Post by Guitar on Jan 3, 2014 16:49:21 GMT -6
Thanks Emperor Kenn for recommending the Emotiva DC-1, which is an up and coming Nashville company's stereo DAC, made well in China. Opening the box, I got a nice heavy duty, high end feel from the metal remote, chunky power cable, and the unit itself.
I snagged it for the significant discount price of $500 during their winter sale, which ends Jan 5, 2014. Just got it set up moments ago!
I guess I'll post a short review.
The first thing I tried was ditching my SM Pro M Patch 2 and using the Emotiva as a preamp and analog volume control. This is the one thing so far that's bad about the DC-1. I found the analog volume attenuation to be doing something funny to the sound, scooping the mids or something. Thom Yorke's voice sounded distant and fake so I had to immediately switch back to the SM Pro setup, fed by the DC-1. I set the Output mode to "Fixed 0 dB" and moved on with the SM Pro as preamp.
[EDIT: It's just a flatter sound, takes some getting used to. The SM Pro is smoother and darker, seeming fuller. The DC-1 volume is flatter and clearer, perhaps more accurate. I'm not sure which way I'm going to go yet. It was just a shocking change at first, coming from years on the same attenuator, I got a little excited.]
The remote control is pretty handy and works from all kinds of weird angles.
In no time, I was running CD player into the optical, USB from the computer, coax SPDIF from the Audiofire 8, and flipping around sources.
I am so impressed with how this thing sounds. This is the best digital playback I've ever personally heard, and the only high end DAC I've ever tried, a nice first for me. It's leagues above the Echo Audiofire. It's super detailed, dry, precise, powerful, authoritative, I don't even know how to say it. The sound is just so perfectly etched or something, and it's not bright or harsh. It is free from any low fidelity type colorations. Transients and bass come through with force. Acoustic instruments sound realistic and present. Piano chimes so nicely! I'm hearing tiny sounds I used to miss on familiar recordings. There is no weird haze or grit on the sound like there is on the Audiofire (slight). The Audiofire might be slightly warmer in the mids. But I think I prefer the precision and impact of the DC-1. I feel like I'm in a movie theater or something, it's a big sound. The sound also recalls brief moments I've sat in front of the monitors in super high end commercial facilities... ahhhh.... that's a good direction to be heading. I always thought they just had way better monitors than me, but now I'm realizing, the DAC is a significant part of that sound, too. In a word, "tight."
I am going to have to spend a lot more time with this and do some actual mixing before I have a final opinion, but so far I am extremely impressed. I've only been listening for an hour or two. Emotiva has a generous 30 day return policy in case I decide against it.
One thing I do already know with certainty is that, if you use a mid priced interface, a high end DAC can be a significant improvement to the listening chain. I'm converted, I think. :-D I think that the playback DAC gets overshadowed by so much talk of speakers and room acoustics, but to me it seems like it's in there with those other two. Maybe the least critical. It's too early to say if it will produce better work, but there is clearly a large range of sound character between different converters, so it's an option worth consideration to the serious listener.
I wish I could audition the Schiit Bifrost Uber at the same time, I was curious about that one, too. Maybe I'll pick one up later.
I just had a major deja-vu better stop here.
I snagged it for the significant discount price of $500 during their winter sale, which ends Jan 5, 2014. Just got it set up moments ago!
I guess I'll post a short review.
The first thing I tried was ditching my SM Pro M Patch 2 and using the Emotiva as a preamp and analog volume control. This is the one thing so far that's bad about the DC-1. I found the analog volume attenuation to be doing something funny to the sound, scooping the mids or something. Thom Yorke's voice sounded distant and fake so I had to immediately switch back to the SM Pro setup, fed by the DC-1. I set the Output mode to "Fixed 0 dB" and moved on with the SM Pro as preamp.
[EDIT: It's just a flatter sound, takes some getting used to. The SM Pro is smoother and darker, seeming fuller. The DC-1 volume is flatter and clearer, perhaps more accurate. I'm not sure which way I'm going to go yet. It was just a shocking change at first, coming from years on the same attenuator, I got a little excited.]
The remote control is pretty handy and works from all kinds of weird angles.
In no time, I was running CD player into the optical, USB from the computer, coax SPDIF from the Audiofire 8, and flipping around sources.
I am so impressed with how this thing sounds. This is the best digital playback I've ever personally heard, and the only high end DAC I've ever tried, a nice first for me. It's leagues above the Echo Audiofire. It's super detailed, dry, precise, powerful, authoritative, I don't even know how to say it. The sound is just so perfectly etched or something, and it's not bright or harsh. It is free from any low fidelity type colorations. Transients and bass come through with force. Acoustic instruments sound realistic and present. Piano chimes so nicely! I'm hearing tiny sounds I used to miss on familiar recordings. There is no weird haze or grit on the sound like there is on the Audiofire (slight). The Audiofire might be slightly warmer in the mids. But I think I prefer the precision and impact of the DC-1. I feel like I'm in a movie theater or something, it's a big sound. The sound also recalls brief moments I've sat in front of the monitors in super high end commercial facilities... ahhhh.... that's a good direction to be heading. I always thought they just had way better monitors than me, but now I'm realizing, the DAC is a significant part of that sound, too. In a word, "tight."
I am going to have to spend a lot more time with this and do some actual mixing before I have a final opinion, but so far I am extremely impressed. I've only been listening for an hour or two. Emotiva has a generous 30 day return policy in case I decide against it.
One thing I do already know with certainty is that, if you use a mid priced interface, a high end DAC can be a significant improvement to the listening chain. I'm converted, I think. :-D I think that the playback DAC gets overshadowed by so much talk of speakers and room acoustics, but to me it seems like it's in there with those other two. Maybe the least critical. It's too early to say if it will produce better work, but there is clearly a large range of sound character between different converters, so it's an option worth consideration to the serious listener.
I wish I could audition the Schiit Bifrost Uber at the same time, I was curious about that one, too. Maybe I'll pick one up later.
I just had a major deja-vu better stop here.
