[blessingx]

BTW, currently on sale for $499. 
http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/processors/products/stealth-dc-2

 

[Gary in MD]

And the XDA-2 is $299... so is there any significant difference in sound quality?  I bought the XDA-1 for $200, and it sounds fine, using the same DAC chip.  Does anybody around here have real-world experience with either the XDA-2 or Stealth DC-1?

 

[Baxide]

I am actually tempted by the DC-1 price. But the shelves in my storage room for my spare bits of kits are overflowing with gear. Can this DAC be used as a preamp?

 

[blessingx]

Yes. Even has analog inputs for it. 

 

[Baxide]

I might have to reschedule my Xmas present list.

 

[HPiper]

I am looking at this as well, was going to get an XDA-2 as it is currently on sale, but this is getting real good reviews on Emotiva's forums and everyone says it pretty much blows the XDA-2 out of the water. Has a better headphone amp too. Only other unit I am looking at is the Concero HP but it is $200 more, however it also does DSD which the DC-1 does not, makes it a tough decision.

 

[Gary in MD]

I've read a bunch on the Emo forum now, and I'm not sure how much of it is fanboy love vs. critical analysis. 
 
I might try the DC-1 anyway, because the price is really attractive, and I'm looking for another DAC to drive my computer speakers (which are TBI Diamonds attached to the TBI Millenia MG3... I currently have to swap the XDA-1 RCA outs to hook the speakers up vs running my headphone setup... not ideal).  I was looking at <$200 DACs to do that job, but maybe I should shift the XDA-1 over for now, and buy either an XDA-2 or DC-1 to drive the HP setup, which is my preferred audiophile setup -- Odyssey Cyclops driving LCD-3s.  For $500 delivered I can probably swing the DC-1 now and still do a comparison of other DACs next summer.  But the XDA-2 is only $300... and I could find other uses for the $200 difference.  If I believe the hype in Emo's forums, then DC-1 is worth the extra bucks... but do I believe those folks?
 
Only way to find out is to order the DC-1 and try it myself.  Good thing Emo has a free return policy.

 

[Foxjam]

I'd love to see some impressions on this. I haven't heard of that DAC chip before. This might make for a good little stereo with their Stealth monitors as well as a good headphone station. I haven't tried their products before but I've always been intrigued. I prefer the look of it quite a bit to their other gear.

 

[skeptic]

Subscribed.  I'm very interested in this little dac as well.  Just wish there was more info out there on it.  Has anyone caved and ordered one up at the current sale price? 

 

[oaudio1]

I've have owned the XDA-1 and 2, so I can say a thing or two about the particular sound. In a few words you can say, revealing, great bass, may not be as nuanced as some other DAC's but it truly gets into the ball park. All of this is especially true when using quality associated components which can reveal what is going on. As they say the "the devil is in the details", my audible tweaks which always compliment my components are upgrading the power cords and using power conditioning whenever possible.

I just bought the DC-1 and should have it in a few days. I was using the XDA-2 in a two channel audio/video setup and have been quite happy with it. However, as an audio junkie I'm most curious what the DC-1 will bring to the table with it using dual independent AD1955 differential D/A converters, each operated in their highest quality internal differential monaural mode.

Cheers!

 

[megawhacko]

I recently purchased the stealth dc-1 as an all around solution to my stereo speaker and headphones. I have the AKG k702 annies and they also pair very well with the dc-1. 

 

[mkuritz]

I ordered one and have an xda-1 so I should be able to do a comparison for those interested in how they stack up. Also for those interested in how it compares to the xda-2, I bought an xda-2 about a year ago and ended up sending it back because I thought the difference with the xda-1 was negligible in my system.

 

[Gary in MD]

I'd love to hear all of your comments on the DC-1.  When I asked Emotiva's sales folks about getting an XDA-2 last summer, they said it sounded the same as the XDA-1, which I already had, unless I was using the volume control, which I was not.  So I didn't buy it.  I didn't ask about the DC-1 because it wasn't on sale at the time, and I had no interest in spending $700 on a DAC when I was already blowing a bunch of bucks trying out amps.  But now I'm interested...REAL interested...

 

[mkuritz]

  I'd love to hear all of your comments on the DC-1.  When I asked Emotiva's sales folks about getting an XDA-2 last summer, they said it sounded the same as the XDA-1, which I already had, unless I was using the volume control, which I was not.  So I didn't buy it.  I didn't ask about the DC-1 because it wasn't on sale at the time, and I had no interest in spending $700 on a DAC when I was already blowing a bunch of bucks trying out amps.  But now I'm interested...REAL interested...

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

 

[john57]

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