novisnick
EmoPhile
CEO Secret Monoblock Society
Posts: 27,230
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Post by novisnick on Oct 28, 2015 12:39:26 GMT -5
Boom,,,,,,,are you itting the sauce again? You've resorted to comparing amps and preamps to each other?? Hemmmmmmm?
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Post by garbulky on Oct 28, 2015 12:52:34 GMT -5
So what do you mean by XSP1 to XPR1?
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Post by Boomzilla on Oct 28, 2015 13:03:40 GMT -5
Dat's it! Pres. to processors, please.
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novisnick
EmoPhile
CEO Secret Monoblock Society
Posts: 27,230
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Post by novisnick on Oct 28, 2015 13:10:17 GMT -5
Dat's it! Pres. to processors, please. Would you please state that in the form of a question??
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Post by garbulky on Oct 28, 2015 13:38:54 GMT -5
Two different things. One creates a signal and usually changes the volume. The other changes the volume. If you had a preamp without a source you would have silence.
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Post by Boomzilla on Oct 28, 2015 15:10:20 GMT -5
OK, OK - I hate Emotiva product names! Why can't they just call it the "Hussy" preamp and the "Gomer" power amp?
I meant the XSP-1 vs. the XMC-1!
Yes, there are whole threads about this, but they were hatched in the infancy of the product. One could say that those comparisons were a like a review of a dog that could do algebra - It didn't matter that the dog got the answers wrong.
Now that the XMC-1 is a more mature product, now that the fanboys have had their say, and now that the hype has died down and one can be honest without being attacked - What is the REAL sound quality of the XMC-1 (in stereo mode, thank you, and without DIRAC) compared to the XSP-1?
Boomzilla
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Post by garbulky on Oct 28, 2015 15:19:51 GMT -5
So that's the real problem. Compared to the XSP-1 by itself ... it's silence without a source. vs a fully functioning XMC-1. You have to define what hte source is. The XSP-1 can't produce sound by itself.
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Post by Boomzilla on Oct 28, 2015 15:25:19 GMT -5
Same sources as always:
Stereo = streamed 44.1 CD quality to the Oppo BDP-105 with balanced analog output to the preamp/processor Movies = 5.1 outputs (unbalanced) from the Oppo to the HT bypass of the XSP-1
But IF (ah say IF) - I had the XMC-1, it would be:
Streamed 44.1 to the XMC-1's DACs for stereo and HDMI from the Oppo to the XMC-1 for movies
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Post by garbulky on Oct 28, 2015 15:28:32 GMT -5
Ah gotcha. Well ... I don't know! Probably not a large difference imo. Not enough to justify the 2K price tag. That;s my opinion. Use two channel for two channel. That's the way I look at it. Now what I think may justify a 2k price tag is of course. But then you already know that. Hehehe
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Post by highfihoney on Oct 28, 2015 15:30:45 GMT -5
OK, OK - I hate Emotiva product names! Why can't they just call it the "Hussy" preamp and the "Gomer" power amp? I meant the XSP-1 vs. the XMC-1! Yes, there are whole threads about this, but they were hatched in the infancy of the product. One could say that those comparisons were a like a review of a dog that could do algebra - It didn't matter that the dog got the answers wrong. Now that the XMC-1 is a more mature product, now that the fanboys have had their say, and now that the hype has died down and one can be honest without being attacked - What is the REAL sound quality of the XMC-1 (in stereo mode, thank you, and without DIRAC) compared to the XSP-1? Boomzilla I agree with emo's choice of names for most products being strange , especially the gen-2 stuff , ive been collecting so long i tend to think twords product legacy & once these closely named products are 10 or 15 yrs out of production few are going to understand what is what , even old midfi gear like SAE has a following which is made easier by clearly different model #'s & names . Im here everyday & an emo owner yet still get confused on what amps do what & which is a pre/pro or just a pre , stupid nit picks on my part but i'd like to see amp names designed around wattage & class .
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Post by brutiarti on Oct 28, 2015 15:44:51 GMT -5
OK, OK - I hate Emotiva product names! Why can't they just call it the "Hussy" preamp and the "Gomer" power amp? I meant the XSP-1 vs. the XMC-1! Yes, there are whole threads about this, but they were hatched in the infancy of the product. One could say that those comparisons were a like a review of a dog that could do algebra - It didn't matter that the dog got the answers wrong. Now that the XMC-1 is a more mature product, now that the fanboys have had their say, and now that the hype has died down and one can be honest without being attacked - What is the REAL sound quality of the XMC-1 (in stereo mode, thank you, and without DIRAC) compared to the XSP-1? Boomzilla Xsp-1 gen1 vs xmc-1 in direct mode using balanced inputs from an oppo bdp-105, the same beautiful sound
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Post by Cogito on Oct 28, 2015 16:10:20 GMT -5
There's always the Parasound Classic 2100 Stereo Preamp, but limited with a fixed 80Hz Hi-Pass filter.
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Post by paintedklown on Oct 29, 2015 2:34:26 GMT -5
Just be mindful that Lysol kills only 99.99% of the bacteria so I would strongly suggest you buy a new monitor.... I NEED a shower now!,,,,,thank you!! Nick, I own the Gen 1 XSP-1 and second only to getting my Gen 1 XPA-1's, it made the biggest improvement of all changes I ever made to my system. Suffice it to say, I LOVE it!!! However, there has always been the nagging itch to someday upgrade to the XSP-1 Gen 2. In your opinion, how do these two preamps compare? Thanks Also, to Boom: You are a DAC believer, I am not 100% sure that I am yet...but the more I learn about DACs, I do believe they certainly can have an impact on the amount of resolution, fine detail retrieval, and "naturalness" (for lack of a better word) of the sounds from your digital sources. I am pretty keen on eventually trying out an R2R DAC and have looked at products from Audio G-D and Schiit. From my understanding R2R DACs have a more analog sound, and are (I'm overgeneralizing for effect here) better at representing music without any digital glare or other high frequency harshness/sibilance. Have you had an opportunity to do any comparisons of any R2R vs D/S DACs? I haven't been on here in quite a while, so I cannot recall your opinion of the DC-1, but IIRC, you preferred the XDA-1, or Oppo's implementation of the Sabre 32 DACs??? I loved my old DC-1, and it was one of the motivators that made me decide to get active on here again. I am in "read mode" vs "post mode" at the moment, but plan to be back in the full swing soon enough...LOL! I am planning on ordering another DC-1 to replace my old one, as honestly, the SQ was (to my ears) VERY good, and the feature set is seemingly FAR beyond what I can find from precursory looks at competing products. Heck, the fact that it's fully balanced ALONE makes it darn near untouchable (from a price/performance ratio) in the marketplace. Throw in the headphone amp, remote control, pre-amp capabilities, analog input, ect. and I can't see ANY reason to look another direction...at least for now. One thing I am curious about though, is how the DC-1, and Big Ego stack up (used as a DAC only) when placed head to head, but that's for another thread.
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Post by wizardofoz on Oct 29, 2015 4:05:45 GMT -5
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Post by Boomzilla on Oct 29, 2015 8:59:24 GMT -5
Hi paintedklown - Thanks for chiming in! As to your questions, the Emotiva Stealth DC-1 DAC is a chameleon for sure. In my buddy garbulky 's system, the thing sounds wonderful. In mine, it doesn't. The two best DACs that I've tried (to date) are the built-in of my Oppo BDP-105 and the Jolida tube DAC. Both excel in sounding natural. The worst I've heard is (you guessed it) the Emotiva Stealth DC-1. Even the 2-cent built-in DAC of my Apple AirPort Express sounds better. Go figure... Mr. garbulky plans to buy a Yggdrasil DAC by Schiit in time (when he has the money). When that time comes, I'll borrow it from him to try it out in my system. I've not heard the big or little Ego products from Emotiva, so I can't comment on them. I do have the AudioQuest Dragonfly II, which is a much better sounding DAC than the first Dragonfly model, but still not as good as my Oppo. I may mosey on down to the Magnolia kiosk in the local Best Buy store to see if they have any high end DACs. But my gut feeling is that any they have (McIntosh?) will cost as much as the Yggdrasil, so I may ought to try that one first. It'll have to be GOOD to outdo my Oppo... Boom NEVER MIND - I just looked at the Schiit Yggdrasil on their web site. It doesn't offer an ethernet interface for DNLA streaming. No interface for me? No purchase from my wallet! Schiit just lost a $2,200 sale.
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Post by garbulky on Oct 29, 2015 9:48:49 GMT -5
That's a world class DAC. It's entire purpose is not to add a bunch of extras (like ethernet) but concentrate on PCM two channel. Heck it doesn't even have a volume control or do DSD. Most two channel DACs out there do not have ethernet interfaces. I don't think it even has a remote control for input switching. You can use your oppos SPDIF ouitput to work directly with the Yggy no probs. The oppo has ethernet. And you still need it for blu ra and video playback anyway. You don't even have to move anything! The whole thing comes down to will it sound better? And if it does, the $2 SPDIF wire from the oppo is probably not going to be an issue right?
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Post by garbulky on Oct 29, 2015 9:58:08 GMT -5
You can use an old gen AppleTV to do the same thing. And it outputs at 44.1 Khz. You can also email schiit and ask them what solution they can reccomend to get teh audio to their Yggy. I'm sure they've had that question before. The old squeezebox touch also acts as a ethernet to SPIDF output. And it's pretty darn small. Also googling for streaming audio players and making sure it has an SPDIF output of some kind may produce quite a few options. But as I mentioned you already have an excellent one in the oppo. There's no real drawback in using it.
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novisnick
EmoPhile
CEO Secret Monoblock Society
Posts: 27,230
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Post by novisnick on Oct 29, 2015 16:58:07 GMT -5
Hi pk, Ive had both XP-1s, true. I paid a difference of $200.00 to answer that question, mind you my money doesn't grow on trees either
The question to me is, was the $220.00 worth the improvement? Or stared differently, was there a $200.00 difference?
Now that I don't own either pre I can still state that the difference was worth it to me. It will depend on the gear running through it! For sure, I ran the same idetical gear through both and do think there was a slight improvement, earth shattering difference,,,,NO, but there was an improvment to my ears, my room,,,,etc,,,,etc,,,,,, I do like the knowledge that Bass mngt. Was analog and not digital as it is with the XMC-1.
If you would like more info on the XSP-1 gen 2 compared to the XMC-1 just ask.
To answer your question, if you can purchase the gen 2 at a reasonable exchange ( to you ) I would do it. YMMV
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Post by cheapthryl on Oct 29, 2015 19:34:00 GMT -5
XSP-1 vs. the XMC-1! What is the REAL sound quality of the XMC-1 (in stereo mode, thank you, and without DIRAC) compared to the XSP-1? Boomzilla Nick
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novisnick
EmoPhile
CEO Secret Monoblock Society
Posts: 27,230
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Post by novisnick on Oct 29, 2015 19:46:50 GMT -5
XSP-1 vs. the XMC-1! What is the REAL sound quality of the XMC-1 (in stereo mode, thank you, and without DIRAC) compared to the XSP-1? Boomzilla Nick As Ive said in the past, and will continue to stick to it. The XSP-1 is incorperated into the XMC-1 with three exceptions; 1) there is no phono pre in the XMC-1 2) there is no DAC in the XSP-1 3) analog bass management in the XSP-1 and digital bass management in the XMC-1 Im sure I may have missed something else technical but In my opinion the XSP-1 to XMC-1 is a sideways move as far as a two channel pre amp is concerned.
they produce the same sound signature for stereo, one caveat is that I do NOT use subs for two channel 90 % of the time. my Studio 100s more then satisfy my need, especialy spinning vinyl.
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