The Essence Evolve II-4K has found its way into an extraordinary variety of audio systems around the world — from Apple TV 4K streaming systems and modern Blu-ray players to vintage McIntosh, Parasound and other high-quality analog components.
What these systems have in common is simple: their owners wanted the convenience of today’s HDMI sources without giving up the sound quality or equipment they already loved.
Here are their experiences.
Apple TV 4K, Streaming & Modern Digital Sources
“It’s working seamlessly and sounds great.”
“Bob, I wanted to let you know the Evolve II-4K is up and running with my Apple TV4K in stereo. It’s working seamlessly and sounds great.”
— Matthew O’Hara, Audiophile Consumer — May 2026
“The Evolve made everything possible.”
“Hi, Bob. I wanted to follow up on my impressions of the Evolve in my system. It’s been amazing. My signal chain goes Apple TV → Evolve II-4K → Symetrix DSP (w fader control) → Crown DCi 8/300. It’s a monster!
It’s gotta be the most aggressive & athletic system I’ve heard in a while. There’s a lot going on in the Symetrix DSP unit, but the Evolve made everything possible. Without it, I would have had to use an AVR or pre/pro for the HDMI DAC work and have a 2nd gain stage in the system.”
— Robby L., Senior Technical Services Manager at Metro 18 — April 2026
“Finally I can enjoy music with quality coming out from that tiny Apple TV4K streamer.”
“The Evolve II-4K DAC is well received in perfect condition, and most importantly, it sounds really great. Finally I can enjoy music with quality coming out from that tiny Apple TV4K streamer.
Thanks for creating such cool stuff that solved my problem!”
— Gordon Tang, Audiophile Consumer, Hong Kong — March 2026
“The Evolve II-4K has rejuvenated HDMI sourced music for my stereo system.”
“Wow … I am impressed! This is an amazing DAC with an uncanny ability to present individual instruments and voices within a magnificent soundstage. It’s exceptionally clear, natural sounding and utterly convincing.
The Evolve II-4K has rejuvenated HDMI sourced music for my stereo system. What a great product!
You were also right about setting my Apple TV 4K to stereo — no more 5.1 down-mix congestion. I’m also convinced there would be no benefit to adding an external stereo DAC.”
— Bill Vandermarel, Audiophile Consumer and former CEO of Paradigm / Anthem — January 2022
“It works great with the NVIDIA Shield.”
“I hooked up the Evolve II-4K on Friday and I’ve done some testing. It works great with the NVIDIA Shield. I’m very happy with the final results. Thanks again.”
— Eric Edewarrd, Audiophile Consumer — August 2021
Multichannel Music, Movies & Legacy Systems
“It is wonderful for my 5.1 music collection.”
“I have been using it for 1 year now and it is wonderful for my 5.1 music collection. The Evolve II-4K also works great for my stereo music listening.
Just wanted to say I appreciate you for making this!”
— Collis Cody Nelson, Audiophile Consumer — November 2025
“The multi-channel sound with the Evolve II-4K is fantastic!”
“I purchased a used Parasound P/SP 1500 and the multi-channel sound with the Evolve II-4K is fantastic!!! It’s better than the Linn I use for stereo. And much, much better than the DAC of the Denon AVR.”
— Volker Barent, Audiophile Consumer, Germany — January 2025
“The Evolve II-4K is exactly what I need it to do.”
“Yes Bob — the Evolve II-4K is exactly, not more & not less, what I need it to do. I ordered a new Sony UBP-X800M2. These two units produce music to my ears.
I’m buying a second of both for backup!!! What a find at so reasonable a price.”
— Bill Zirkle, Audiophile Consumer — June 2024
“Fantastic audio AND video.”
“You’re very correct … I’ve now got fantastic audio AND video with the Evolve II-4K. 🙂 Couldn’t be happier!”
— David Mould, UK Audiophile
“It turned my legacy McIntosh AVR into a modern one.”
“At $299, plus a modern Blu-ray player which has now reached picture quality of the higher-priced options at much lower prices, the Evolve II-4K is a no brainer over buying a costly new AVR.
So far I’m very happy! It turned my legacy McIntosh AVR into a modern one which runs a cost of about $7k! It also sounded sweet enough with music for me to consider selling my separate 2ch Tube DAC.”
— Cesar Augusto, Audiophile Consumer — May 2020
“I can hear sound that just wasn’t there without it.”
“With the new DAC, I find that they produce so much more clarity and separation of instruments. I can hear sound that just wasn’t there without it.
I rate the Essence Evolve II-4K a solid 5 out of 5 stars.”
— David Moench, Audiophile Consumer — March 2020
“For anyone with a legacy AVR, the Evolve II-4K is a no-brainer.”
“Having lived with the Evolve II-4K HDMI Multi-Channel DAC for a couple of months now, I can safely say it delivered some of the best sound I have experienced in my listening room.
Listening from a variety of sources, including Blu-ray discs, movies streamed through Apple TV and an Amazon Fire, in every instance, with the Evolve, the sound was refined, dynamic, and balanced.
For anyone with a legacy AVR, the Evolve II-4K is a no-brainer offering a big sonic upgrade at a very reasonable price. Well done Essence!”
— Jeff Dunnam, Audiophile Consumer — June 2020
Stereo & Audiophile Listening
“This is the best ESS DAC implementation I’ve heard by far.”
“It sounds wonderful, BTW. This is the best ESS DAC implementation I’ve heard by far, with excellent detail retrieval and smooth, refined and natural character.”
— Terry Underwood, Audiophile Consumer — March 2022
“So much more flexibility and sound.”
“I am very pleased with the Evolve II-4K that I just put in service. So much better than Cambridge DAC which is good but yours has so much more flexibility and sound.
I had been using a tube DAC which I liked a lot but the sonic quality of the Evolve is quite nice sonically to my ears.
I am ordering two more in a moment.”
— Price Ambler, Audiophile Consumer — July 2021
“The sound is very close to the concert hall.”
“The Evolve is working marvelously. When the recording is a quality one, the sound is very close to the concert hall. One can hear the bow on the strings and the breath of the singers.”
— Jack Kyte, Audiophile Consumer — February 2021
“That’s what I strive for in a DAC — transparency.”
“I got my first chance to audition the Evolve DAC last night, and I have to say, I’m quite impressed. Listening to this DAC was a joy.
I know the sound signature of my monitors pretty well, so I can tell if a DAC is adding any significant color, noise, or distortion to that familiar sound. Thankfully and delightfully, the Evolve was not. That’s what I strive for in a DAC — transparency.
I tried both music and film material, and both sounded great. The music was smooth and detailed, and I ended up listening for more than an hour.
Then I put on a movie, and the dialog was crystal clear with excellent imaging. Some DACs struggle to remain transparent at the far low end, but the Evolve produced lifelike low frequency effects that pushed my monitors’ woofers to their limits.
What started out as a simple sound test in a desktop system with active speakers turned into a few hours of sonic fun. Nice job all around in the fidelity department.”
— Lily Finley, Audiophile Consumer — August 2020
“It sounds great with my PrimaLuna and Sony 800.”
“Thanks Bob, Evolve II-4K works. It sounds great with my PrimaLuna and Sony 800.”
— Frederick Lee, Audiophile Consumer — June 2020
International Audiophile Experiences
“My vintage receiver really got evolved!”
“As I opened the box I was surprised to discover a VERY high quality product, from the exchangeable power adapter to the build quality.
The sound quality is wonderful, my vintage receiver really got evolved!!!
I want to thank you for your kind service and a really unique and wonderful product.”
— Oren Shive, Audiophile Consumer, Israel — October 2021
“Clean, clear, instant and no glitches.”
“I got the Evolve II-4K HDMI DAC pretty quickly. I love the size. The instructions are pretty clear and the features are minimalist.
The huge Sony STR-DA7ES came out of hiding to test — stereo for now — and it went so well that you could say I was Quite Surprised.
I set the receiver back to 2.1, connected L & R from the Essence and set the switch to 2 channel — instant success by playing my Sony UBP-X800 through it!
Clean, clear, instant and no glitches — brought my latest pair of classic Stereophile Class C recommended Acoustat Spectra 11s roaring to life.
Very simply: Easy. Covers the basics. Clean and clear sound. No glitches — no hassles. Modest & useful/purposeful design.”
— Ken Baker, Audiophile Consumer — August 2019
Industry & Review Highlights
“I was stunned that the Essence Evolve II-4K sounded so good.”
“I was stunned that Essence Evolve II-4K HDMI v2.0b Multi-Channel DAC sounded so good. How good? I liked it better than sending the audio via HDMI through the Marantz and its DACs. It seemed just noticeably cleaner and more open……”
— Kalman Rubinson, Stereophile — June 2019
“If you have a multi-channel analog preamp that you like, the Essence HDMI DAC is your savior.”
“A combo HDMI hi res audio de-embedder, low-cost, high-quality, multi-channel PCM DAC that nets you 24/192 quality from lossless and LPCM multichannel or stereo audio.
This Evolve II-4K gives you the ability to use virtually any Blu-ray player with any legacy or current multichannel analog preamplifier, or preamp section contained in a receiver. And the results are amazing, given the price.
The DAC performance, combined with a quality multi-channel analog input/output preamp, rivals or exceeds what you get out of many modern pre/pros, receivers or BD players via their HDMI DAC sections.
An Oppo 205’s analog output did not sound any better through my AudioControl Maestro M3 analog output. And a $3,000 receiver decoding the BD player’s HDMI output sounded much more closed in than the Essence Evolve II-4K.
If you have a multi-channel analog preamp that you like, the Essence HDMI DAC is your savior.”
— John Gatski, Publisher, Everything Audio Network — November 2019
“Honestly this sounds so good I don’t know how much better it can get.”
“All I can say is…WOW! The Evolve II-4K is something special. I’m getting 88.2 with SACDs, just as before.
Honestly this sounds so good I don’t know how much better it can get. I am VERY pleased and will gladly recommend your products.”
— Hyendaudio Services, Audiophile Dealer — July 2019
Simple Solutions That Work
“The Evolve II-4K works great!”
“First, the Evolve II-4K works great! It’s a great product at a fair price. Thanks!”
— Edward Richards, Audiophile Consumer — May 2026
Every system is different, but the pattern is clear.
Owners are using the Essence Evolve II-4K to connect today’s HDMI sources to the amplifiers, preamplifiers, legacy AVRs, active speakers and multichannel systems they already know and love — while preserving the sound quality that made those systems worth keeping in the first place.
Don’t replace your system. Evolve it.
Click here to learn more about the Essence Evolve II-4K HDMI Multi-Channel DAC.