Asus Essence III Preamp Rocks Audiophile Grade USB DAC

Asus The has pulled the wraps off a new USB audiophile preamplifier and headphone amplifier called the Essence III. The Essence III features a USB DAC converter with a fully balanced design. The device also supports Direct Stream Digital (DSD) can for the best audio quality.

Asus uses high precision clocks and asynchronous USB to eliminate jitter. The design of the Essence III also separates the printed circuit boards for digital, analog, and power to eliminate crosstalk and provide clearer audio. Volume is controlled by step attenuators allowing output level be set with precision by the user from across the room via a remote.

The Essence III also has native support for DSD64 and DSD128 encoding rates. The device also uses pure gold temperature compensated crystal oscillators and a synchronous USB for precise timing. Asus also uses dedicated AD1955 DACs for each stereo channel in separate circuitry for analog and digital signals as well as power.

The device is also designed to use premium ceramic AD 827SQ and Japanese made MUSES 02 operational amplifiers for rich sound with all music types. The Essence III amplifier is capable of driving 600-ohm headphones with a single 6.3 mm jack connection or balanced set using two mini-XLR connectors. Pricing and availability are unknown, but this doesn't sound like a cheap device.

SOURCE: Hitechlegion