The original plan, back in mid-2004, was to audition an entire Ensemble system and then review the individual components over the next two years. Most audio companies produce lines of matching products, but Ensemble takes it a bit further, with a modular approach and extensive commonality of everything from chassis to circuit boards. They firmly believe that <I>everything</I> affects sonic performance, and their approach helps ensure a consistent sound throughout their line.

In his bimonthly column, "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/thefifthelement">The Fifth Element</A>," John Marks has tried to identify pro-audio components that would be of interest to audiophiles. In his <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/thefifthelement/605fifth">June 2005 episode</A>, John wrote about Grace Design's m902 D/A headphone amplifier ($1695), the Colorado company's replacement for the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/thefifthelement/802/index1.html">901</A&gt;, which had long been a favorite of his. Changes include: the handling of single-wire sample rates of up to 192kHz; unbalanced analog outputs, controlled by the front volume control, to allow the unit to be used as a preamplifier; a cross-feed processing circuit licensed from <A HREF="http://www.meier-audio.de">www.meier-audio.de</A&gt;; power-supply revisions; and the provision of a USB digital input, in addition to S/PDIF, AES/EBU, and TosLink.

In his bimonthly column, "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/thefifthelement">The Fifth Element</A>," John Marks has tried to identify pro-audio components that would be of interest to audiophiles. In his <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/thefifthelement/605fifth">June 2005 episode</A>, John wrote about Grace Design's m902 D/A headphone amplifier ($1695), the Colorado company's replacement for the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/thefifthelement/802/index1.html">901</A&gt;, which had long been a favorite of his. Changes include: the handling of single-wire sample rates of up to 192kHz; unbalanced analog outputs, controlled by the front volume control, to allow the unit to be used as a preamplifier; a cross-feed processing circuit licensed from <A HREF="http://www.meier-audio.de">www.meier-audio.de</A&gt;; power-supply revisions; and the provision of a USB digital input, in addition to S/PDIF, AES/EBU, and TosLink.

In his bimonthly column, "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/thefifthelement">The Fifth Element</A>," John Marks has tried to identify pro-audio components that would be of interest to audiophiles. In his <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/thefifthelement/605fifth">June 2005 episode</A>, John wrote about Grace Design's m902 D/A headphone amplifier ($1695), the Colorado company's replacement for the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/thefifthelement/802/index1.html">901</A&gt;, which had long been a favorite of his. Changes include: the handling of single-wire sample rates of up to 192kHz; unbalanced analog outputs, controlled by the front volume control, to allow the unit to be used as a preamplifier; a cross-feed processing circuit licensed from <A HREF="http://www.meier-audio.de">www.meier-audio.de</A&gt;; power-supply revisions; and the provision of a USB digital input, in addition to S/PDIF, AES/EBU, and TosLink.

In his bimonthly column, "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/thefifthelement">The Fifth Element</A>," John Marks has tried to identify pro-audio components that would be of interest to audiophiles. In his <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/thefifthelement/605fifth">June 2005 episode</A>, John wrote about Grace Design's m902 D/A headphone amplifier ($1695), the Colorado company's replacement for the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/thefifthelement/802/index1.html">901</A&gt;, which had long been a favorite of his. Changes include: the handling of single-wire sample rates of up to 192kHz; unbalanced analog outputs, controlled by the front volume control, to allow the unit to be used as a preamplifier; a cross-feed processing circuit licensed from <A HREF="http://www.meier-audio.de">www.meier-audio.de</A&gt;; power-supply revisions; and the provision of a USB digital input, in addition to S/PDIF, AES/EBU, and TosLink.

In his bimonthly column, "The Fifth Element," John Marks has tried to identify pro-audio components that would be of interest to audiophiles. In his June 2005 episode, John wrote about Grace Design's m902 D/A headphone amplifier ($1695), the Colorado company's replacement for the 901, which had long been a favorite of his. Changes include: the handling of single-wire sample rates of up to 192kHz; unbalanced analog outputs, controlled by the front volume control, to allow the unit to be used as a preamplifier; a cross-feed processing circuit licensed from www.meier-audio.de; power-supply revisions; and the provision of a USB digital input, in addition to S/PDIF, AES/EBU, and TosLink.

Looking at all of the high-end headphones and headphone accessories available today, it's difficult to even remember how barren the head-fi landscape was in the early 1990s. Back then, headphones got no respect, except for exotic, expensive electrostatic models, yet most of the world listened to music through headphones all the time, mostly through crappy cans connected to portable players. (Well, maybe it wasn't <I>that</I> different a landscape.)

Looking at all of the high-end headphones and headphone accessories available today, it's difficult to even remember how barren the head-fi landscape was in the early 1990s. Back then, headphones got no respect, except for exotic, expensive electrostatic models, yet most of the world listened to music through headphones all the time, mostly through crappy cans connected to portable players. (Well, maybe it wasn't <I>that</I> different a landscape.)

Looking at all of the high-end headphones and headphone accessories available today, it's difficult to even remember how barren the head-fi landscape was in the early 1990s. Back then, headphones got no respect, except for exotic, expensive electrostatic models, yet most of the world listened to music through headphones all the time, mostly through crappy cans connected to portable players. (Well, maybe it wasn't <I>that</I> different a landscape.)

Looking at all of the high-end headphones and headphone accessories available today, it's difficult to even remember how barren the head-fi landscape was in the early 1990s. Back then, headphones got no respect, except for exotic, expensive electrostatic models, yet most of the world listened to music through headphones all the time, mostly through crappy cans connected to portable players. (Well, maybe it wasn't <I>that</I> different a landscape.)