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Against your comps, this is above the 75th percentile at USD 396 versus a USD 342 upper quartile, so it reads ambitious rather than fair. It is well past the USD 127 median and even the USD 110 lower quartile, so I’d only bite if the market is unusually thin or the condition/accessories are notably better than average.
As a buy, the appeal is straightforward: the amp/preamp is a respected, punchy balanced desktop piece with real current-drive and enough versatility to stay useful even if your system changes. The ESS DAC version adds convenience and keeps the package tidy; if it’s clean, original, and fully functional, that’s the kind of one-box setup that saves money and rack space. At this asking price, I’d want confirmation on condition, included power supply, and any remote or original packaging.
Independent perspective — not a price guarantee. Always verify condition, accessories and provenance before purchase.
ESS is best known as ESS Technology, a U.S. semiconductor company founded by Forrest Mozer in 1983 as Electronic Speech Systems. It began in California and grew from speech and multimedia chips into a specialist in audio conversion silicon, with its later identity strongly tied to digital audio technology rather than finished consumer hi-fi products.
The company’s core focus is audio DACs and ADCs—especially the SABRE family—used by manufacturers in audio, mobile, automotive, and professional equipment. In hi-fi terms, ESS is not primarily a maker of amplifiers, speakers, turntables, or headphones; instead, it supplies the conversion chips that sit inside many third-party components.
In the market, ESS has a technical, high-performance, component-supplier reputation rather than a consumer brand identity. Among informed audiophiles it is often associated with high-end and upper-mid-tier digital playback, while also being somewhat niche because its name usually appears inside other brands’ products rather than on the front panel. It is a respected engineering brand, but not a vintage collector name in the usual sense.
See all ESS listings on RADAR.
