Review and Measurements of Essence HDACC II-4K HDMI DAC

[audimus]

Thanks for the link to the Essence Evolve review. Information on this unit is is very sparse even on the Essence site. I would love to see one of these units measured here to see where it falls in the DAC devices spectrum.

 

[formdissolve]

What volume setting did you find was the best to set this to without introducing distortion and more noise?

Do you think the noise issues you saw are due to the fairly cheap switch mode power supply?

 

[FunkeXMix]

Regarding the Evolve II-4K HDMI
https://www.essenceelectrostatic.com/product/evolve-ii-4k-hdmi-v2-0-7-1-channel-dac/

Would this combo work to make this a full package replacement for AV gear and such.
Goal: DAC for stereo music, 7.1 enabler + headphone amp attached to it since it doesn't headphones connection

Connection process:
PC as source (HDMI 2.0a output) video/audio signal -> Evolve II-4K HDMI (HDMI in. Appears as sound device in PC to handle DAC instead of onboard PC DAC, to be exact, should appear as nvidia audio device if I understand correctly) -> Evolve II HDMI out to 4k TV for video signal -> Evolve II analog out to powered speakers -> Stereo L R analog outputs connected to headphone amp line in L R, line out to L R front channel powered speakers.

If this works, what is the best way to balance the powered speakers so the 7.1 channels are in balance sound wise (maybe even using different brand powered speakers. for example, maybe you have some older ones you don't use anymore that can be used for the less demanding rear channels.)

Is this even a good idea? Is the audio quality loss too great by using nvidia hdmi audio source instead of ASIO playback for stereo music?

 

[Kal Rubinson]

If this works, what is the best way to balance the powered speakers so the 7.1 channels are in balance sound wise (maybe even using different brand powered speakers. for example, maybe you have some older ones you don't use anymore that can be used for the less demanding rear channels.)

1. Does your source program have facilities to set individual channel levels? If not, then...............................
2. Powered speakers often have level controls on them. If not, then.....................................
3. ?????

Is this even a good idea? Is the audio quality loss too great by using nvidia hdmi audio source instead of ASIO playback for stereo music?

You tell us. I used WASAPI (or ASIO) for both stereo and multichannel.

 

[audimus]

If this works, what is the best way to balance the powered speakers so the 7.1 channels are in balance sound wise (maybe even using different brand powered speakers. for example, maybe you have some older ones you don't use anymore that can be used for the less demanding rear channels.)

It should work to get the sound out in stereo or multi-channel without a pre-amp. However, this unit is designed to feed audio into older AVRs (or a pre-amp for powered speakers) that do not have HDMI or do not have HDMI 2.0 for 4k, not totally eliminate the AVR or pre-amp.

Without a pre-amp, volume/gain control will be a pain both overall and for balancing channels (in volume and delays) when you have different powered speakers with their own gain controls and characteristics. There would be no bass management if you have separate subwoofer(s) etc. All can be achieved with free PC apps like Voicemeeter and/or Equalizer APO but they can be a real pain to set up unless you are very technically adept to understand how they work.

Is this even a good idea? Is the audio quality loss too great by using nvidia hdmi audio source instead of ASIO playback for stereo music?

Not sure what you mean here. ASIO drivers are a layer above the audio devices. Different sound cards may come with their own ASIO drivers or you can use something like ASIO4all to work on multiple sound devices including sending to the HDMI audio out.

If you are asking using the ASIO driver for a sound card or on-board audio to send stereo out of the PC analog outs vs sending it out through the HDMI out to an outboard DAC like the Essence, in theory, good outboard DACs tend to do better than the onboard DACs in PCs because the latter is subject to a lot of less than ideal conditions in the path within the PC. I have no idea how good the Essence is relative to a good sound card since I have not used either. Any difference in quality will come primarily from the quality of the outboard DAC relative to an onboard DAC used and not from the use of HDMI to get the bits out of the PC for stereo or multi-channel.

 

[audimus]

You have covered most of the differences. NanoAVR HDA can also switch between two sources but as you have noticed, it only has HDMI 1.4 ports and so cannot pass through 4k@60hz, HDR, etc.

You can either use its EQ DSP with something like REW and a calibrated mic to do multi-channel equalization and bass management or you can upgrade to Dirac Live if you want the analog outs unlike the pre-configured NanoAVR-DL. But then you cannot do bass management in a unit with Dirac loaded.

The Essence, of course, is just a DAC and audio extractor. No switching for multiple HDMI sources. No DSP processing for EQ, etc. Until this model is rigorously tested in a site like this, I would not be confident that it is any better than the $50 DAC audio extractors on Amazon with the same features. It is probably better built than the latter even if using the same chips/reference designs and will likely work without issues. I am also put off by some of the “marketing” on the Essence site and find some reviews questionable. But that is just a personal gut reaction.

I would not recommend NanoAVR either though. It is an outdated product and like so many of miniDSP products, a 90% complete product with a number of gotchas. It came to the market before the miniDSP people really understand HDMI like they understood DSPs. So, their EDID handling is not robust, some glitches can arise in HDMI handshakes and it has a quirk that it looks for hdcp from downstream connection even if the source upstream is not hdcp compliant or not requiring hdcp for drm-free content. It may work without issues in some specific application but you never know when it will bite you. Their DACs from that period were also not that great.

The miniDSPs are good for experimenters/tinkerers that want to do somethings different from what is available/possible elsewhere and they are relatively inexpensive. But they can have some annoying gotchas.

 

[TonioRoffo]

Still waiting for 1 decoder like this that presents 7.1 as four spdif outputs (or even HDMI uncompressed lpcm)

 

[bobrapoport]

I must be confused. A large part (all?) of the appeal of HDMI for audio is getting multi-channel support. If so, then shouldn't this have multi-channel analog out?

Thinking out loud, what about an HDMI > multiple digital out where each digital is one of the front/rear/center/side/etc. channels? Such a thing (use-case?) exist?

We make a multi-channel HDMI v2.0 DAC called the Evolve II-4K, $299 MSRP, listed in this years Stereophile Recommended Components list. https://www.essenceelectrostatic.com/product/evolve-ii-4k-hdmi-v2-0-multi-channel-dac/ 1 HDMI v2.0 input for 4K sources, 8 RCA analog outs, HDMI out to the TV. Easy peazy.

 

[bobrapoport]

You have covered most of the differences. NanoAVR HDA can also switch between two sources but as you have noticed, it only has HDMI 1.4 ports and so cannot pass through 4k@60hz, HDR, etc.

You can either use its EQ DSP with something like REW and a calibrated mic to do multi-channel equalization and bass management or you can upgrade to Dirac Live if you want the analog outs unlike the pre-configured NanoAVR-DL. But then you cannot do bass management in a unit with Dirac loaded.

The Essence, of course, is just a DAC and audio extractor. No switching for multiple HDMI sources. No DSP processing for EQ, etc. Until this model is rigorously tested in a site like this, I would not be confident that it is any better than the $50 DAC audio extractors on Amazon with the same features. It is probably better built than the latter even if using the same chips/reference designs and will likely work without issues. I am also put off by some of the “marketing” on the Essence site and find some reviews questionable. But that is just a personal gut reaction.

I would not recommend NanoAVR either though. It is an outdated product and like so many of miniDSP products, a 90% complete product with a number of gotchas. It came to the market before the miniDSP people really understand HDMI like they understood DSPs. So, their EDID handling is not robust, some glitches can arise in HDMI handshakes and it has a quirk that it looks for hdcp from downstream connection even if the source upstream is not hdcp compliant or not requiring hdcp for drm-free content. It may work without issues in some specific application but you never know when it will bite you. Their DACs from that period were also not that great.

The miniDSPs are good for experimenters/tinkerers that want to do somethings different from what is available/possible elsewhere and they are relatively inexpensive. But they can have some annoying gotchas.

The Essence HDACC II-4K has 4 HDMI v2.0 inputs and as confirmed by Amirs measurements, its THD + N = .00001% at -141 dB s/n ratio, just to correct your statement in paragraph 2 that there's no multiple inputs. It also includes USB, Optical, and Coaxial inputs too.

 

[bobrapoport]

Thx for review Amir! It is not clear if this device downsamples multichannel audio to stereo. Testing with some 5.1 movies would help.

The HDACC II-4K does not down-sample multi-channel to stereo, instead it de-embeds the left and right front channels from a LPCM Multi-Channel soundtrack for pure, uncompressed stereo. Downmixing creates congestion, steer clear of it.

 

[bobrapoport]

Still waiting for 1 decoder like this that presents 7.1 as four spdif outputs (or even HDMI uncompressed lpcm)

The Essence Evolve II-4K is an HDMI v2.0 Multi-Channel DAC with 8 RCA analog outputs. It would be redundant to feed its single Optical Audio output to another downstream DAC that would not sound as good. The Evolve II-4K is listed in this years Stereophile Recommended Components, at $299 is a great way to keep an older legacy AVR or PrePro in service. https://www.essenceelectrostatic.com/product/evolve-ii-4k-hdmi-v2-0-multi-channel-dac/

 

[TonioRoffo]

The Essence Evolve II-4K is an HDMI v2.0 Multi-Channel DAC with 8 RCA analog outputs. It would be redundant to feed its single Optical Audio output to another downstream DAC that would not sound as good. The Evolve II-4K is listed in this years Stereophile Recommended Components, at $299 is a great way to keep an older legacy AVR or PrePro in service. https://www.essenceelectrostatic.com/product/evolve-ii-4k-hdmi-v2-0-multi-channel-dac/

I understand, but I'm crazy and want to feed the decoded sound into three nad m51 DACs

 

[bobrapoport]

I understand, but I'm crazy and want to feed the decoded sound into three nad m51 DACs

The problem is HDCP copyright protection will down-rez the optical output from an HDMI source, it wont be hi res audio. DRM prevents us all from doing that, crazy or not.

 

[Vasr]

The Essence Evolve II-4K is an HDMI v2.0 Multi-Channel DAC with 8 RCA analog outputs. It would be redundant to feed its single Optical Audio output to another downstream DAC that would not sound as good. The Evolve II-4K is listed in this years Stereophile Recommended Components, at $299 is a great way to keep an older legacy AVR or PrePro in service. https://www.essenceelectrostatic.com/product/evolve-ii-4k-hdmi-v2-0-multi-channel-dac/

Would you consider sending one of these HDMI extractor units to Amir for measurements as you are benefiting from free advertisement for this product on the site?

Alternatively do you have a rigorous measurement for this unit?

I can possibly use this unit (there aren't many multi-channel DACs) but only if the DAC is better than the typical similar units on Amazon or eBay and at least above average.

 

[bobrapoport]

Would you consider sending one of these HDMI extractor units to Amir for measurements as you are benefiting from free advertisement for this product on the site?

Alternatively do you have a rigorous measurement for this unit?

I can possibly use this unit (there aren't many multi-channel DACs) but only if the DAC is better than the typical similar units on Amazon or eBay and at least above average.

 

[bobrapoport]

I will discuss with Amir about a review for the Evolve II-4K. This multi-channel PCM decoder DAC is known to sound really good, this quote from the Stereophile review putting it at the top of the class in its category. Native 4K video passes through to the TV with no processing of any kind. It compares favorably to the A+ rated exaSound e38 Mk II at around $4K. There are end-user testimonials on the product page under the reviews tab. I think you would love it, it will make your system sound better than you've heard it before, thats what most people say.

Essence Evolve II-4K HDMI v2.0 Multi-Channel DAC: $299
The Evolve II-4K is that rarity in high-end audio: a bargain-priced niche product. In this case, the niche is the one reserved for D/A processors capable of extracting and decoding the high-quality audio embedded in an HDMI video stream, while sending the video content direct to the user's display. KR put the little Evolve II-4K to work in a couple of settings and was "stunned that it sounded so good," adding that, although the Essence DAC didn't sound quite as good as his exaSound e38, "it was not shamed." (Vol.42 No.7 WWW)

 

[formdissolve]

Bob - does the Evolve support HDR and Dolby Vision?

I will discuss with Amir about a review for the Evolve II-4K. This multi-channel PCM decoder DAC is known to sound really good, this quote from the Stereophile review putting it at the top of the class in its category. Native 4K video passes through to the TV with no processing of any kind. It compares favorably to the A+ rated exaSound e38 Mk II at around $4K. There are end-user testimonials on the product page under the reviews tab. I think you would love it, it will make your system sound better than you've heard it before, thats what most people say.

Essence Evolve II-4K HDMI v2.0 Multi-Channel DAC: $299
The Evolve II-4K is that rarity in high-end audio: a bargain-priced niche product. In this case, the niche is the one reserved for D/A processors capable of extracting and decoding the high-quality audio embedded in an HDMI video stream, while sending the video content direct to the user's display. KR put the little Evolve II-4K to work in a couple of settings and was "stunned that it sounded so good," adding that, although the Essence DAC didn't sound quite as good as his exaSound e38, "it was not shamed." (Vol.42 No.7 WWW)

 

[bobrapoport]

Bob - does the Evolve support HDR and Dolby Vision?

Yes! The video source passes through the Evolve II-4K on its way to the TV, there is no effect on the source content.

 

[travis.86]

Hi Bob, I’m look at the essence (w a power amp) to replace my AVR for my stereo setup.

Does the essence support

1) HDMI ARC/eARC to play audio via hdmi from the TV?
2) HDMI-CEC for volume control and power on/off?
3) automatic source switching?

Thanks!

 

[bobrapoport]

Hi Bob, I’m look at the essence (w a power amp) to replace my AVR for my stereo setup.

Does the essence support

1) HDMI ARC/eARC to play audio via hdmi from the TV?
2) HDMI-CEC for volume control and power on/off?
3) automatic source switching?

Thanks!

Hi Travis, thanks for your interest in the HDACC II-4K. This model does not support ARC because ARC does not support hi res audio at 96K, it down-rezzes to 48K by rules imposed by HDCP. The new HDMI v2.1 includes enhanced ARC (eARC) that does support native hi res audio up to 192K, a nice improvement. However, v2.1 just came out and if we've learned anything over the last 15 years with HDMI its not to be an early adopter of any new version. HDMI is an evolving standard, new features are announced at the time it comes out and 3rd party technology companies invent solutions to meet the specs, leading over time to "a", "b", and "c;" versions down the road. At this time, HDMI has not released Compliance Testing for eARC so many manufactures do not include it in their new v2.,l products. To do so would be risky if later on they discover that their implementation of eARC does not meet spec. My advice to HDACC II-4K owners is to use the TV's Optical Audio Output into the HDACC II-4K's Optical Audio Input, which can output sample rates up to 192K, bypassing ARC for now. I plan to adopt v2.1 once Compliance Testing standards are released along with the other v2.1 features, at least 15 months away. My advice to you is to do the same.

Yes, the HDACC II-4K supports HDMI-CEC. Source switching is done via remote control or by using the control knob on the unit. Simply turning on a new source will not automatically switch to that source, a feature found on lower cost devices without switching. Hope this helps!