exaSound Audio Design of Toronto, Canada has created the e12 DAC, the fifth in a family of converter products in its range. Based on ESS Technology’s premium ES9018S SABRE32 DAC, the e12 is a small form factor component made for high resolution audio. The 8 channel, 32 bit ES9018 is configured in the e12 as a balanced stereo converter, with four DAC channels per left/right side. The e12 was created to natively support DSD64 (1x), DSD128 (2x) and DSD256 (4x), along with a maximum PCM sampling rate of 384 kHz at 32 bits. Native support for DXD master files at 352.8 kHz is also included. The exaSound e12 is designed for modern, computer playback applications. The native high sampling rate support also accommodates software up–sampling to 384 kHz or DSD256, for “a more euphonious presentation”.
Custom ASIO drivers, developed in–house, offer complete control of the e12 from a Windows or Mac OS. New software features in the driver include auto–power down, and a maximum volume limiter. The limiter allows the e12 to directly drive a power amplifier while protecting loudspeakers from damaging overloads.
A total of seven linear power conditioning stages are used to prevent noise, while a tightly controlled, 0.13 ps master clock and triple oscillators architecture attempts to minimise time–smearing jitter artifacts. Further noise immunity is provided by galvanic isolation between the proprietary asynchronous USB ZeroJitter interface and the downstream audio conversion circuitry, eliminating ground loops while blocking interference generated by computer connections. The e12 is available now for US$1,999, directly from exaSound’s web site and from select dealers.