[greenkiwi]

Has anyone had trouble with nigh noise floor on the headphone output when using IEMs?  I tried with a pair of logitech vi600s and some Cardas IEMs and in both cases, there was a very pronounced noise floor.
 
I tried two different DC-1s and have tried it w/o anything connected to it.

 

[elwappo99]

Coming completely out of left field with this one, but has anyone done a good, preferably volume-matched comparison between the Schiit Modi and the DC-1? I know they're in different price and features brackets, but the value proposition and very thourough measurements of the DC-1 is making me interested.

 
 
I've seen two comparisons of the Schiit Gungnir and Emotiva DC-1 and both put the DC-1 at the same level as a DAC only.

 

[KLJTech]

   
 
I've seen two comparisons of the Schiit Gungnir and Emotiva DC-1 and both put the DC-1 at the same level as a DAC only.

 
I know about Gary IN MD's DAC shootout (thanks Gary!), is the other one on Head-Fi or no? Love to see the two compared through nice quality speakers as well as headphones. Thanks. 

 

[TeskR]

Coming completely out of left field with this one, but has anyone done a good, preferably volume-matched comparison between the Schiit Modi and the DC-1? I know they're in different price and features brackets, but the value proposition and very thourough measurements of the DC-1 is making me interested.

Also interested in this, would like to upgrade from the modi to something a bit more versatile but trying to spend as little money as possible.

 

[elwappo99]

 

   
 
I've seen two comparisons of the Schiit Gungnir and Emotiva DC-1 and both put the DC-1 at the same level as a DAC only.

 
I know about Gary IN MD's DAC shootout (thanks Gary!), is the other one on Head-Fi or no? Love to see the two compared through nice quality speakers as well as headphones. Thanks. 

 
No it's on another site. You'll have to search for it, since we're not allowed to link to that site. 

 

[KLJTech]

   
No it's on another site. You'll have to search for it, since we're not allowed to link to that site. 

Okay, thank you.

 

[pearljam50000]

Is anyone using it with HD800 as amp\dac?

 

[thievesarmy]

   
It took me awhile to realize that "different" isn't necessarily "better". I would hear a difference in a DAC and for whatever reason, I'd believe the most expensive one was automatically better.

 
This is something I experience a LOT when comparing audio gear. I can easily hear differences, but find it hard to pinpoint which is BETTER, even from my own subjective point of view.

 

[elwappo99]

 

   
It took me awhile to realize that "different" isn't necessarily "better". I would hear a difference in a DAC and for whatever reason, I'd believe the most expensive one was automatically better.

 
This is something I experience a LOT when comparing audio gear. I can easily hear differences, but find it hard to pinpoint which is BETTER, even from my own subjective point of view.

 
A lot of people who play/have played musical instruments use that as a reference. I played drums for many many years, so I usually try to pick out a drum/percussion instrument and really hone in on it. Reverberation on cymbals are usually a really clear indicator. 
 
When mrspeakers was first fiddling with the T50rp (before the "Mad Dogs" were released) I was talking with him at a meet and he was tuning it based on his experiences going to concerts and then trying to tune based on that. 

 

[Zoom25]

I'll be joining the club very soon. Hopefully it will be here this week. Going to strictly be used with active monitors. Going to move the DM Source for desktop and headphones rig, so the DC-1 will go to the living room.
 
I love the number of digital inputs on the DC-1. The analog input will work well for something like a Wii. Hoping it will keep up in sound.

 

[Zoom25]

Finally got mines. Briefly trying it with USB for headphone purposes before moving it to the monitors rig. A couple of things I noticed with D2000:
 
1) Mute with headphones doesn't mute the sound completely. The volume is simply lowered
 
2) Noise from USB when in Asynchronous mode. When I changed it to synchronous, the noise went away. The DC-1 was connected directly to the wall. Using the USB output from Macbook Pro Retina laptop which has one of the cleanest USB ports I've tried so far on computers. Not a big deal with the whole synch vs asynch mode as it sounds fine with Audirvana Plus.
 
3) Headphone output is surprisingly quite decent. I was expecting a whimsy output on this. It's punchy with the D2000. Maybe more so than the output of the DM Source. Although the DM Source is super tight and flat, not to mention it has endless sub bass extension with loads of texture.
 
4) Knobs and volume control - DM Source takes this one. I like the hard defined positions of the DM Source. I can control it much better for fine tuning despite the Emotiva having 0.25 dB steps. I am very tuned with the Source and can easily operate with just a finger and get the perfect volume without it slipping. The weight on it is perfect. The DC-1…not so much. I nearly blew my ears out when I tried to turn the knob with just one finger swipe. It slipped and skipped a bunch of db's very fast. The remote is okay.
 
5) Overall, very impressed so far with the DC-1 at it's price. Great sound. Design could be a bit better but certainly no deal breakers…yet. 
 
6) Headphone pairings - I've only tried the D2000 so far. Will try more phones at some point, especially the HD800. The DM Source with HD800 is just so right in every way. Will see if the Emotiva can deliver with other phones.
 
Next up: Monitors. 
 

 

[davidvanderbilt]

  2) Noise from USB when in Asynchronous mode. When I changed it to synchronous, the noise went away. The DC-1 was connected directly to the wall. Using the USB output from Macbook Pro Retina laptop which has one of the cleanest USB ports I've tried so far on computers. Not a big deal with the whole synch vs asynch mode as it sounds fine with Audirvana Plus.
 
 

 
I had the exact same thing, the noise I heard was a high pitch ringing noise in one channel more than the other that went away when changing to synchronous mode. It was apparent even when I used the optical input. I actually returned mine today because of it. I loved the DAC other than that though! I might buy it again. The overall sound of the DC-1 completely changed for the better after I let the DC-1 burn in for a couple days. I wasn't wowed at first but after burn in I was really blown away by it. SO much better than ODAC in every way.

 

[Zoom25]

   
I had the exact same thing, the noise I heard was a high pitch ringing noise in one channel more than the other that went away when changing to synchronous mode. It was apparent even when I used the optical input. I actually returned mine today because of it. I loved the DAC other than that though! I might buy it again. The overall sound of the DC-1 completely changed for the better after I let the DC-1 burn in for a couple days. I wasn't wowed at first but after burn in I was really blown away by it. SO much better than ODAC in every way.

Damn, noise even with the optical input? I thought it was only with USB input and something do with galvanic isolation. I'm really 
 
Also, for some reason, gapless playback stopped through Audirvana Plus. The DAC disabled the volume control on Audirvana Plus. With DM Source, I had both software volume control as well as hardware. Maybe I haven't set it up right? The DM Source was simple plug and play.
 
EDIT: Gapless playback is fine with Audirvana Plus when in iTunes Integrated mode, but natively, there's a problem.

 

[Zoom25]

Also, can someone shed some light on the whole asynchronous vs. synchronous issues and impressions. This is the second time I've heard of people selling it because of it not running properly in asynch mode.

 

[davidvanderbilt]

  Also, can someone shed some light on the whole asynchronous vs. synchronous issues and impressions. This is the second time I've heard of people selling it because of it not running properly in asynch mode.

 
I second that. Bad quality control? Other factors?