Essence One Series Hi-Fi USB DAC (Digital-to-Anolog Converter) User Guide
E9117 First Edition February 2014 Copyright © 2014 ASUSTeK Computer Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this manual, including the products and software described in it, may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form or by any means, except documentation kept by the purchaser for backup purposes, without the express written permission of ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. (“ASUS”).
Contents Safety Information....................................................................... 4 Voltage Selection.......................................................................................4 Repairs .......................................................................................................4 Fuses ...........................................................................................................4 Other Safety Information....................................................
Safety Information For your own safety please read the following important safety instructions carefully before attempting to connect this unit to the mains power supply. They will also enable you to get the best performance from and prolong the life of the unit. Voltage Selection The rear panel includes a voltage selection switch with two settings: ‘115’ and ‘230’. Check to see that it is properly configured for your location before connecting AC power.
Other Safety Information 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Read and keep these instructions for future reference. Follow all instructions and take note of all warnings. Do not use this apparatus near water or expose the device to moisture. Clean machine surface with a cloth. Avoid using detergent or cleaning fluid. Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. 6.
Philosophy We at ASUS, recognizing that computers and digital devices are 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 foundation through gradual growth, making it possible to move into 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.
Aesthetically Pleasing ASUS is well known for its quality control, but beyond the hard and cold facts of humidity storage and drop test, there’s the soft appeal and the intrinsic properties that we look into when it comes to material selection. Whether it is sweat-proof and finger print free surface finish, an elegant color palette or smooth curvatures, it is our commitment to bring a state-of art audio with innovative material application and usage.
Dedicated internal linear power supply ensures the cleanest audio A clean power source is crucial for ensuring minimal supply contamination and consistent power delivery. The toroidal comes with a specially designed silicon strip to prevent hysteresis loss The internal power supply supports all international voltages and has generous margins for over and under voltage conditions. It provides cleanest power for cleanest sound with excellent immunity to noise on the AC line.
Product Line Up Essence Essence ONE Essence ONE ONE MUSES PLUS EDITION MKII EDITION Op-Amp Entry-level HI-FI Entry-level Key Audience lovers and DIY audiophiles adventurers audiophiles adventurers Desire to Desire to enjoy Desire to enjoy Desire to DIY experience high fidelity high fidelity and customize high fidelity music on both music on both sound based music with Key Focus on personal world known headphone headphone and speaker and speaker preferences Muse01 OpAmp Audio Clarity 120dB SNR Hi-Fi audio cl
Signal Management • 4-Layer Hyper grounding with balanced design 4 layer PCB board for separating Digital and Analog signals on different grounds and heat source. Not only are the analog and digital signals are on different layers, it is sandwiched in between multiple ground layers to further prevent signal interferences.
• Bit Perfect Mode Bit-perfect mode allows user to use ASIO or similar function while doing audio playback, avoiding any sample rate conversion being done by PC’s operating system. This feature keeps audio contents of all resolutions being played as its original sample rate without any potential quality loss during sample rate conversion. NOTE: When you run bit-perfect in Windows, the “BIT PERFECT” LED in the front panel will light up.
System requirements To ensure a successful installation of the ASUS Essence One Series USB DAC, your computer must meet the following requirements: • IBM compatible PC with one USB2.0 (or higher) compatible port for the USB audio device • Microsoft® Windows® XP/7/8/8.1 (32/64 Bit) / MacOSX 10.6 • Intel® Pentium® 4 1.
Functionality 1. USB DAC ( Digital-to-Analog Convertor) Clear, detailed, life-like sound for your digital music collection in PC/NB, with all the connection(XLR, RCA) you need for end devices.
2. Stand alone DAC With S/PDIF in and input select, it also serves as an independent DAC which connects with digital inputs such as CD audio source and then plays to the end devices. Steps: • Connect with other audio resource with S/PDIF input (by Coaxial/Optical cable) • Select COA (coaxial input) or TOS (optical input) in the front panel as the input source CD/DVD player S/PDIF COAXIAL L 230 R UNBALANCED OUTPUT R BALANCED OUTPUT L TOSLINK USB DIGITAL INPUT VOLTAGE SELECTOR AC IN 3.
Front Panel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 BIT PERFECT Xonar Essence One 192 176.4 COA 96 TOS 88.2 USB POWER UPSAMPLING INPUT MUTE 48 _ VOLUME + 44.1 _ HEADPHONE VOLUME + 9 9 1. Power On/Off Press to turn on and again to turn off. 2. Upsampling function on/off (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 function is turn on, the LED light of Bit perfect / sample rate indicator will light off.
9. Set screws These 4 screws are used to hold the machine bed (including PCB board and power module) and machine housing together. For repair’s sake, ASUS technicians may need a small screwdriver to loosen the 4 screws to remove the front panel and then draw the machine bed out for checking PCB board (or power module). Rear Panel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 COAXIAL L 230 R UNBALANCED OUTPUT R BALANCED OUTPUT 1.
3. Coaxial S/PDIF Input Connect your digital source, such as CD/DVD players or computer with S/PDIF output, to digital input. Use either S/PDIF coaxial or Toslink optical type, each being of equal quality. 4. Toslink Optical Input As mentioned in point 3, this port is for Toslink Optical Input. NOTES: • Both Coaxial and Toslink Inputs can be used to connect and run equipment at the same time • This unit only accepts two-channel LPCM digital audio (e.g. Dolby Digital 2.0).
Connections Input 1. NB/PC-USB connections NOTE: Do not turn on the machine until all connections have been made. or PC NB USB (1) Connect a USB ‘B–A’ type lead (as illustrated at left) from the Essence One Series’s USB input to one of the USB ports on the PC/NB. (2) Turn on the Essence One Series using the front panel On/Off 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 Windows operating system.
NOTES: • The PC’s previous audio output device should now be temporarily disabled and the Essence One Series becomes the default audio playback device for the PC/NB. This can be confirmed in the Control Panel’s Sounds, Speech and Audio Devices properties window under the Volume tab. • If you wish to disconnect your Essence One Series and return to using your previous soundcard, etc., simply disconnect it or switch off the power on the front panel.
Output 1. With Amplifier and Passive Speaker System COAXIAL L 230 R UNBALANCED OUTPUT R BALANCED OUTPUT Option #1: RCA connection L TOSLINK USB DIGITAL INPUT VOLTAGE SELECTOR AC IN Option #2: XLR connection Unbalanced Input L R R Balanced Input L Amplifier Passive Speaker System (1) Use either the unbalanced (RCA/Phono) or balanced (XLR) outputs of the Essence One Series to connect unbalanced or balanced inputs of an amplifier. (2) Connect the amplifier with a Passive Speaker System.
2. With Active Speaker directly COAXIAL L 230 R UNBALANCED OUTPUT R BALANCED OUTPUT L TOSLINK USB DIGITAL INPUT VOLTAGE SELECTOR AC IN Active speaker (1) Connect Essence One Series with a set of active speakers directly. 3. With Headphone/Headset (1) Connect Essence One Series with high-quality headphones/headsets directly.
Specifications Items Description Audio Performance Output Signal-to-Noise Ratio 120dB (A-Weighted): Output Total Harmonic Distortion + -110dB Noise at 1kHz@-3dB (A-Weighted): Balanced Output: 4Vrms Output/Input Full-Scale Voltage Unbalanced Output: 2Vrms Headphone: 7Vrms Frequency Response (-3dB, <10Hz to 48kHz 24-bit/192kHz output ): Bus Compatibility USB USB 2.
Specifications Input Jack: Power Input Jack: Volume controller Voltage Selector Accessories Accessories USB jack Coaxial / Toslink jack Metal with plated gold, black housing IEC AC Inlet Balanced Output: Quad Units Taper B Potentiometer Headphone Output: Quad Units Taper B Potentiometer AC 115V/223V Slide Switch USB cable (‘B-A’ type) x1 Power cord x1 (Some versions may have 2 power cords for different countries) 6.3mm to 3.
Essence One Series Hi-Fi USB DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter) Opamp Swap Guide
1. Disassembly 1. Loosen the four screws in the front panel and the two screws in the rear panel with a screwdriver. Front Panel BIT PERFECT Essence One 192 176.4 COA 96 TOS 88.2 USB POWER UPSAMPLING INPUT MUTE 48 _ + VOLUME 44.1 _ HEADPHONE VOLUME + Rear Panel COAXIAL L 230 R UNBALANCED OUTPUT R L TOSLINK BALANCED OUTPUT 2.
1 3A 2 4 1 3B 4 1 4 2 3B 1 1. Serves as I/V (current to voltage convertor) that turns current from DAC into voltage for output purpose. Changing this will affect all outputs (including Headphone output, RCA output and XLR output). 2. Serves as Low Pass Filter that filters background noises. Changing this will affect all outputs (including Headphone output, RCA output and XLR output). 3A. Serves as buffer that enhances the output signal for the speaker. Changing this will affect the RCA output. 3B.
Recommended OPamp List Brand Model name NS LME49860 NS LME49720NA NS LM4562NA TI OPA2111 TI OPA2132 TI OPA2107 ADI OP275 ADI AD823 NJRC MUSE01 NJRC MUSE02 Sound Impression The following table lists the sound impression brought by different combinations of op-amp pairing.
Essence One Series Audio Precision Test Report Version 1.0 2011/07/01 • Disclaimer: The information and contents contained in this test report are for Essence One Series user’s reference only and may not be altered in any manner. Test results may vary with different testing environment and equipment.
Audio Precision Test Report Test Signals: 96KHz, 24bit (192KHz, 24bit for frequency response test) Noise Level (SNR~120dB) Audio Precision A-A FFT SPECTRUM ANALYSIS 07/15/11 10:34:20 +0 -20 -40 d B r A -60 -80 -100 -120 -140 -160 2k 4k 6k 8k 10k 12k 14k 16k 18k 20k 22k 24k Hz Frequency Response Audio Precision 07/15/11 11:11:49 +0 +0 -1 -1 d B r -2 -2 d B r A -3 -3 B -4 -4 -5 10 20 50 100 200 500 1k 2k 5k 10k 20k 50k -5 Hz ASUS Essence One Series 29
THD+N Full Band (-114~-110dB for 20~20KHz) Audio Precision 07/15/11 10:40:54 +0 -10 -20 -30 -40 d B r -50 A -70 -60 -80 -90 -100 -110 -120 20 50 100 200 500 1k 2k 5k 10k 20k Hz THD+N 1KHz 0.
Dynamic Range (~120dB) Audio Precision A-A FFT SPECTRUM ANALYSIS 07/15/11 10:35:38 +0 -20 -40 d B r A -60 -80 -100 -120 -140 -160 2k 4k 6k 8k 10k 12k 14k 16k 18k 20k 22k 24k Hz Crosstalk -132dB @ 1KHz -142~-115dB for 20~20KHz Left Audio Precision 07/15/11 10:46:20 +0 -20 -40 -60 d B -80 -100 -120 -140 -160 20 50 100 200 500 1k 2k 5k 10k 20k Hz ASUS Essence One Series 31
Right Audio Precision 07/15/11 10:48:30 +0 -20 -40 -60 d B -80 -100 -120 -140 -160 -180 20 50 100 200 500 1k 2k 5k 10k 20k Hz Appendix: Glossary • Noise Level The level of any undesired system noise signals over the audio spectrum, including AC mains hum, white noises, stray magnetic field, etc. • SNR Signal-to-Noise Ratio, the ratio of the maximum amplitude signal to the sum of the noise energy. The higher, the better.
