Asus Essence III Xonar Essence 3 User Manual - Page 6

FEATURE SUMMARY Ultimate audio enjoyment with native Direct Stream Digital (DSD) support • Digital Stream Digital (DSD) is an encoding technology at 1 bit representation of the audio waveform, allowing high reproduction of the original audio. With native DSD support, audiophiles can enjoy high-fidelity music. Top-notch headphone amplifier enables balanced headphones of up to 600ohm impedance • Most headphone amplifiers only support single-end headphones. Essence 3 has unique mini-XLR ports tailored for headphone audiophiles who are accustomed to modeling their own balanced headphones. The balanced signals are kept in differential from DAC chip to headphone output without being converted to single end and back (a true balanced signal), providing best signal clarity and minimized noise interference. It also supports up to 600ohms impedance, allowing headphone enthusiasts to enjoy the best of their favorite headphones without any additional amplification needed. Exclusive remote-controlled stepped attenuator ensures precise and convenient adjustments • Essence 3 comes with a 24-step attenuator that ensures precise left/right balance at any volume level. Unlike traditional designs where the attenuator is operated by hand, it has an Microcontroller Unit (MCU) that directly controls the multiple relays, making it completely remote-controllable with precision. Toroidal transformer-based multi-rail linear power supply with fully independent noise-free left/right channel power delivery • A clean power source is crucial for ensuring minimal supply contamination and consistent power delivery. The toroidal transformer comes with a specially designed silicon strip to prevent hysteresis loss. The power supply is also regulated such that the left and right channels power sources are independent and minimize the possibility of cross talk and interferences. Separate boards for analog, digital, and power circuitry minimize interference • Besides separating signal grounds on to different layers with our exclusive hyper ground technology, the boards for different signals are physically separated. Even at areas where analog meets digital signals, the signal routings are minimized and contained within an area to prevent interferences. Fully balanced design with two single-channel DACs • Traditional audio products use one DAC (digital-to-analog converter) chip for both left and right channels. Essence 3 has dedicated DAC for each channel to achieve a top-notch signal clarity. Based on a dual DAC design, the left and right channels will be perfectly balanced. Hassle-free left/right balance calibration via exclusive software • Essence 3 comes with an exclusive software for volume calibration that you can run a simple test of the left/right channel balance and perform correction if needed. Most products that come with such tweaking ability require the use of additional equipment to determine how unbalanced the system is, making it extremely hard for non-pros to perform such task.  ASUS Essence 3