ASUS Essence One MK II Muses Edition external sound card / DAC converter

On the other hand, he also fulfills this task as a stand-alone variant without a PC. For example, CD / DVD / Blu-ray players can be connected via the coaxial or Toslink connection in order to play music of the highest quality. Last but not least, the Essence One MKII MUSES Edition is a high-end headphone amplifier designed for premium headphones with an impedance of up to 600 ohms. With its 8x balanced upsampling, an extremely high signal-to-noise ratio of 120dB and interchangeable operational amplifiers, the Essence One MKII MUSES Edition is one of the best high-end USB digital-to-analog converters.

The features of the ASUS Essence One MKII MUSES Edition at a glance:

    Digital-to-analog converter (DAC) with audiophile sound quality
    6x MUSES 01 Op-Amps from New Japan Radio Company
    Native DSD support (Direct Stream Digital) via DSD via PCM (DoP)
    Stand-alone function without PC: coaxial and Toslink connection for CD / DVD / Blu-ray player
    Headphone amplifier for very high-quality headphones with an impedance of up to 600 ohms
    Linear power supply with toroidal transformer for a clean power supply for all circuits
    Accurate clock rates without jitter over asynchronous USB transmission
    Extremely high signal-to-noise ratio of 120dB
    8-fold symmetric upsampling

The Essence One MKII MUSES Edition external sound card supports balanced XLR outputs, which can be used to transmit audio signals symmetrically. Symmetrical signal transmission is currently used almost without exception in professional audio engineering. It prevents unwanted interference and interference from the outside and thus provides a higher-quality sound experience. The transmission of electrical audio signals can be disturbed by external influences, such as the inductive influence of alternating current-carrying lines (power cables).

To prevent this, two signal transmission conductors are used in a balanced signal transmission instead of one. On the second line, the identical signal is transmitted as on the first, with the same impedance but opposite polarity. Since a disturbance affects both signal conductors alike, it virtually eliminates each other by subtracting the two signals as they reach the target. Thus, balanced lines are perfect for professional applications where interference can degrade signal quality, especially over long cable runs.

By upsampling is meant the increase of the sampling rate, i. the conversion of a digital signal with a low sampling rate to a digital signal with a higher sampling rate, the signal information per se being complete and unchanged. The Essence One MKII MUSES Edition, despite upsampling when playing a piece of music from the users music collection, receives every fine detail.

The ASUS Essence One MKII series of digital-to-analogue converters deliver superior fidelity in playback of source material with the support of 2.8MHz DSD via DSD via PCM (Pulse-Code Modulation), also known as DoP. The DSD 2.8MHz format offers a 64x (64x) higher sampling rate than conventional CD recordings. The result is a crystal-clear rendering with a resolution that is higher by classes.

While conventional USB DACs increase the sampling rate of a variety of audio sources to 192kHz regardless of their differences, the Essence One MKII MUSES Edition increases 44.1 / 88.2 / 176.4kHz signals to 352.8kHz and 48/96 / 192kHz signals 384kHz and all that symmetrical. To increase the data volume, the Essence One MKII MUSES Edition also increases the bit rate according to the original content up to 32bit (44.1 * 8 = 352.8kHz, 48 * 8 = 384kHz). At the same time jitter is prevented, which otherwise often occurs in connection with asymmetric upsampling.

The average signal-to-noise ratio of conventional USB DACs is approximately 110dB. With its extremely high signal-to-noise ratio of 120dB, the Essence One MKII MUSES Edition allows for much cleaner sounds, preserves all sound detail and significantly reduces noise levels. The Essence One MKII MUSES Edition features a premium headphone amplifier that boosts any hi-fi headphone with 100% sonic performance, even at high impedances of up to 600 ohms. The headphone amplifier offers high dynamics, fine sound details and low distortion.

An OpAmp (operational amplifier) is the central component of a DAC. It amplifies the analog signal and influences the sound character (darker, brighter, sound, etc.). The ability to share OpAmps and use almost any OpAmp instead makes the Essence One MKII MUSES Edition absolutely unique among all high-end USB DACs, offering users the ability to customize their sound.

The linear power supply with toroidal transformer provides a particularly clean and stable power supply and reduces interference to a minimum. The WIMA FKP 2 and FKS 2 film capacitors manufactured in Germany reduce ripple voltages and thus offer a particularly warm and rich sound.

The ASUS Essence One MKII MUSES Edition is equipped with two dedicated potentiometers for volume control: one for the headphones and one for the speakers. Unlike conventional USB DACs, which only have a volume control for both headphone and speaker output, or no volume control at all, the Essence One MKII MUSES Edition lets you set the headphone and speaker volume separately.

The ASUS Essence One MKII MUSES Edition is equipped with a range of digital inputs, both coaxial and Toslink, that allow the connection of digital sources. The digital inputs also support data formats with sample rates of up to 192 kHz.

Technical details:

    Dimensions: 261.33 x 60.65 x 230 mm (W x H x D)
    Sound chip: 2x TI PCM1795
    Connection: USB
    Channels: max. 8 (7.1, 6.1, 5.1, 4.1, 4.0, 2.1, 2.0)
    Signal to noise ratio: 120 dB
    inputs:
    1x Coaxial S / PDIF
    1x Toslink S / PDIF
    1x USB
    outputs:
    2x 3.5mm RCA
    2x Balanced XLR
    1x 6.3 mm