Meet Echo's End: our new discrete precision resistor R-2R DAC with multiple integrated Firewall technology

Do you feel let down by the promises of modern digital audio? In the early 90’s, Sony and Philips were advertising “perfect sound forever,” yet today, don’t you feel cold, empty, and tired from the mechanical sound of digital? Does your direct experience lead you to question the “numbers race?” Isn't it suspicious that, under proper conditions, standard resolution can actually sound better than high-res? If so, Echo’s End is for you.

Imagine a sound so smooth, so liquid and organic, that you’d no longer even know, or even care, whether it is digital or analog. Sampling rates mean nothing. Imagine feeling the intricate emotional stimulus of every performance, regardless of digital source. There’s an audiophile saying that goes, “never blame the source material.” Echo’s End is the DAC that lives up to it!

LessLoss has been perfecting the art of digital conversion for over 18 years. We never take part in the corporate rat-race of chasing popular fashion. We always know that sonic performance has primarily to do with Jitter reduction, and that Jitter is always going to be contended, since it is impossible to measure with authority. We work by ear where the lab equipment can’t follow. As a result, today we have over 5000 satisfied customers in 65 countries, and counting. This is only because of confirmed experience in real-world systems by real-world people. We hardly advertise. We don’t really have to.

Echo’s End is the perfect DAC when you want music to flow just as it does in nature. You don’t get harshness or masking by digital “same-ness.” What you do get is an easy-to-use, fully automatic digital-to-analogue converter whose sole purpose is to provide the best possible audio quality. You won’t find external buttons, nor lights, nor animated display screens. Echo’s End is fully automatic. Just connect a digital source such as USB, S/PDIF, or AES/EBU, and Echo’s End will automatically find the signal and convert it to beautiful analog sound. At the outputs you have directly converted analog signal, with absolutely no components in the signal path. No chips, no op-amp buffers, no caps, no transformers, nor any tubes.

The sound quality is fantastic. We’ve incorporated on-board Firewall modules, a special technology for conditioning power developed and manufactured exclusively by LessLoss. This raises the sonic performance to unbelievable levels. All parts in the Echo’s End, both mechanical and electrical, are fixed directly to wood, and point-to-point soldering allows for the smoothest possible signal flow, ensuring the most liquid audio reproduction imaginable.

With Echo’s End, you get four digital inputs and two types of analogue outputs. You can play any PCM audio up to 192 kHz, and even DSD.

Echo’s End is a great tool for those who want to simply “set it and forget it.” You don’t have to play around with menus, settings, or remotes. You get top performance and peace of mind knowing there are no unnecessary features. Echo’s End is pure and simple, and this is part of what makes it sound so good.

The DAC ships in a water-tight, custom padded flight case and arrives by courier in 3 days or less. You have our 30 day return policy which guarantees your satisfaction. It is easy to purchase right here. You know you’ll be in good company because we are audiophiles, just like you. We don’t make new gadgets just because they are in style. The junkyards are full of disposable gear as it is. Our creations have a lot more soul. Everything we do is born of personal passion.

Read the independent reviews, and see what impact Echo’s End has had on others. Then come back and order yourself one fantastic audio machine. We’re in it for the sound, and we really mean it. Join us. You won’t be disappointed.

Order your Echo’s End DAC today.

Digital inputs

The unit supports USB, S/PDIF, and AES/EBU digital inputs.

Analogue Outputs

- 2 Channels Unbalanced (RCA), straight off of the Ladder DAC resistor network at 1.4V RMS. You can even drive many headphones directly.
- 2 Channels Balanced (XLR), at ~2V RMS. You can drive most any headphone through this output.

Digital formats converted to analogue

- PCM up to 24/192 kHz
- DSD 1x and 2x on USB input

Dimensions

- Width 375 mm
- Depth 230 mm (add a few mm for the connectors at the back)
- Height 55 mm (add 38 mm to the height if you use the Bindbreaker equipment feet)

The idea behind the name

Echo's End is where hearing transforms into listening.

With most any DAC, you can hear everything. With Echo's End, you can listen to everything. Echo's End goes well beyond hearing sensation and affords best conditions for listening.

With other DACs, you can hear good things in a technical sense. With Echo's End, you can listen to the best humanity has to offer.

During testing, listening sessions became difficult because we kept losing track of time. After all, we are supposed to be at work here... Never has it been so difficult to peel ourselves from the desire to continue to listen for pleasure alone. It seems all critical faculties melt away and fail. Something else seems to take over, completely. One cannot help but marvel, and continue to marvel. (And no, we will not be held responsible for loss of sleep!)

Echo's End represents a new performance proposition, completely unique in this world. We are way beyond hearing new notes in chords, new subtly revealed accents and minute gestures of expression. We are now listening to and easily comprehending intent, ambient reality, a clear record of past events, to the actual meaning conveyed to the audience. A single historical performance can be described by a thousand critics' reviews, but now we can actually experience what they meant.

USB-ready; a new USB raised to audiophile standards

We can now say, for the first time in history, that USB is acceptable as a digital source suitable for audiophile playback purposes. No amount of digital smudginess or smearing remains in the sound. We now have a purity and clarity of tone previously only ever achieved by interfacing with well-shielded S/PDIF, AES/EBU, or even I2S. This opens the door to affordable audio well within, if not defining, the highest performance class. A cold-sounding, unmodified(!) computer can now convey authentic human emotion. There is nothing smudgy, fuzzy, or harsh remaining in the sound. Time passes smoothly as if from a reel-to-reel tape machine, less the noise. One is transported into a feeling of decades past, even before the rise of digital audio.

This is a masterpiece of high performance. All connectors and circuit boards are mated directly to wood. No Fuses. No frills. No lights. Not even any switches (automatic detection of whatever digital input is used.) Almost no plastic throughout. No brass pins on any internal busses. Directly soldered copper throughout. Very organic, smooth sound. Very pleasing and most hypnotic. The longest reverb tails and the most truthful ambient information you've ever encountered from digital.

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Echo's End Original

• Cryogenically treated, solid copper, gold plated power inlet.
• Most precise resistors available (we only ever use the very best ones with the very best specs available).
• Three Firewall modules onboard.
• DSD (2x) ready over USB.
• Plays up to 192 kHz sampling rate PCM data.
• Ships in a LessLoss branded water-tight flight case

Echo's End Reference

• Solid Panzerholz enclosure (it does the same thing for sensitive gear that it does for natural sound used for speakers).
• Grounded custom hand made carbon fiber transformer shroud (really lowers the noise floor down to incredible stability at very high frequencies, important for Jitter reduction).
• Cryogenically treated, solid copper, gold plated power inlet (Sound is smooth and dynamic as a result.)
• Most precise resistors available (we only ever use the very best ones with the very best specs available).
• Dual power supplies, dual Soekris boards, reprogrammed by LessLoss for dual mono configuration (this provides amazing stereo separation and a whole lot of nuance in terms of spacial presentation. Everything becomes more 3D and liquid. It is really nice when compared to a single board in normal stereo mode.)
• XLR output derived from four mono channels of resistor ladders (output buffering schematics completely bypassed. This is possible because one board's Right channel converts the signal in phase and the Left channel converts the same digital signal out-of-phase. The phase reversal is done still in the digital realm, so the balanced signal is digitally perfect, without noise from an output buffer. This provides amazing clarity, transparency; a holographic sound and a super low noise floor.)
• LessLoss special custom S/PDIF - I2S conversion schematic (developed and manufactured by LessLoss, it is much better than Soekris onboard solution).
• LessLoss controlled automatic digital input selection (Soekris boards receive only I2S from LessLoss board)
• LessLoss unique 3.3V generation for internal I2S (The USB 5V supply is discarded; and the 3.3V is made with our own power stabilizer and Firewall 64X technology. It is super smooth and stable. Makes you forget you are listening to a computer USB source!)
• All floating bolts point-to-point star grounded (you can see this in the picture as silver looking wires coming from bolt to bolt throughout). This lowers the internal noise reflections and makes it dead silent inside.
• New integrated Firewall 64X technology (6 units implemented here. This is brand new technology, the best we ever made.)
• C-MARC™ internal hook-up wire (All power and analogue signal leads are C-MARC™. This takes a lot of labor to prepare but we feel the results are so organic and natural with great speed but never getting tiring to the ear. Well worth the extra effort.
• DSD (2x) ready over USB.
• Plays up to 192 kHz sampling rate PCM data.
• Hand polished 100% natural beeswax impregnated (Looks very beautiful in real life, even smells really good, too, though never overpowering.)
• Will have a precision engraved brass placard on the front of the unit, with model name engraved by laser on top.
• Ships in a LessLoss branded water-tight flight case

Echo's End Reference Supreme Edition

• Two separate Panzerholz enclosures, one for power supply, one to house the DAC process and additional Firewall modules.
• Two transformers, one for digital input schematic separately
• Potting of transformers in LessLoss special high negative ion content epoxy compound
• Additional power stabilizer schematics for digital input schematics with 30X dynamic headroom.
• Two grounded custom hand made carbon fiber transformer shrouds (really lowers the noise floor down to incredible stability at very high frequencies, important for Jitter reduction).
• Cryogenically treated, solid copper, gold plated power inlet (Sound is smooth and dynamic as a result.)
• Three separate LessLoss C-MARC™ XLR DC cables based on Triaxial cable, length 1.5m each, to connect the two units.
• Most precise resistors available (we only ever use the very best ones with the very best specs available).
• Dual power supplies, dual Soekris boards, reprogrammed by LessLoss for dual mono configuration (this provides amazing stereo separation and a whole lot of nuance in terms of spacial presentation. Everything becomes more 3D and liquid.)
• XLR output derived from four mono channels of resistor ladders (output buffering schematics completely bypassed. This is possible because one board's Right channel converts the signal in phase and the Left channel converts the same digital signal out-of-phase. The phase reversal is done still in the digital realm, so the balanced signal is digitally perfect, without noise from an output buffer. This provides amazing clarity, transparency; a holographic sound and a super low noise floor.)
• LessLoss special custom S/PDIF - I2S conversion schematic (developed and manufactured by LessLoss, it is much better than Soekris onboard solution).
• LessLoss controlled automatic digital input selection (Soekris boards receive only I2S from LessLoss board)
• LessLoss unique 3.3V generation for internal I2S (The USB 5V supply is discarded; and the 3.3V is made with our own power stabilizer and Firewall 64X technology. It is super smooth and stable. Makes you forget you are listening to a computer USB source!)
• All floating bolts point-to-point star grounded, including the housing bolts. This lowers the internal noise reflections and makes it dead silent inside.
• 14 units integrated Firewall 64X technology. The best we ever made.
• C-MARC™ internal hook-up wire (All power and analogue signal leads are C-MARC™. This takes a lot of labor to prepare but we feel the results are so organic and natural with great speed but never getting tiring to the ear. Well worth the extra effort.
• DSD (2x) ready over USB.
• Plays up to 192 kHz sampling rate PCM data.
• Hand polished, 100% natural beeswax impregnated (Very beautiful, even smells really good, though never overpowering.)
• Precision engraved brass placard on front of both units, with model name engraved by laser on top.
• Ships in two separate LessLoss branded water-tight flight cases

USB Driver - MAC OS

No driver is required. Just plug and play!

USB Driver - Windows

Download the driver here.