ESS Technology Announces New Sabre ES9033Q 2-Channel DAC With Built-In 2Vrms Line Drivers

ESS Technology announced their newest addition to the Sabre audio series of DACs, the ES9033Q, a 32-bit, 2-channel DAC with built-in 2Vrms, ground-centered line drivers, resulting in an optimum system performance with no need for external amplifiers. The new Sabre ES9033Q DAC simplifies stereo line level setups with best-in-class performance in one small package, offering D/A conversion with a DNR of 122+dB A-weighted with DRE, and -108dB of THD+N per channel.

I completed the design and construction of an archival phono preamplifier, which provides variable equalization along with several other operational necessities for playing vintage records (78-rpm discs, pre-RIAA LPs, lacquer transcription discs, and so on). When it came to selecting topologies for the balanced inputs and outputs, I ruled out transformers due to high cost, physical bulk, and weight. The most practical choice, in terms of size and cost, are the balanced line driver and receiver ICs made by THAT Corporation. This article was originally published in audioXpress, June 2010