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Is this the sort of deal you’d regret not jumping on? At £81, it sits below the £94 median and just under the £81 25th percentile in your recent GBP comps, so this reads as a strong bargain rather than merely fair.
That makes sense for a well-liked portable DAC/amp: these are valued for compact size, balanced output, and an easy lift in drive and clarity over a phone or laptop jack. If it’s clean, works properly, and includes the right cables/adapters, it’s a very sensible buy; at this price, I’d mainly confirm charging, output balance, and that the 4.4mm side is healthy.
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.
