Fantoon
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2009
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Their products look totally awesome!
I received mine last week and am using it in my speaker system connected via coax to a Logitech Touch. As of now I can't really tell the difference between the XDA-1 and the Logitech Touch analog outputs. In a couple of weeks I should receive the Audio-gd Ref 7 DAC and will do some comparisons between the 2.
I realize this thread is over a year old, but I figured I'd reply just to give the XDA-1 some love. I've had mine since last April in my home stereo rack, and I absolutely love it. Regarding sound signature, its dead neutral, exactly what a DAC should be IMO, and is compared positively against a DAC that retails for 20 times the price (http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/two-channel-audio/49890-weiss-dac2-vs-emotiva-xda-1-a.html). As far as inputs, its got 2 optical, 2 digital coax, USAB, and AES (no firewire). Build quality is solid, feels like pro gear, and to that end its got fully balanced circuitry (XLR outs) as well as RCA. I probably sound like a fanboy, but of all the gear that I own, this is probably my favorite. The only negative I've found is that for some reason the USB input only supports 24 bit / 48 khz (TOSLINK supports up to 192 khz).
The XDA-1 isn't fully balanced, no. Its not mentioned, unlike with some other gear they offer. As far as bit depth and frequency limitations over USB, that's just because it's USB 1.1. But hey, for only $199 and free shipping, no complaints here
No comments have been left, but I will say in the few weeks I've spent time listening to, it was well worth getting. An external DAC 'can' make all the difference.
Now there are two new DAC's due to come out soon. A pro version and the replacement for the XDA-1, dubed the XDA-2.