[m002d2]

Here in my apartment I run 74F year round and mine doesn't get more than warm to the touch. I would say the top of it is in the mid-80s as I type. It's sitting directly on top of an Asus NUC which also gets warm. Guess it just depends on air currents and flow patterns. They do sit right under the air vent coming out of the ceiling. Otherwise the desktop is wide open.

 

[Sal1950]

Burr, if it got to 74 here I'd be turning on the heat.
 
Just as an up date the .750 tall Pangea feet I installed under the unit seems to make a significant improvement . Where the top of the unit used to feel fairly hot after it had been on for a few hours it now seems to be only warm, a drop of around 10 degrees I would guess. Well worth the slight cost for what might amount to an improvement in lifespan.

 

[dnlee480]

Hi guys,
 
I recently purchased an Emotiva DC-1 and have it hooked up to my Bryston BHA-1 that I'm using as a preamp with two Bel Canto REF-1000m and a pair of KEF LS50 monitors.  What gain setting do you guys have it on?  Variable or fixed?  It seems at fixed, there is too much gain causing distortion and harshness?
 
Thanks 

 

[defbear]

Hi guys,

I recently purchased an Emotiva DC-1 and have it hooked up to my Bryston BHA-1 that I'm using as a preamp with two Bel Canto REF-1000m and a pair of KEF LS50 monitors.  What gain setting do you guys have it on?  Variable or fixed?  It seems at fixed, there is too much gain causing distortion and harshness?

Thanks 

I use Fixed with both a Lyr2 and HDVD800. Sounds great that way. Fooling around with Variable, I've pushed it up to +6 Single,ended and +3 Balanced. Ive used both USB and Opticle with a Macbook Pro and USB from various tablets. Im using basic PYST cables. I am not getting distortion or harshness problems. So I usually use Fixed.

 

[Sal1950]

  Hi guys,
 
I recently purchased an Emotiva DC-1 and have it hooked up to my Bryston BHA-1 that I'm using as a preamp with two Bel Canto REF-1000m and a pair of KEF LS50 monitors.  What gain setting do you guys have it on?  Variable or fixed?  It seems at fixed, there is too much gain causing distortion and harshness?
 
Thanks 

Running mine on Fixed into one of the line level inputs on my Pioneer AV receiver. DC-1 is driven by a bit perfect stream using Clementine media player on Linux computer.
Have you tried running the DC-1 directly into your Bel Cantos? Why use 2 preamps in a row? Bryston is a excellent unit but it can't improve on the sound of the DC-1 alone.

 

[dnlee480]

Maybe not a nice match with my Bryston.  I will try without my Bryston and use the Emotiva as the preamp.  Thank you

 

[ngyu]

I use the Emotiva DC-1 with my BHA-1 on fixed into either my HD800 or my ADAM F5 on high gain with no noise or distortion. Fully balanced operation.

 

[defbear]

I run mine into a Panasonic receiver via RCA with great success.

 

[Sal1950]

Just a quick update. Had my DC-1 going on 2 months now and each day I love it more, Smooth, detailed, dynamic, best sound I've ever had on my system
If your in the market for a really great DAC-Headphone Amp, IMHO you'll never be disappointed with a Emotiva DC-1

 

[MWSVette]

  Just a quick update. Had my DC-1 going on 2 months now and each day I love it more, Smooth, detailed, dynamic, best sound I've ever had on my system
If your in the market for a really great DAC-Headphone Amp, IMHO you'll never be disappointed with a Emotiva DC-1

+1 I agree...

 

[Hifi01170]

unfortunatly there are no distributors for european customers... anybody from EU bought it?

 

[johnzz4]

I just got the Emotiva Stealth DC-1, and first impressions (only a couple hours of break-in) were not as stellar as I had hoped.  My chain prior to the DC-1 was Chromebook (FLAC 44.1k)>Nuforce HDP (DAC only)>Gustard H10>Audeze LCD-X.  I purchased the DC-1 with hopes to upgrade the Nuforce HDP.  Listening to my rig with the DC-1 in place of the Nuforce proved to be substantially different.  The sound thinned out quite a bit and became more biased toward the treble.  Bass was tight but lacked weight and slam.  Soundstage is comparable between the two.  Overall, IMO, I found the HDP paired with the ifi iUSB power supply to be much more pleasing to my ears.  I tried a couple variations including balanced and unbalanced with the DC-1, and also with and without the iUSB power supply in-line with the USB.  The results were fairly consistent, though with the iUSB power supply on the DC-1, the treble bias became even more exaggerated. I really enjoyed the display, remote, build quality, interface, etc, but the sound signature doesn't line up well with the rest of my system for my ears.  I will let the DC-1 break in a bit more, but ultimately I think it will be going back to Amazon.
 
To my surprise, the HDP has beaten out the Meridian Director in my setup (again IMO).  I have now placed an order for the Gustard x20u DAC in hopes for what I consider an upgrade.  Maybe the HDP is my end-game rig... 

 
Anyway, I've lurked and learned plenty from Head-Fi and wanted to return the favor with some impressions.  BTW, this isn't a major dig on the DC-1.  I preferred it to the Meridian Director and would have probably settled down with it for a while if I didn't have or know of the HDP.  I hate to endorse a product (HDP) that isn't even in production anymore, but that $450 DAC/AMP combo is rather impressive - particularly with a good USB power source.

 

[KeithEmo]

  I just got the Emotiva Stealth DC-1, and first impressions (only a couple hours of break-in) were not as stellar as I had hoped.  My chain prior to the DC-1 was Chromebook (FLAC 44.1k)>Nuforce HDP (DAC only)>Gustard H10>Audeze LCD-X.  I purchased the DC-1 with hopes to upgrade the Nuforce HDP.  Listening to my rig with the DC-1 in place of the Nuforce proved to be substantially different.  The sound thinned out quite a bit and became more biased toward the treble.  Bass was tight but lacked weight and slam.  Soundstage is comparable between the two.  Overall, IMO, I found the HDP paired with the ifi iUSB power supply to be much more pleasing to my ears.  I tried a couple variations including balanced and unbalanced with the DC-1, and also with and without the iUSB power supply in-line with the USB.  The results were fairly consistent, though with the iUSB power supply on the DC-1, the treble bias became even more exaggerated. I really enjoyed the display, remote, build quality, interface, etc, but the sound signature doesn't line up well with the rest of my system for my ears.  I will let the DC-1 break in a bit more, but ultimately I think it will be going back to Amazon.
 
To my surprise, the HDP has beaten out the Meridian Director in my setup (again IMO).  I have now placed an order for the Gustard x20u DAC in hopes for what I consider an upgrade.  Maybe the HDP is my end-game rig... 

 
Anyway, I've lurked and learned plenty from Head-Fi and wanted to return the favor with some impressions.  BTW, this isn't a major dig on the DC-1.  I preferred it to the Meridian Director and would have probably settled down with it for a while if I didn't have or know of the HDP.  I hate to endorse a product (HDP) that isn't even in production anymore, but that $450 DAC/AMP combo is rather impressive - particularly with a good USB power source.

 
The DC-1 was designed to sound very neutral - which may not line up with everyone's needs or preferences. (The DC-1 is also relatively immune to jitter, and to power supply noise, so most "USB tweaks" probably won't have a major effect on how it sounds.)

 

[northshore]

Also my initial impressions, combined with wonderment how anyone could tolerate the DC-1. Emotiva does give you some time for returns so let it burn in for a few days instead of a few hours and check it again. I've never heard anything other than tube components undergo such a transformation. Bought mine as a place holder till newer R2R units came out and am still impressed enough that there's no hurry to spend four times as much to replace the DC-1. As an aside, the new Audio Fidelity Riding With The King reminds me just how screwed we are by the usual status quo recordings. The DC-1 really shows it stuff by rendering the Hoffman mastered version in analog type glory.     

 

[defbear]

Im one of the ones waiting for the Liquid Carbon amp to arrive. I bought the Emotiva Stealth Dac-1. Sounds like Spy equipment. I was shocked also. I like my Dac-1 better than my bifrost uber. And i liked it better than the built in Dac in my HDVD800 amp. The amp in the Dac-1 seems more like a courtesy feature. But my hd598's sound real good in it.