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Post by manniche on Apr 25, 2015 12:38:54 GMT -5
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DYohn
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Post by DYohn on Apr 25, 2015 12:53:32 GMT -5
Yulong uses Sabre DACs. Yuck. Plus it's a Chinese owned company. Matrix also uses Sabre. Yuck. Also a Chinese owned company. Emotiva DC-1 used Analog Devices AD1955. Much much nicer. Plus it's a USA owned company. Much much nicer. DC-1, hands-down winner in my book.
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Post by manniche on Apr 25, 2015 12:58:27 GMT -5
Thanks for the quick response DYohn.
I actually don't know what Sabre DAC's is. Can you elaborate? And why are they worse than the analog devices?
Well I don't wanna skip a product just because it's made by a chinese company. After all Emotiva products are also made in China. But I get your point :-)
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Post by garbulky on Apr 25, 2015 13:17:01 GMT -5
Well these are my subjective impressions. I own the DC-1 and i like it. For me the main "con" IN MY SYSTEM is a slightly laidback treble and dynamics. It's lower midbass or upper bass feels a bit too pronuced and slightly bloated. There is a tad bit of glare in the low treble compared to the oppo 105. But just a bit. Its biggest stregnth is that it has some 3dimensional body to the instruments and it maintains a coherence of the soundstage which I don't often see. For instance if there is a guitar on one side, a piano to the left of center and a singer on the other side and also the ambience of the large conert hall. Instead of having all these produced. They will be produced in a way that makes it known that all of them were played in that hall. Sort of knit together in relation to the other. Vs just hearing all the different elements. Its stregnth is that it is a musical dac especially if you like acoustic stuff. Here's my review of it. emotivalounge.proboards.com/thread/33501/garbulkys-review-love-female-voice?page=2Having said that: this is the best sound I have heard so far. And imo the XSP-1 was key to elevating it to "best status". These are two things that have bettered the DC-1. Oppo 105 to XSP-1 to two XPA-1 L's. The oppo 105 uses a Sabre DAC btw. Speakers: Axiom m80 V4. Powersound audio XV15 subwoofer (OMG!) ATs acoustics room treatments. These components put together made an absolutely fantastic system. Incredible placement of everything. The dynamics felt real and knocked me off my feet. COnnecting an asus xonar essence ST to the DC-1's analog input, and using the asus dac also provided a lower noise floor, a bit smoother bass, and lower level details to come through - but not by a lot - just a bit. I think using the pre-amp section of the DC-1 (its analog input) is what allowed the xonar essence to sound so good. The DC-1's pre-amp section is quite good. And so is it's dual headphone amps. I've found the DC-1 to perform better to these components (in my system) The XDA-2, XDA-1, A jolida tube dac, audioquest dragonfly (the original version), audioquest dragonfly 1.2 (but only in certain respects in terms of soundstage coherency, in some ways the dragonfly 1.2 had a very enjoyable sound that at times sounded better and its treble sounded a bit more pleasing, but at times it sounded a bit too artifical.) |
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Post by manniche on Apr 25, 2015 14:42:48 GMT -5
Thanks for the good detailed review, garbulky. I can hear there's only one way to go for me - the DC-1 :-)
I already own the XSP-1 (so I will only use the DC-1 as a DAC), so it's fantastic you say that it can bring the best up in the DC-1. My poweramps are XPA-1, so I think it will be a very nice system.
My speakers are the Cerwin Vega 1215MKII. Not the most accurate or best sounding speaker (though it's the best Cerwin Vega model), but they're fun, brutal and beutiful!
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DYohn
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Post by DYohn on Apr 25, 2015 16:01:17 GMT -5
Thanks for the quick response DYohn. I actually don't know what Sabre DAC's is. Can you elaborate? And why are they worse than the analog devices? Sabre DAC chips (to me anyway) have an edge and grain to them that make them irritating to listen to for long period of time. AD and Texas Instrument DAC chips are far less annoying in this way. But that's just my opinion. |
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Post by garbulky on Apr 25, 2015 16:05:11 GMT -5
Thanks for the good detailed review, garbulky. I can hear there's only one way to go for me - the DC-1 :-) I already own the XSP-1 (so I will only use the DC-1 as a DAC), so it's fantastic you say that it can bring the best up in the DC-1. My poweramps are XPA-1, so I think it will be a very nice system. My speakers are the Cerwin Vega 1215MKII. Not the most accurate or best sounding speaker (though it's the best Cerwin Vega model), but they're fun, brutal and beutiful! Glad to hear! Though DAC's can produce an audible difference, it tends to be subtle. For a realy audible difference - this is what you want  emotivalounge.proboards.com/thread/42366/ert-8-great-cond-650Fantastic speakers all around.  |
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Post by audiobill on Apr 25, 2015 16:26:09 GMT -5
What nonsense, it's really all about the quality of the power supply and the analog section IMO.
The DC-1 does a good job, not the top of the line, but a nice job at an outstanding price.
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Post by manniche on Apr 26, 2015 16:41:27 GMT -5
Thanks for the quick response DYohn. I actually don't know what Sabre DAC's is. Can you elaborate? And why are they worse than the analog devices? Sabre DAC chips (to me anyway) have an edge and grain to them that make them irritating to listen to for long period of time. AD and Texas Instrument DAC chips are far less annoying in this way. But that's just my opinion. Thanks for the clarification. Manniche |
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Post by manniche on Apr 26, 2015 16:48:56 GMT -5
Thanks for the good detailed review, garbulky. I can hear there's only one way to go for me - the DC-1 :-) I already own the XSP-1 (so I will only use the DC-1 as a DAC), so it's fantastic you say that it can bring the best up in the DC-1. My poweramps are XPA-1, so I think it will be a very nice system. My speakers are the Cerwin Vega 1215MKII. Not the most accurate or best sounding speaker (though it's the best Cerwin Vega model), but they're fun, brutal and beutiful! Glad to hear! Though DAC's can produce an audible difference, it tends to be subtle. For a realy audible difference - this is what you want emotivalounge.proboards.com/thread/42366/ert-8-great-cond-650Fantastic speakers all around. Subtle or not. I think it would be a nice upgrade to my system Hehe I have once bought speakers from Canada (I live in Denmark). Very expensive and risky (for the speakers). Don't think I will do that again. Actually there's a pair of ERT 8.3 for sale here in Denmark. Asking price is 1450 usd. A bit expensive I think. |
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Post by garbulky on Apr 26, 2015 16:55:39 GMT -5
Oh you are from denmark. Yeah I mean you got the shipping and the duty etc. I don't know if $1450 is worth it for a used speaker.
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Post by manniche on Apr 26, 2015 17:05:27 GMT -5
Oh you are from denmark. Yeah I mean you got the shipping and the duty etc. I don't know if $1450 is worth it for a used speaker. My thoughts exactly. I bought my XPA-1 new from Emotiva a couple of years ago. 1998 usd. When they arrived at my adress in Denmark, I had paid around 3200 usd for them. Still love 'em though |
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Post by pedrocols on Apr 26, 2015 19:26:28 GMT -5
Oh you are from denmark. Yeah I mean you got the shipping and the duty etc. I don't know if $1450 is worth it for a used speaker. My thoughts exactly. I bought my XPA-1 new from Emotiva a couple of years ago. 1998 usd. When they arrived at my adress in Denmark, I had paid around 3200 usd for them. Still love 'em though I have a Yulong d100 DAC for sale and does not have a Sabre chip... Yulong D100 DAC |
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Post by manniche on Apr 27, 2015 5:18:12 GMT -5
My thoughts exactly. I bought my XPA-1 new from Emotiva a couple of years ago. 1998 usd. When they arrived at my adress in Denmark, I had paid around 3200 usd for them. Still love 'em though I have a Yulong d100 DAC for sale and does not have a Sabre chip... Yulong D100 DACThanks I will check it out. |
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Post by uthiker on Apr 27, 2015 8:58:13 GMT -5
I had a DC-1 . I just picked up a Nad M51 Masters series Dac... Sonic BLISS.My search for the perfect DAC is over.
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Post by pedrocols on Apr 27, 2015 11:51:00 GMT -5
I have a Yulong d100 DAC for sale and does not have a Sabre chip... Yulong D100 DACThanks I will check it out. If you were local I would gladly ship it to you so you could try it. |
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Post by pedrocols on Apr 27, 2015 12:06:44 GMT -5
I had a DC-1 . I just picked up a Nad M51 Masters series Dac... Sonic BLISS.My search for the perfect DAC is over. I have no doubts is a fine DAC but a bit pricey if you ask me..... |
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Post by uthiker on Apr 27, 2015 13:32:14 GMT -5
I had a DC-1 . I just picked up a Nad M51 Masters series Dac... Sonic BLISS.My search for the perfect DAC is over. I have no doubts is a fine DAC but a bit pricey if you ask me..... Pricey yes.I got a demo with full warranty saved $500. It still was alot but HDMI pass thru is great. This blows my Oppo 105 far away. |
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Post by manniche on Apr 27, 2015 15:55:36 GMT -5
I have no doubts is a fine DAC but a bit pricey if you ask me..... Pricey yes.I got a demo with full warranty saved $500. It still was alot but HDMI pass thru is great. This blows my Oppo 105 far away. MSRP in Denmark is + 1700 usd. I don't wanna spend that much on a DAC. But i'm sure it is very good! |
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Post by brutiarti on Apr 27, 2015 16:51:50 GMT -5
I had a DC-1 . I just picked up a Nad M51 Masters series Dac... Sonic BLISS.My search for the perfect DAC is over. Hey uthinker, how do you compare the m51 with the dc-1? And are you using the m51 as preamp? Im curious about your impressions |
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