Hi All,
I just found out that ESS Tech has a Kelowna, BC Canada office which is where the Sabre32 DAC was designed and built. Dustin Forman, the man behind the chip, works out of the Kelowna location. It just so happens I live about 1 hour's drive from Kelowna. I called ESS and spoke with Dustin at length. He graciously invited me to their facility to audition the Sabre32 DAC. Dustin is a wonderful person with an outstanding talent in audio design. Dustin demo'd the Sabre32 DAC through a Sonic Frontiers "Anthem P5" amplifier and a set of Linn speakers. The sound was stunning. The best I have ever heard. I had a chance to meet the entire ESS crew, and I was very impressed. What a great bunch of guys! Extremely knowledgable, and extremely passionate about ultra-high end audio and perfecting the audio experience.

ESS also has state-of-the-art audio test equipment like the Audio Precision System Two. Producing a true audiophile-grade DAC is, from what I saw and experienced, is more an art than pure science. The crew at ESS are indeed artists! But in my mind, Dustin stood out as the "master" artist.

I am very excited about the prospects of the Sabre32 and can't wait to get my hands on a Buffalo32!! Incidentaly, Dustin (and Mark Mallinson) spoke very highly of both Russ and Brian of Twisted Pear. So, Russ and Brian - kudos for doing such great work!