HQ Audio ESS PRO Series Quick setup guide

Introduction
DAC ES9038 PRO Andrea Ciuffoli-Quang Hao
Es9038 PRO DAC - Design by
?Based on the ESS Sabre32 Reference (ES9038PRO) DAC chip
?Support 44,88,96,192,352,384KHz PCM and DSD to play SACD ISO.
?Full ground isolation from USB module
?On board reference 100MHz Crystek oscillator with a jitter of 0.5psecUltra fast oscillator buffer
Output: Stereo balanced output impedance: 202 / 4 = 50 ohm
?DC-ouput: +1.65VDC.
?Output impedance: 100 Ohm.
?Output: 2-Channel (stereo) outputs can be used in current-output or voltage-output mode
(depends on output stage used)
Input: 4 inputs:
?1. USB -match with Amanero USB (not included). Have pin I2C for other USB
?2. Spdif
?3. AES/EBU.
?4. Optical
Digiltal supply:
?1.2V core: LT3042
?3.3V oscillator: LT3042
?3.3V digital: LT3042
?3.3V Top-botton chip
?3.3V USB: LT3042 (If you not like us 3.3v from Computer for USB)
Analog supply:
?1.2V analog (left and right separated): LT3042
?3.3V analog (left and right separated): LT3042
?5V for LCD: LT1117
?5V Analog supply: LT1117
?5V Digiltal supply Digiltal supply: LT1117
On-board DAC ESD9038PRO includes:
1. ES9038PRO chip.
2. Clock 100MHz CCHD-575, Ultra-Low Phase Noise Crystal Oscillator.
3. All Input connecters, Amanero USB (not included)
4. All low noise Lt3042
5. Lm1117
Use: it is simple and need:
1. Transformer 15VA to 25VA: 2 x 6 - 8VAC:
2. Use LCD Control board off Andrea-quanghao for ES9038PRO, ES9028PRO
Andrea Ciuffoli-Quang Hao
Talema 70050 or Talema 70060 Or equivalent
I n t e g r a t i o n G u i d e
Revision V1.0
TheES9038PROSABREDAC-BringingMusictoLife
The ES9038PRO SABRE DAC is the flagship of the ESS PRO series. It sets a new benchmark for audio
excellence with the industry’s highest dynamic range (DNR), up to 140dB, in a 32-bit, 8-channel DAC.
The ES9038PRO was designed for premium home theater equipment including Blu-ray players,
preamplifiers, all-in-one A/V receivers, and more. For serious audiophiles it provides the most
immersivelisteningexperience—bringingmusictolife.
The ES9038PRO SABRE DAC also features ESS’ patented 32-bit HyperStreamDAC technology with-
122dB total harmonic distortion plus noise (THD+N). The HyperStream architecture is responsible for
boththeoutstandingsoundqualityoftheES9038andtheextremelylowTHD+N.Atypicalcompetitive,
32-Bit8-ChannelDACusingadelta-sigmaarchitecturefeatures-107dBTHD+N(0.0004%),whichwhen
subjectedtolisteningtestsdoesnotequaltheclarityandsoundstageoftheES9038PRO.

AC input
6-7.5V/1A x 2 Connect to LCD board
wire 6 pin
Channel R
Output Channel L Output
Plug in the USB-Amanero
Or Pin for I2S
CCHD-575
100MHZ
AES/EBU
to use with
USB OEM Combo 384
(Amanero)
Optical Spdif RCAI2S/DSD
3.3V for USB
From DAC
-R
+R
-L
+L DC= +1.65VDC= +1.65V
ES9038PROBoard
DAC ES9038 PRO Andrea Ciuffoli-Quang Hao
2

Design
DAC ES9038 PRO Andrea Ciuffoli-Quang Hao
Supply Analog right
INPUTS
CRYSTEK
100mHz
LOW JITER
CLOCK
CCHD-575
controller module
on/off
Selector
Mute
Volume
Tranfomer stanby
power supply
balanced output
4 dac outputs
in parallel
4 dac outputs
in parallel
LEFT OUTPUT
the flagship of the ESS PRO series
Structural design
ES9038PRO
ES9028PRO
ES9018S
RIGHT OUTPUT
balanced output
50 Ohm Z-out 50 Ohm Z-out
Digital Isolators
AMANERO SPDIFOPTICALAES/EBU
USB
voltage output voltage output
220 to
230VAC
LT1117
LT1117
AC1 AC2
0 6V
0 6V
470uF 470uF 470uF 470uF
Earth
LT3042
Low noise 0.8uVRMS
Transformer 15VA to 25VA:
2 x 6 -8VAC:
Talema 70050 or Talema 70060
1.2V 3.3V
LT3042
low noise regulator
0.8uV
LT3042
low noise regulator
0.8uV
Supply Analog left
1.2V
3.3V
Supply Digital
1.2V core 3.3V Clock 3.3V USB 5V LCD 3.3V D
LT1117 - 5V LT1117 - 3V
ES9038PRO
POWER SUPPLY
LT3042
low noise regulator
0.8uV
LT3042
low noise regulator
0.8uV
LT3042
low noise regulator
0.8uV
LT3042
low noise regulator
0.8uV
LT3042
low noise regulator
0.8uV
3
remote control

Cut off the circuit at position C9
(remove 5 VDC from the computer)
Use 3.3v on DAC for USB Amanero:
DAC ES9038 PRO Andrea Ciuffoli-Quang Hao
Turn on switch Sd1
to position On
3.3V for USB
From DAC USB use 3.3V from DAC
4

Board size
DAC ES9038 PRO Andrea Ciuffoli-Quang Hao
PCB size and screw holes
5

Board size
DAC ES9038 PRO Andrea Ciuffoli-Quang Hao
USB
input optical Balance
inputinput
input
spdif
24.5mm
14.5mm
22.9 mm
34.3 mm
28.9 mm
30.87 mm 10.4
14 mm
18.5 mm
13
12
10
10
Base: 10 mm
PCB: 1.6 mm
Hole in the back
Siz PCD DAC
6

VOLUME / CONTROLSELECT /SWITCH
select inputs volume control
power on/off Mute
ir receive
input selection buttons
click Board Controle
mute buttons
click
led stanbyLCD
220v
AC IN
220v
AC out
Connect to DAC board
1. Standby mode.
2. High volume display.
3. 20 x 4 LCD display.
4. Select the 4-way input and display the frequency on the LCD screen
5. Fuse protection - 220 VAC power supply / 5W
6.Turn on, off with remote control or buttons.
7. Simple and appropriate use for DAC chips: ES9038PRO, ES9028PRO.
8. Set up customizable protocols such as: volume, input as you like.
9. Select modes such as filter, frequency, left channel right.
10. Special and unique - Store settings according to your preferences:
?A, Keep the big picture to the desired: lowest -100dB, largest 0dB.
?B, Select and store left or right channel output - No need to reverse the output.
?C, Selectable filter modes: (Pass band): 47kHz, 50kHz, 60kHz, 70kHz.
?D, Option: PCM Filter Characteristics
?E, Selectable filter modes: (Pass band): 47kHz, 50kHz, 60kHz, 70kHz.
?F, Option: PCM Filter Characteristics: Fast, Slow Roll-Off, Apodizing, Hybrid, Brickwall.
Remote
DAC connection and control
Controls and features
DAC ES9038 PRO Andrea Ciuffoli-Quang Hao
7

1
2
3
46
7
1. Digital input: USB, AES/EBU, Spdif-RCA, Optical
2. Input frequency
3. Select Left Channel Right Channel
4. Filter
5. Band Filter: 47kHz, 50kHz, 60kHz, 70kHz
6. Volume: maximum is 0 dB, minimum is -99dB
7. Logo HQ
8. Volume dB
8
SET PWR
CH+
CH-
MUTE
DSP
V+
V-
power on/off
volume up
volume down
changeinput
1. USB
2.optical
3.Coax
4.Aes/EBU
setting menu
Remote control
5
Information on LCD
DAC ES9038 PRO Andrea Ciuffoli-Quang Hao
8

Fast Roll-Off, Linear Phase
Filter (dB)
Slow Roll-Off, Linear Phase
Filter (dB)
Apodizing, Fast Roll-Off,
Linear Phase Filter (dB)
Hybrid, Fast Roll-Off, Minimum
Phase Filter (dB)
Brickwall Filter (dB)
PCM Filter Freqency Response
DAC ES9038 PRO Andrea Ciuffoli-Quang Hao
9

Setting menu
SET PWR
CH+
CH-
MUTE
DSP
V+
V-
power on/off
rolloff fast
rollff slow
filter band
-47kHz
-50kHz
-60kHz
-70kHz
setting menu
save actual volum
as starup level
exit from
setting menu
L-R chanel
Use the remote control to set and remember settings such as:
Volume,
input,
left-channel right channel,
filter modes,
filter frequencies.
Using:
1. On the remote control, press: SET, LCD display text: settings.
Setting
2. Press the install options button:
a, V +, V-: filter selection.
b, DSP: island left channel and right channel output (L-R)
c, CH +, Ch-: select the filter frequency.
When the installation is complete, press the button: Mute to save all the settings, and press
the SET button to exit the program.
Then, restart the DAC, and play the music!
Thank you!
Control guide
DAC ES9038 PRO Andrea Ciuffoli-Quang Hao
10

PCB size
Control drawing
DAC ES9038 PRO Andrea Ciuffoli-Quang Hao
11

Music player setup.
The Music player
To use Hq- Reference DAC and DSD-DAC with all the PCM sampling frequency and DSD sample rates, it is necessary
configure the Music player (Foobar2000, Jriver or similar ) to use: Windows Audio Session API (WASAPI), Kernel streaming (KS)
or Audio Streaming Input Output (ASIO ).
Using the default Windows driver called Direct Sound (DS) the DAC unit will work only at a specific frequency set in the
Windows Audio control panel.
To work with the Kernel streaming (KS) and the Audio Streaming Input Output (ASIO ) it is necessary set as predefined a
different sound device on Windows Audio control panel to keep the Amanero free for the application control.
The Kernel streaming (KS) is the lower level mode to operate on Audio device so there are lower stratification in the software
stack. The Windows Audio Session API (WASAPI) give less problems and it work very good with PCM and DSD tracks. Set the
Windows with no sound to avoid that the system messages interference during the reproduction.
To use Foobar2000
To use Foobar2000 is much more complex
You can follows the guide on: http://hifiduino.wordpress.com or this following images.
download the last player SACD support (foo_input_sacd-0.6.1.zip to get foo_input_sacd.dll and ASIOProxyInstall-0.6.0.zip)
ASIO4ALL (ASIO4ALL 2.11 Beta1 to get foo_dsd_asio.dll)
Kernel Streaming support necessary to play 384KHz tracks (foo_out_ks.dll)
copy foo_input_sacd.dll, foo_dsd_asio.dll and foo_out_ks.dll in the directory C:\Program\foobar2000\components
If you select as output device the ASIO4ALL when you start to play any tracks an little icon will be insert in the Appl. Bar.
DAC ES9038 PRO Andrea Ciuffoli-Quang Hao
12

Music player setup.
JRiver DSD setting screenshots
The JRiver is more simple and with this configuration
you can play 44,88,96,192,384KHz, DSD files and
SACD ISO.
download the last player: http://www.jriver.com.
it's best to buy a license for Jriver
2. Audio Output /Output mode/
kernel Streaming
Kernel Streaming
3. Audio Output /Output mode/
Bitstreming: Yes over PCM(DoP)
1. Open Jriver and Tool/Options
2. Tool/Options/Audio
4. DSD over PCM(DoP)
DoP Format: DoP 1.0 (0XFA / 0x05)
5. Ok and save
Now playing
Direct Stream Digital, also known as DSD format - this
format is not new as many people think, it is as old as
digital but it wasn’t used for consumer audio or home
audio - before. It became very popular after 2010 and
continues to make its way into our homes.
It encodes the music in the data stream differently, looks
differently and sounds differently. It is the format in which
the SACD discs were recorded and a format in which the
analog master tapes were backed up by record
companies. It is currently the format in which the master
recordings are made in record industry.
DAC ES9038 PRO Andrea Ciuffoli-Quang Hao
13

Music player setup.
Audirvana on MAC OS configuration:
The Audirvana is more simple and with this configuration you can play DSD files and SACD ISO.
download the last player: https://audirvana.com/
it's best to buy a license for Audirvana
DAC ES9038 PRO Andrea Ciuffoli-Quang Hao
14