Post by me262 on Feb 22, 2013 2:02:08 GMT -5
Hi guys,
So recently I was looking at my system and said to myself, self I want a new dac. Currently in my system I had the Emotiva XDA-1 an awesome dac especially for the price but with the XSP-1, XPA-2, and upgraded MMF-2.2 turn table I thought it would be worth looking at dac choices in the 600-900 dollar range. After a bit of research I settled on the Schiit Gungnir without USB.
A recap on my thoughts about the XDA-1.
I have a review of the XDA-1 sitting somewhere in the preamp/dac section of this forum. But to recap these were my thoughts. Given your speakers and other devices in your audio chain the XDA-1 performs remarkably for its close out price of just 200 dollars. When comparing it to my yulong D100 which was twice the price it traded victories. In my system composed of x-ref speakers the D100 won out because the XDA-1 was to forward and felt enimic. However once I had a pair of ERT-8.3's the XDA-1 took center stage. What before was harsh and enimic was now balanced and full. Where the D100 presentation was overly veiled and just a little to boring for my taste.
Put simply the XDA-1 given the right paring of speakers sounded awesome with the XSP-1 and the USP-1 acting as pre-amps.
The Gungnir
One reason I wanted to write this review is not many have really written about this newer dac. It is also a relevant review because while the XDA-2 is an improvement over the XDA-1 for several reasons, when listening over spdf connections and through pre-amp the differences have been said to be suddle (I have not listened to the XDA-2, this is just what I read from other reviews) between the XDA-2 and 1.
So the schiit. Well built is putting it mildly. While emotiva is no slouch in this department by any means the schiit is aesthetically more pleasing, though it better be at 4x the cost. It runs slightly warm and has 3 inputs coax, toslink, and bnc (also USB if you get it with the USB card). It has balanced outputs, as well as 2 sets of unbalanced outputs. Unlike the XDA-1 it does not have a remote control.
Sound comparison
At 4x the price if the schiit is worth it's money it should outclass the XDA-1 in every respect, and it did. The sound stage was wider and deeper, it was more detailed, it was cleaner. The biggest difference was the low end, while the XDA-1 put out bass it was a little murky. Mind you I didn't know it was murky until I listened to the Gungnir. The bass the Gungnir puts out is simply tight and clear. It is full and life like. This is the single biggest difference between the two.
A thoughtful comparison
If we put this in terms of the XDA-2, the Gungnir is a little more then 2x as expensive as the XDA-2 is. Assuming the XDA-1 acting as a dac sounds more or less similar to the XDA-2 on all inputs but USB it is fair to talk about them in this context.
Is the Gungnir 2x better then the XDA-1/2. I don't think so. It is a big step up but the XDA-1 performs really well in all categories already. While the Low end had a noticeable difference the rest was suddle. In my case the suddle differences were worth the upgrade easily. But I don't think the Gungnir is anywhere near the value the XDA-2 is and no where near the value of the XDA-1 at its clearance price.
Put it simply emotiva did a great job building a dac that performs well and is affordable.
For the Gungnir Schiit did a stellar job at creating a dac that easily performs at its price point and maybe beyond. But as most of us know the audio hobby has diminishing returns as you move higher in prices.
There is also a question of what a reference dac really is, in my case I feel a reference dac is detailed and neutral, but also just plain fun to listen to. If we use this definition the XDA-1 falls just short while the Gungnir crosses the finish line with flying colors.
My advice, spending money needlessly is stupid. In my case I had the XDA-1 and wanted to see what else was out there, for those looking at there first or second real dac try out the XDA-2 first. 30 day money back guarantee, full digital pre-amp, headphone amp. All things that the Gungnir does not have and will drive the cost up significantly to acquire the separate components.
However if you have tried the XDA-2/1 and flound it not to your liking or are looking for the next step give the Gungnir a try. It is truly a remarkable product in its own right. Personally I am keeping mine, and moving the XDA-1 to another system.
Hope you all enjoyed as always questions and comments are always welcome.
So recently I was looking at my system and said to myself, self I want a new dac. Currently in my system I had the Emotiva XDA-1 an awesome dac especially for the price but with the XSP-1, XPA-2, and upgraded MMF-2.2 turn table I thought it would be worth looking at dac choices in the 600-900 dollar range. After a bit of research I settled on the Schiit Gungnir without USB.
A recap on my thoughts about the XDA-1.
I have a review of the XDA-1 sitting somewhere in the preamp/dac section of this forum. But to recap these were my thoughts. Given your speakers and other devices in your audio chain the XDA-1 performs remarkably for its close out price of just 200 dollars. When comparing it to my yulong D100 which was twice the price it traded victories. In my system composed of x-ref speakers the D100 won out because the XDA-1 was to forward and felt enimic. However once I had a pair of ERT-8.3's the XDA-1 took center stage. What before was harsh and enimic was now balanced and full. Where the D100 presentation was overly veiled and just a little to boring for my taste.
Put simply the XDA-1 given the right paring of speakers sounded awesome with the XSP-1 and the USP-1 acting as pre-amps.
The Gungnir
One reason I wanted to write this review is not many have really written about this newer dac. It is also a relevant review because while the XDA-2 is an improvement over the XDA-1 for several reasons, when listening over spdf connections and through pre-amp the differences have been said to be suddle (I have not listened to the XDA-2, this is just what I read from other reviews) between the XDA-2 and 1.
So the schiit. Well built is putting it mildly. While emotiva is no slouch in this department by any means the schiit is aesthetically more pleasing, though it better be at 4x the cost. It runs slightly warm and has 3 inputs coax, toslink, and bnc (also USB if you get it with the USB card). It has balanced outputs, as well as 2 sets of unbalanced outputs. Unlike the XDA-1 it does not have a remote control.
Sound comparison
At 4x the price if the schiit is worth it's money it should outclass the XDA-1 in every respect, and it did. The sound stage was wider and deeper, it was more detailed, it was cleaner. The biggest difference was the low end, while the XDA-1 put out bass it was a little murky. Mind you I didn't know it was murky until I listened to the Gungnir. The bass the Gungnir puts out is simply tight and clear. It is full and life like. This is the single biggest difference between the two.
A thoughtful comparison
If we put this in terms of the XDA-2, the Gungnir is a little more then 2x as expensive as the XDA-2 is. Assuming the XDA-1 acting as a dac sounds more or less similar to the XDA-2 on all inputs but USB it is fair to talk about them in this context.
Is the Gungnir 2x better then the XDA-1/2. I don't think so. It is a big step up but the XDA-1 performs really well in all categories already. While the Low end had a noticeable difference the rest was suddle. In my case the suddle differences were worth the upgrade easily. But I don't think the Gungnir is anywhere near the value the XDA-2 is and no where near the value of the XDA-1 at its clearance price.
Put it simply emotiva did a great job building a dac that performs well and is affordable.
For the Gungnir Schiit did a stellar job at creating a dac that easily performs at its price point and maybe beyond. But as most of us know the audio hobby has diminishing returns as you move higher in prices.
There is also a question of what a reference dac really is, in my case I feel a reference dac is detailed and neutral, but also just plain fun to listen to. If we use this definition the XDA-1 falls just short while the Gungnir crosses the finish line with flying colors.
My advice, spending money needlessly is stupid. In my case I had the XDA-1 and wanted to see what else was out there, for those looking at there first or second real dac try out the XDA-2 first. 30 day money back guarantee, full digital pre-amp, headphone amp. All things that the Gungnir does not have and will drive the cost up significantly to acquire the separate components.
However if you have tried the XDA-2/1 and flound it not to your liking or are looking for the next step give the Gungnir a try. It is truly a remarkable product in its own right. Personally I am keeping mine, and moving the XDA-1 to another system.
Hope you all enjoyed as always questions and comments are always welcome.
Good to know that there's other gear that sounds better to you
