INTRODUCTION  |  432hz TUNING  |  LINEAR POWER SUPPLY  |  ROON CORE  |   TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

The 432 EVO Essence is our all-in-one server with integrated high-end 24/192 DAC using an oven controlled clock for low jitter, and also has a high-end SP/DIF coaxial and optical output. Furthermore it’s upgradeable as you can use most external DAC’s, as it also supports SP/DIF, USB and HDMI DAC’s out of the box.

The 432 ESSENCE features a high-end soundcard from Asus, which also exists in a DAC version. The DAC version of this soundcard won EISA awards, and after reading their review "an honest and compelling sound that puts many traditional hi-fi marques to shame!", we wanted this technology in our integrated model.

The DAC inside our Essence easily surpasses many other similarly priced standalone DAC’s, sounding closer to high end analogue with no hint of digital harshness thanks to the 432 Hz plugin.

The Essence runs full Roon or Logitech Media Server and our sublime 432 Hz enabled player, which can also play bit perfect to the highest possible quality. It also features a bit perfect Teac CD drive for ripping your CD collection.

• Texas Instruments PCM1792A DAC chips with a very high SNR of 124dB.
• Oven controlled clock for low jitter.
• MUSES 8920 & 8820 opamps.
• High-fidelity low-dropout (LDO) regulators.
• Analog cinch output, coaxial cinch & optical S/PDIF.
• USB & HDMI dacs are also supported by the Essence.
• Uncompromised CD ripping using a bitperfect Teac rip facility.
• 2TB SSHD storage on spring suspension system: ultra low noise laptop HDD with SSD caching, with SATA noise filtering and SATA protocol tweaking for lower EMI.
• Ultra high-end upsampling with 10 selectable and tweakable upsample filters.
• Bit perfect mode, upsample only mode or upsample with 432 Hz post-processing.
• Custom remote supported Linux with realtime kernel.

432 Hz tuning

432 Hz is one of the ways to tune musical instruments, and is also known as the Tuning Note “A” and A = 432. Music tuned to 432 Hz sounds better than contemporary music which is tuned at A = 440. The famous Stradivarius for example was tuned to 432 Hz according to the Verdi tuning

During historical periods when instrumental music rose in prominence (relative to the voice), there was a continuous tendency for pitch levels to rise, also known as the pitch inflation. A higher pitch such as our current A = 440 standard sounds sharper, louder and more “fresh”, but also more aggressive, which is not a quality audiophiles are looking for.

The 432 EVO offer you the possibility to convert your existing music on the fly into the better sounding 432 Hz, without any resolution loss. Several best of show awards we have won are the ultimate proof, and recent research by Maria Renold and a group of 2000 people showed that 90% preferred 432 Hz.

For purists we still offer bit perfect mode on par with the best CD transports, or upsample only mode for those who want to tune the sound. All these modes are live switchable.

MORE...

Feature rich digital & analog ouputs

The 432 EVO Essence features a high-end 24/192 DAC card from Asus. The DAC chips used are the Texas Instruments PCM1792A which deliver an industry leading signal to noise ratio of 124dB.



Texas Instruments uses it’s own DAC architecture which has a built-in digital clock, and in the Essence is combined with a TCXO (temperature compensated crystal oscillator) for the lowest jitter, a feature usually found in much more expensive DAC’s.


The DAC board also uses high fidelity low dropout (LDO) regulators, and several capacitors are from WIMA. The output section uses MUSES 8920 and 8820 opamps, which are J-FET amplifiers from New Japan Radio Co.



The Essence has high-quality RCA analog outputs, a combined optical & high-end coaxial S/PDIF output port, and also supports external DACs with USB or HDMI inputs.



The USB ports when hooked up to one or more USB DAC’s can be combined with the internal DAC, to create more than one output zones. The analog output RCA and S/PDIF (coaxial and optical via an adapter) can work simultaneously on the 432 EVO ESSENCE as one output zone!

Linux

432 EVO uses a custom realtime Linux OS tuned for ultra low software jitter and reduced entropy.

Solidstate Drive

The 432 EVO can be optionally be ordered with single or dual noise filtered audio grade SSD’s, leading to a 100% silent solution. Can be ordered with 2 TB, 4 TB or 8 TB of total SSD storage.

HD Storage

2TB SSHD storage on spring suspension system: ultra low noise laptop HDD with SSD caching.

Bit Perfect Ripper

The bit perfect Teac rip drive is hand tested and compared against test CD’s for perfect operation.

Hardware Boost

The HWBOOST option doubles the RAM, and has a faster CPU and better clock. It must be ordered as an option with the Essence.

PCM1792A Chip


Texas Instruments PCM1792A DAC chips with a very high SNR of 124dB.


Super Clock


Oven controlled clock for optimal stability.


Muses


High quality opamps.


SBooster External Power Supply

The importance of a pure and clean power supply for digital audio cannot be stressed enough. Digital audio’s enemy is noise, and much of that comes from poorly designed power supplies or cheap SMPS (switched mode power supplies). In fact a dirty power supply can not only ruin the sonic performance of a server, it can also inject noise down the mains to infect the rest of your system!

The power supply is silent and free from any transformer noise.

Roon

Comes pre-installed with a recent full Roon Core (not just endpoint). A separate Roon license is required.

Tidal streaming

Compatible with Tidal subscription-based music streaming service that combines lossless audio and high-definition music.

Qobuz streaming

Compatible with Qobuz streaming service with more than 40 million tracks available, and also offers true 24 bit streaming.

Internet Radio

Supports thousands of internet radio stations, and common formats including AAC, AACv2, MP3 and lossless FLAC stations.

Logitech Media Server

LMS is a very stable music server with two decades of software improvements, and is still supported.

Spotify

Compatible with Spotify, currently the biggest digital music service that gives you access to millions of songs.

iPeng controller

LMS users can use several control apps, including iPeng or the LMS web interface.

SqueezePad controller

Squeezepad is another controller, and like iPeng can control the LMS library manager.

The 432 EVO Essence DAC & Music Server

Technical Specifications

AUDIO OUTPUTS
Analogue output
 Oven controlled 24/192 DAC card with 124dB SNR. Stereo RCA outputs
Digital output
 High-end SP/DIF output, both coaxial and toslink
Analog and SP/DIF output work simultaneously
USB audio output supporting USB Audio Class 2.0 to connect to your USB DAC
HDMI audio output for AV processors & receivers (e.g. second zone)
Network Output
 Network streaming with realtime scheduling to any Roon endpoint and Logitech / Squeezebox based players
CONNECTIVITY
Ethernet
 1x RJ45 for realtime clocked gigabit supporting true gigabit ethernet ISPs
USB
 2x USB 3.0 ports for backup or connecting additional USB dacs
2x USB 2.0 ports for connecting additional USB dacs
HDMI
 HDMI port supporting HDMI dacs and surround processors / receivers
KVM
 VGA, DVI, HDMI and keyboard/mouse service ports normally never needed as the EVO is VPN supported
OPEN FILE FORMATS
Logitech Media Server
 All common formats including DSD, WAV, flac, MP3, ogg vorbis, aac, Passthrough of MQA
Roon
 MP3, WAV, WAV64, AIFF, FLAC, Apple Lossless, OGG, and AAC at resolutions up to 32 bit 768kHz. Roon also supports DSD64, DSD128, DSD256, and DSD512 in the DSF and DFF formats.
DRM FILE FORMAT
Logitech Media Server
 Ogg Vorbis as supported by Spotify Passthrough of MQA towards MQA DAC when using bitperfect mode
Roon
 MQA first unfold supported & any MQA feature in Roon As MQA does not recover any new audio data in the second unfold, second unfold can be replaced by 432 EVO’s own upsample which also can support minimum phase rendering with one cycle of post-ringing, or the superior sounding Archimago minimum phase filter.

AUDIO TRANSFORMATIONS
Bitperfect mode No audio transformations occur, unless DAC does not support sample rate or bit depth of format, otherwise true bitperfect matching or even beating the most exclusive CD transports
Upsampling-only Output most DSD & PCM formats in any input samplerate as 24 bit or 32 bit output in one of the following output samplerate:
44.1K, 88.2K, 176.4K, 352.8K and DXD, 706.6K
48K, 96K, 192K, 384K, 768K
432 Hz mode Same as upsampling mode, but with 432 Hz processing without resolution loss. 432 Hz and upsampling are a combined one step algorithm, therefore no additional load is caused on the CPU when using 432 Hz mode compared to upsampling
SUPPORTED TUNING TRANSFORMATIONS USING 432 Hz MODE
Input pitch 440 Hz up to 445 Hz in one step increments
Other pitches can be added by special request
Output pitch 415 Hz
426 Hz
430.5 Hz (Equal Tone Temperament)
432 Hz (Verdi’s A, Pythagorean Temperament)
440 Hz (today’s Concert Pitch) → used for upsample-only mode
444 Hz
Supported input formats Any audio and file format from local files on the internal storage on the EVO or a NAS, internet radio, on demand streaming services such.
444 Hz mode not compatible with live internet radio
UPSAMPLING RECIPES
For Upsampling-only and 432 Hz modes
Linear phase User tunable linear phase filter, including tuning of processing buffer size and several precision options. All frequencies have the same delay through the filter.
Minimum phase User tunable minimum phase filter, including tuning of processing buffer size and several precision options. No pre-ringing.
Post-ringing can be regular long tail “minimum-phase” without aliasing, or reduced MQA / Ayre inspired one cycle of post-ringing with free bonus aliasing, create pseudo ultrasonics.
Intermediate phase The only server on the market supporting Archimago’s Intermedia Phase upsampling, the most ideal filter with mainly post-ringing and no phase issues within the audible range.
432 EVO implements his original recipe, and two improved variants of this filter
AUDIO SAMPLE RATES
Sample rates All common multiples of 44.1 and 48K
All common DSD formats
Bit depths 16, 24 and 32 bit

CONTROL APPS
Roon Official Roon remote running on Apple or Android tablets & phones
Desktop version of Roon for PC or MAC acting as a Roon remote control
Logitech Media Server Any web browser for web based version of GUI
SqueezePad (iPad)
iPeng (iPhone/iPad)
Orange Squeeze (Android)
Squeezer (Android)
Squeeze Remote (Windows)
CONFIGURATION INTERFACE
Web Gui Web interface usable on any phone, tablet, laptop or desktop:
1. Configure the 432 Hz enabled player
2. Check the riplogs
3. Switch between Roon & Logitech Media Server
4. Several other system configuration parameters not often changed
HARDWARE
Ripdrive Hand tested Teac slot-loading, tested with at least 5 retail CD’s which are known to cause rip issues on some drives. All CD’s must past our extreme test.
Default storage Ultra low noise laptop 2 TB SSHD (hybrid HDD+SSD) on spring suspension system.
Storage upgrades Optional 2 TB SSD or 4 TB SSD or 2x 4 TB SSD merged as a virtual 8 TB instead of 2 TB SSHD is possible. Please ask your reseller for pricing.
CPU Model with HWBOOST: J4205 tuned to a more constant power draw for lower software jitter. 
More modern and faster than many competitors who use the old N4200

Model. Without HWBOOST: non-disclosed quad core CPU slightly slower than the J4205, but still fast enough for Roon
Memory Model with HWBOOST: 8 GB, plenty for Roon even when importing larger collections.
 Otherwise 4 GB, large enough for music collections up to 2 TB
SUPPORTED STREAMING SERVICES
Roon Internet radio, Qobuz and Tidal
Logitech Media Server Internet radio, Qobuz, Tidal, Spotify and any service for which an LMS plugin is available
REQUIREMENTS
Mains supply 100 Volt AC 50/60Hz / 110 Volt AC 50/60Hz
115 Volt AC 50/60Hz / 120 Volt AC 50/60Hz
220 Volt AC 50/60Hz / 230 Volt AC 50/60Hz
240 Volt AC 50/60Hz
True linear power supply: Sbooster BOtW MK2
Internet Internet connection required for updates, VPN support & metadata retrieval.
Can work standalone (e.g. hifi shows, shows on location) with just a Wi-Fi router attached via ethernet and no active internet connection
DAC USB To use the superclock based USB output, you’ll need a USB dac conforming to USB Class Audio 2.0 standard (most DAC’s follow this standard)
Network endpoint To stream to endpoints, you’ll need Roon or Squeezebox compatible endpoints

PHYSICAL
Colour Black or silver
Weight Server 6 KG
PSU 1.85 KG
Dimensions PSU: 240 x 130 x 75mm
Server 435 x 319 x 100mm (W x D x H, 109mm including feet)
What’s in the box Server
Sbooster BOtW mk2 PSU with attached high quality DC cable 
Manuals & Quick Guide
Chassis Modular chassis which will support future hardware updates such as new main boards as they come to market
WARRANTY & REMOTE SUPPORT
2 years limited warranty
2 years VPN support included with the 432 EVO