 TI â OP A2132 Brighter vocal, slightly less booming sound TI â OP A2107 NS â LME49860 Even brighter than the abov e combination, and more detailed with less but tighter booming sound NS â LME49720 NS â LM4562NA Less warm than stock OP -amps, more extensive detailed and dampened mid-range, Essence ST/STX style NS â LM4562NA NS â LM4562NA Wider sound stage but less detailed than the abo ve combination NS â LM4562NA NJRC â MUSE02 Powerful, punchy sound with good sound stage; less detailed present. NS â LME49720NA NJRC â MUSE02 Brighter , thinner sound and more detailed than the above combination The following table lists the sound impr ession brought by diî erent combina tions of op-amp pairing.
Essence One Series A udio Pr ecision T est Repor t V ersion 1.0 2011/07/01 â¢î Disclaimer:î Theîinformationîandîc ontentsîcontainedîinîthisît estîreportîareîforîEssenceî One Series user â s referenc e only and may not be altered in an y manner . T est results may vary with diîerent testing en vironment and equipment.
29 ASUS Essence One Series Audio P recision T est Repor t T est Signals: 96KHz, 24bit (192KHz, 24bit for frequency response test) Noise Lev el (SNR~120dB) Au di o Pr ec isio n 07 /1 5/ 11 1 0:34 :2 0 A -A FFT SPECTRU M AN AL YS IS -160 0 -140 -120 -100 -8 0 -6 0 -4 0 -2 0 d B r A 2k 24 k 4k 6k 8k 10 k 12 k 14 k 16 k 18 k 20 k 22 k Hz Fr equency Response Au di o Pr ec is io n 07 /1 5/ 11 1 1: 11 :4 9 -5 0 -4 -3 -2 -1 d B r B -5 0 -4 -3 -2 -1 d B r A 10 50 k 20 50 10 0 20 0 50 0 1k 2k 5k 10 k 20 k Hz
30 ASUS Essence One Series THD N F ull Band (-114~-110dB for 20~20KHz) Au di o Pr ec isio n 07 /1 5/ 11 1 0: 40 :5 4 -120 0 -110 -100 -9 0 -8 0 -7 0 -6 0 -5 0 -4 0 -3 0 -2 0 -1 0 d B r A 20 20 k 50 10 0 20 0 50 0 1k 2k 5k 10 k Hz THD N 1KHz 0.0003% (-110dB) @997Hz Au di o Pr ec isio n 07 /1 5/ 11 1 0:37 :2 5 A -A FFT SPECTRU M AN ALYSI S -160 0 -140 -120 -100 -8 0 -6 0 -4 0 -2 0 d B r A 2k 24 k 4k 6k 8k 10 k 12 k 14 k 16 k 18 k 20 k 22 k Hz
31 ASUS Essence One Series Dynamic Range (~120dB) Au di o Pr ec isio n 07 /1 5/ 11 1 0: 35 :3 8 A -A FFT SPECTRU M AN ALYSI S -160 0 -140 -120 -100 -8 0 -6 0 -4 0 -2 0 d B r A 2k 24 k 4k 6k 8k 10 k 12 k 14 k 16 k 18 k 20 k 22 k Hz Crosstalk -132dB @ 1KHz -142~-115dB for 20~20KHz Lef t Au di o Pr ec is io n 07 /1 5/ 11 1 0: 46 :2 0 -160 0 -140 -120 -100 -8 0 -6 0 -4 0 -2 0 d B 20 20 k 50 10 0 20 0 50 0 1k 2k 5k 10 k Hz
32 ASUS Essence One Series Right Au di o Pr ec is io n 07 /1 5/ 11 10: 48 :3 0 -180 0 -160 -140 -120 -100 -8 0 -6 0 -4 0 -2 0 d B 20 20 k 50 10 0 20 0 50 0 1k 2k 5k 10 k Hz Appendix: Glossar y â¢î NoiseîLev elî The level of an y undesired system noise signals o ver the audio spectrum, including AC mains hum, white noises, stra y magnetic îeld, etc . â¢î SNRî Signal-to-Noise Ratio, the ratio of the maximum amplitude sig nal to the sum of the noise energy . The higher , the better . â¢î THD Nî T otal Harmonic Distor tion plus Noise, measur ed by attenuating the fundamental signal with a narrow band notch îlter , then measuring the remaining signal which consists of harmonics of various order . T his implies the linearity of the audio converter and the lower , the better . â¢î Fr equencyîResponseî A measure of a device â s ability to respond to a îx ed input voltage, at diî erent input frequencies, and the diî erence in amplitude r eproduced for each fr equency. The îatter curve at wider frequency range is better . â¢î DynamicîRangeî The diîer ence, usually expr essed in dB, between the highest and low est amplitude portions of a signal which a device can linearly handle. Ideally it should be very close to SNR value and the higher , the better . â¢î Crosstalkî Unwanted sig nal coupling from another channel of ster eo or multi-channel transmission. The lo wer value is better .