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Post by rod on Mar 11, 2014 19:19:41 GMT -5
Which one is the best buy, ERC 3 or DC 1? I feel like I am between the devil and the deep blue sea. I don't really know which emo gear I should buy right now. I am planning to connect them to xsp 1 , but I was told that DC 1 was the same as ERC3 in terms of quality sound.. Isn't it that we need erc 3 for CD? But some say that DC 1 can do more than what ERC 3 does.... Can you please help me decide which is which? Thanks you understanding for my ignorance.
PS. I have tons of high caliber denon bluray players connected to my denon avr 5308ci in my living room. I can use them as transport if in case I will go for DC 1. But I am currently using ERC 1 as my only cd player for my two channel setup inside my room I think it is about time for me to upgrade though... Can you help me please?
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Post by Porscheguy on Mar 11, 2014 19:44:23 GMT -5
Get both. You only know. There is no way to answer what you will like. Your ears, your equipment, your room and your expectations..
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Post by drtrey3 on Mar 11, 2014 19:45:08 GMT -5
Hey Rod, would you be using any other two channel sources through the DC 1? Do you listen to headphones a lot? The DC 1 has a good reputation as a headphone amp and is great for playing back files from your computer. If you do not use those features, it is a pretty even race in my mind. Others will likely disagree!
Trey
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2014 19:51:14 GMT -5
You already have transports with the Denon and ERC-1 so you can use the DC-1 as your DAC. It is small and light and can be easily moved from one setup to another. If you want a dedicated cd player then go with the ERC-3. If you want the flexibility of using a DAC between setups than go DC-1. We can't decide for you. Only you can determine which one is better suited for what you're trying to accomplish.
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Post by rod on Mar 11, 2014 19:59:23 GMT -5
You already have transports with the Denon and ERC-1 so you can use the DC-1 as your DAC. It is small and light and can be easily moved from one setup to another. If you want a dedicated cd player then go with the ERC-3. If you want the flexibility of using a DAC between setups than go DC-1. We can't decide for you. Only you can determine which one is better suited for what you're trying to accomplish. Thank you for your sharing. I just read some of your messages and found out that I had ERC 3. Did you return it to buy DC1? |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2014 20:16:59 GMT -5
You already have transports with the Denon and ERC-1 so you can use the DC-1 as your DAC. It is small and light and can be easily moved from one setup to another. If you want a dedicated cd player then go with the ERC-3. If you want the flexibility of using a DAC between setups than go DC-1. We can't decide for you. Only you can determine which one is better suited for what you're trying to accomplish. Thank you for your sharing. I just read some of your messages and found out that I had ERC 3. Did you return it to buy DC1? I auditioned the DC-1 but I didn't like it in my setup at the time so I returned it for a refund. After I picked up the Rogue Audio preamp I decided I wanted to try the ERC-3. It was a little better than the ERC-1. I decided to keep it, and gave my dad the ERC-1 to replace his old Sony cd player that died. |
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Post by rod on Mar 11, 2014 20:18:03 GMT -5
Hey Rod, would you be using any other two channel sources through the DC 1? Do you listen to headphones a lot? The DC 1 has a good reputation as a headphone amp and is great for playing back files from your computer. If you do not use those features, it is a pretty even race in my mind. Others will likely disagree! Trey I know for a fact that DC 1 is loved by many than XDA 2. Do you think that XDA 2 is not close to DC 1 in terms of sound quality? |
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Post by rod on Mar 11, 2014 20:46:38 GMT -5
Thank you for your sharing. I just read some of your messages and found out that I had ERC 3. Did you return it to buy DC1? I auditioned the DC-1 but I didn't like it in my setup at the time so I returned it for a refund. After I picked up the Rogue Audio preamp I decided I wanted to try the ERC-3. It was a little better than the ERC-1. I decided to keep it, and gave my dad the ERC-1 to replace his old Sony cd player that died. Do you have any regret of returning DC 1 and keeping ERC 3 instead? |
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kse
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Post by kse on Mar 11, 2014 20:57:41 GMT -5
This is real simple IMO....
You already have a great CD player in the ERC-1. Supposedly the DAC used in the DC-1 & ERC-3 is a little better. So even if you only use your ERC-1 as a transport and run it thru the DC-1, you still have the ability to connect other digital sources.
Go with a DC-1, it will give you much more flexibility.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2014 20:58:39 GMT -5
I auditioned the DC-1 but I didn't like it in my setup at the time so I returned it for a refund. After I picked up the Rogue Audio preamp I decided I wanted to try the ERC-3. It was a little better than the ERC-1. I decided to keep it, and gave my dad the ERC-1 to replace his old Sony cd player that died. Do you have any regret of returning DC 1 and keeping ERC 3 instead? None at all. |
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Post by rod on Mar 11, 2014 21:08:12 GMT -5
Do they sound the same to your ears too? I am asking this because I don't want to buy both of them then keep the one I like the most... it's waste of time and money for return shipping. I want to hear the users' experiences about this gear...
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2014 21:53:17 GMT -5
Do they sound the same to your ears too? I am asking this because I don't want to buy both of them then keep the one I like the most... it's waste of time and money for return shipping. I want to hear the users' experiences about this gear... They should sound the same. For me in my setup the sound of the DC-1 was sort of muffled, and just didn't sound right. I think I had a defective unit. If using the DC-1 direct to the amp, or to the preamp the sound was not good. If I connected the ERC-1 through the DC-1 pass through to the preamp the sound was okay. If I removed the DC-1 from the chain it sounded okay. But if I used the DAC in the DC-1 the sound was muffled, and had a kind of restrained sound to it. After a couple of weeks of playing around with it I sent it back for a refund. The return shipping for either is not that much. If you are concerned you need to buy both, and let your ears decide on which one stays, and send the other back for a refund. This will be the only way otherwise you will be deciding on what others experienced in their setup, listening environment, etc. which will not be the same as your own equipment, room, and ears. Don't drive yourself nuts over it. Get both, and audition them so you can make a well informed decision based on your own results. |
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Post by rod on Mar 11, 2014 21:59:05 GMT -5
That's a wonderful advice. I am placing my order now so that I can audition them gears very soon... Thanks for everything, my friend...
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Post by Gary Cook on Mar 11, 2014 22:04:04 GMT -5
I had a similar quandary, in my case it was XDA-2 or ERC-3. The advantage of the XDA-2 was that is could perform the DAC work on all types of digital stereo input, CD transport, streaming, etc. The advantage of the ERC-3 was that it does all of the CD work in one high quality package (transport and DAC).
With that in mind, my decision was actually quite simple, I mostly play CD's when listening to quality stereo music. The other sources (streaming etc) are usually for background music while performing another activity. Background music doesn't require the sound quality that dedicated listening time does, so the choice of the ERC-3 was easy one to make.
I made the ERC-3 choice not on quality of sound, it was more a practical choice of what I use the most and hence a dedicated CD player was obvious.
In your case if you do a lot of dedicated listening to other sources (than CD's) then a DC-1 might well be a better choice.
Cheers
Gary
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2014 22:06:59 GMT -5
That's a wonderful advice. I am placing my order now so that I can audition them gears very soon... Thanks for everything, my friend... Nice. This is what makes this hobby so fun. The trial and error of adding new equipment to your setup. And with the excellent Emotiva 30 day no hassle full refund it is a no brainer to audition so you know you're making the correct decision. Let us know your results after your testing. Happy auditioning! |
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Post by garbulky on Mar 12, 2014 0:05:46 GMT -5
Rod I recoomend the DC-1. You have a decent transport in the ERC-1 and the DC-1 will help make it sound better. And add some really incredible flexibility. You don't know what you're missing until you realize that nearly every electronic device can be connected to the DC-1 in some form or the other - AND have the sound benefit! It's great! For instance...I want to watch movies from my blu ray player? The DC-1 DAC does short work of producing better quality than my blu ray player could possibly do. Watch tv from my cable box? DC-1 makes cable tv sound GREAT! Do I want to watch youtube videos on my computer? The DC-1 will take the crappy sound that your computer would have otherwise put out and put out much better sound. Meanwhile...if it's late in the night, buy some nice headphones and plug them into the DC-1 and prepare to be impressed! It's onboard headphone amp has as much power as my standalone entry level headphone amplifier does! Do you like vinyl and already have a phono pre-amp? Use the Dc-1 as a pre-amplifier! Just an example of all the other things the DC-1 can do over playing CD's (and it plays CD's as well  ) Hence I reccomend it more than the ERC-3. Just keep in mind though that I haven't heard the ERC-3.... |
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Post by Gary Cook on Mar 12, 2014 1:05:31 GMT -5
Rod I recoomend the DC-1. You have a decent transport in the ERC-1 and the DC-1 will help make it sound better. And add some really incredible flexibility. You don't know what you're missing until you realize that nearly every electronic device can be connected to the DC-1 in some form or the other - AND have the sound benefit! It's great! For instance...I want to watch movies from my blu ray player? The DC-1 DAC does short work of producing better quality than my blu ray player could possibly do. Watch tv from my cable box? DC-1 makes cable tv sound GREAT! Do I want to watch youtube videos on my computer? The DC-1 will take the crappy sound that your computer would have otherwise put out and put out much better sound. Meanwhile...if it's late in the night, buy some nice headphones and plug them into the DC-1 and prepare to be impressed! It's onboard headphone amp has as much power as my standalone entry level headphone amplifier does! Do you like vinyl and already have a phono pre-amp? Use the Dc-1 as a pre-amplifier! Just an example of all the other things the DC-1 can do over playing CD's (and it plays CD's as well ) Hence I reccomend it more than the ERC-3. Just keep in mind though that I haven't heard the ERC-3.... OK you got me, I give up, how does a DC-1 decode and output 5.1 (or 7.1 etc) for "movies from my blu ray player" and "tv from my cable box"? Last time I looked there was no HDMI connection on the back of a DC-1, it just does stereo in and stereo out, albeit very well of course. BTW, one of my considerations (for thinking about an XDA-2 over a DC-1) was appearance, the DC-1 does not have the Emotiva look to match the rest of my gear. Cheers Gary |
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Post by garbulky on Mar 12, 2014 1:30:18 GMT -5
Rod I recoomend the DC-1. You have a decent transport in the ERC-1 and the DC-1 will help make it sound better. And add some really incredible flexibility. You don't know what you're missing until you realize that nearly every electronic device can be connected to the DC-1 in some form or the other - AND have the sound benefit! It's great! For instance...I want to watch movies from my blu ray player? The DC-1 DAC does short work of producing better quality than my blu ray player could possibly do. Watch tv from my cable box? DC-1 makes cable tv sound GREAT! Do I want to watch youtube videos on my computer? The DC-1 will take the crappy sound that your computer would have otherwise put out and put out much better sound. Meanwhile...if it's late in the night, buy some nice headphones and plug them into the DC-1 and prepare to be impressed! It's onboard headphone amp has as much power as my standalone entry level headphone amplifier does! Do you like vinyl and already have a phono pre-amp? Use the Dc-1 as a pre-amplifier! Just an example of all the other things the DC-1 can do over playing CD's (and it plays CD's as well ) Hence I reccomend it more than the ERC-3. Just keep in mind though that I haven't heard the ERC-3.... OK you got me, I give up, how does a DC-1 decode and output 5.1 (or 7.1 etc) for "movies from my blu ray player" and "tv from my cable box"? Last time I looked there was no HDMI connection on the back of a DC-1, it just does stereo in and stereo out, albeit very well of course. BTW, one of my considerations (for thinking about an XDA-2 over a DC-1) was appearance, the DC-1 does not have the Emotiva look to match the rest of my gear. Cheers Gary I was trying to simplify things for Rod so maybe it doesn't quite translate as exact when it's under scrutinity. It will decode a PCM stereo digital signal. And (most) cable boxes, blu ray players, game consoles etc can downmix the surround signal into stereo and output it via a non-HDMI digital output - usually a Coax digital. Basically, I was trying to show him just how much of his media can actually benefit from the DC-1 - and not just CD's. People say, anything with a digital source will benefit...but don't quite realize how much of a benefit that flexibility brings. Of course a surround sound system will do the same and do it with HDMI, but we are talking about two channel DACs. BTW I'll pm you about something else. |
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Post by drtrey3 on Mar 12, 2014 8:15:56 GMT -5
Hey Rod, I am very happy with my XDA-2! I use it to decode files from my Squeezebox and two channel music from my Oppo, but mostly for my Squeezebox. It was a bargain and fit in my upgrade plans better than the more expensive but righteous DC-1. So that choice was one of where to spend money when more than preferring the XDA-2 over the DC-1. Can't wait to hear about your upgrade and how it is working for you.
Trey
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Post by Gary Cook on Mar 12, 2014 18:16:16 GMT -5
I was trying to simplify things for Rod so maybe it doesn't quite translate as exact when it's under scrutinity. It will decode a PCM stereo digital signal. And (most) cable boxes, blu ray players, game consoles etc can downmix the surround signal into stereo and output it via a non-HDMI digital output - usually a Coax digital. Basically, I was trying to show him just how much of his media can actually benefit from the DC-1 - and not just CD's. People say, anything with a digital source will benefit...but don't quite realize how much of a benefit that flexibility brings. Of course a surround sound system will do the same and do it with HDMI, but we are talking about two channel DACs. BTW I'll pm you about something else. Sorry, I wasn't trying to be a smartass.  I'm with you on the PCM stereo downmix, it just sounded funny for someone (like me) with a UMC-200. On that subject, I'd really like to do an XDA-2 and UMC-200 DAC comparison, I reckon it would be very interesting. I really like the sound of the DAC in the UMC-200, it's not quite as good as the ERC-3 (for stereo) but it's pretty damn good nonetheless. Better to my ears than an Oppo 103 DAC for example. The effectiveness of the UMC-200 DAC is overlooked, probably because it's tucked away quietly inside a powerful processor/pre amp. Cheers Gary |
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