[Gary in MD]

 
I should be getting it over the next few days, and will be sure to post my findings! For me, even if there is little sonic difference I may still keep the dc-1 for its feature set and smaller footprint.

Also, it's interesting that they told you when you called that the xda-1 and xda-2 sound the same considering the amount of feedback you can find on the internet that says otherwise. When I compared them myself I thought they sounded the same as well, but according to all the feedback I had read prior it seemed like it was going to be a worthy upgrade. Besides even user opinions on various forums, multiple professional review sites claimed the xda-2 sounded better, as did Emotiva reps on their own forum. Maybe they realized with their return policy it would make more sense not to oversell the DAC as they may receive more returned open boxes than they had expected. But thats nothing more than speculation on my end

This is why free trial periods are critically important.  I value everybody's inputs to point me in the right direction toward what I want to audition, but in the end I trust no opinion but my own when it comes to my own head-fi system choices... We're buying personal audio, not a concert hall system intended to appeal to hundreds or thousands of people.  We don't have to worry about pleasing the "average" listener, whoever that might be.  No two people hear/process things exactly the same (except maybe identical twins who have had the same exact life experiences).  We all need to try particular head-gear ourselves, not just read others' opinions.

 

[skeptic]

Does anyone know what chip the dc-1 uses for its usb input?  I've read good things about the cm6331a - which I believe schiit uses?  Whatever my next dac is, I want to make sure I don't feel the need to cash out for a usb -> spdif converter as well.
 
Reviews of the dc-1 over at emotiva lounge are generally very favorable, with the exception of one poster in the 30+ page long thread.  Then again, as I understood that poster, he acknowledged he was running his digital signal from a server through a first gen airport express, via the ac wires in his walls, all before hitting the dc-1 - so I'm not sure that counts for a whole lot.  Simply plugging in a laptop would seem a much more reasonable method of reviewing the dac.

 

[panersche]

  I am curious on how the DC-1 will compare to the Schiit DAC's

+1 . . . and woo too

 

[mkuritz]

  Does anyone know what chip the dc-1 uses for its usb input?  I've read good things about the cm6331a - which I believe schiit uses?  Whatever my next dac is, I want to make sure I don't feel the need to cash out for a usb -> spdif converter as well.
 
Reviews of the dc-1 over at emotiva lounge are generally very favorable, with the exception of one poster in the 30+ page long thread.  Then again, as I understood that poster, he acknowledged he was running his digital signal from a server through a first gen airport express, via the ac wires in his walls, all before hitting the dc-1 - so I'm not sure that counts for a whole lot.  Simply plugging in a laptop would seem a much more reasonable method of reviewing the dac.

The DC-1 also uses the cmedia cm-6331a usb chip.

 

[skeptic]

Nice.  Thanks for confirming!   This is a tempting little unit.  

 

[runswithaliens]

I had emailed Emotiva inquiring into the headphone amp specifications, and they have kindly sent the following, which I am going to assume is ok to post here:
 
 
Keith Levkoff replied:
These were run manually on the AP, so you don't get a pretty formatted report.... (I'll be posting them later tonight)

DC-1 Headphone amp:

NOTE: The two headphone outputs are entirely independent - each has its own amplifier/driver
(you can't set them to different levels, but these specs are for EACH one)
These are with the frequency response jumper set to FLAT

Frequency Response: 20 Hz - 20 kHz +/- 0.14 dB (at 1 V output)
THD: < 0.025% (at 1 V output; at 1 kHz)
S/N: > 101 dB (ref 1 V output; A weighted)

Power output:
750 mW into 8 ohms
1200 mW into 32 ohms
180 mW into 300 ohms
90 mW into 620 ohms
Keith Levkoff
Technical Writer
 
 
I had also asked what the output impedance of the headphone jacks were.  This earlier response addresses that I think. 
 
Nick Hetzler replied:
Hello,
Thank you for your interest in Emotiva Pro. I will get the headphone amp specs for you as soon as possible. The low impedance circuit can run down to virtually 0 ohms but I will have to check the power output for you. Thank you, I will get back with you on this info.

Best Regards,
Nick Hetzler
Product Specialist

 

[Baxide]

What would have been of interest as well is the RMS Voltage at the various headphone impedance settings. That would allow you to work out the SPL level.

 

[uncola]

Wow so the dc-1 actually has some power.  Good to know

 

[Armaegis]

Just looking at those numbers, the output impedance is rather high...

 

[uncola]

I re-read the specs but I only see where he says it gets to virtually 0 ohms impedence.  Did I miss it?

 

[Armaegis]

I don't understand what they mean when they say the circuit can run down to "virtually 0"...
 
Just looking at the output numbers, how the power output rises then drops as you go from 8-->32-->300 ohms, that's usually indicative of a high output impedance.
 
I tried running some quick calculations with a voltage divider equation and I can't quite reproduce their numbers, so there may be other factors at play here. I don't have enough information to make any other guesses.

 

[painted klown]

Has anyone here picked one of these up?
 
I am very curious to know what you guys think of these. I am "this" close to pulling the trigger on one myself.
 
I am a member of the Emotiva forum, and these get great reviews over there, but I would like to hear from users outside of their dedicated forum.
 
Any opinions/input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Gary in MD]

I believe I will be ordering one soon... I'm doing a multi-DAC comparison next month, and it is currently in the field, though other DACs are trying to push their way in, and it might get bounced.  Stay tuned...

 

[campj]

I too would like to see some user reviews on this thing, especially as an all in one solution for headphone listening. It seems like most people are using this as a DAC paired with a higher quality headphone amp, or as a pre-amp out to speakers. I am poorish, at least when it comes to my ability to spend thousands of dollars on audio equipment.

 

[painted klown]

Hey gang,
 
I decided to go ahead and pull the trigger on one of these today. When I get it in, I will listen for a bit and post my thoughts.
 
I would love to see some more reviews of this popping up on here. I think it should perform admirably as a DAC, and (at the very least) should be an ok headamp until I get some higher end 'phones and a dedicated amp for them.
 
To be honest, I ordered it mostly for the DAC section. The HP amp is more of a "bonus feature" for me. The three 'phones I currently have are all very easy to drive, and really don't even need a dedicated amplifier.
 
For the record: I have Skullcany Aviators, Grado SR80i, and Senn HD-598.