GIGABYTE Z490 Aorus Gaming Motherboard adds ES9280PRO USB DAC Solution

< Newsroom | Posted: Monday July 13, 2020

ESS’s ES9280PRO USB-DAC and ES9118 with SABRE® DACs are included for optimum audio quality in the latest GIGABYTE gaming mother board

Milpitas, California – ESS Technology, the industry leader in audio and analog design, announced today that two ESS SABRE® DAC solutions are included in GIGABYTE’s new Z490 Aorus Ultra G2 Motherboard Esports Bundle.  The Aorus Motherboard has a built-in ES9118 SABRE DACs that provide incredible sound on the rear panel, ensuring optimal audiophile performance when the device is connected to a wired headset or an external amplifier.

In addition, the motherboard includes a USB-C audio dongle that uses ESS’s ES9280PRO, an integrated solution for audiophile like sound quality.   The ES9280PRO is optimized for low-latency and features a low-power USB 2.0 controller and 2Vrms output drive that supports the most demanding headsets.

Both parts feature ultra-high-resolution audio, up to 32-bit 384kHz PCM and feature stellar dynamic range of 124 dB DNR for the ES9280PRO and 120 dB DNR for the ES9118.

The high dynamic range and bandwidth are critical to the gaming experience.  High dynamic range makes background noise inaudible and allows for subtle sound to come through clear and distinct.  For example, this allows the gamer to hear the lightest footfalls of opponents.  High bandwidth gives gamers more accurate spatial positioning.   Competitor’s digital-to-analog converters will experience phase shifts near the upper limit of their bandwidth, mostly above 10kHz.  This limitation for the gamers results in a “blurring” of the sound location, making it difficult for gamers to understand exactly where sound is coming from.  For SABRE DACs, this is tightly controlled and pushed above 200kHz, well above the critical range.  This level of performance gives gamers an advantage in hearing exactly where a sound originated, even when it is behind them.

The ES9280PRO USB-C audio adaptor is fully compatible with recent versions of Android, Windows, and Mac OS.  This allows superior sound quality for listening to music or playing games on any device and is a significant benefit for customers who want to take advantage of this device for other uses.

“GIGABYTE has been a long-term partner for ESS and is an industry leader that consistently provides cutting-edge performance and features in their products,” Said Shawn Scarlett, Sr. Director of Marketing for ESS Technology.  He continued “we are very excited that we could provide a solution to our customer that differentiates their products and provides the highest quality audio to their customers.”

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About ESS Technology
For more than three decades, ESS Technology has been on the cutting edge of audio technology. A privately-held fabless semiconductor company, ESS Technology designs and markets high-performance analog and HiFi audio devices for mobile, consumer, automotive, and professional audiophile systems. The company was founded in 1984, and today ESS Technology is best known for its SABRE series of high-performance audio products. For more information, visit http://www.esstech.com.