DC-1

[creimes]

Aug 13, 2013 20:01:20 GMT -5 klinemj said:

I've not listened to the UMC in stereo for too long to make an informed comment...sorry!!!

Mark

Oh sorry Mark I was just being sarcastic, all these product #'s can make your head spin lol....

Chad

[yessurf]

Hi everybody,

has anybody used the DC-1 as a preamp for the XDA-2 gen2 and can tell me something about its performance?
I want to upgrade my Stereo-Hifi with exactly this combination and would like to know whether the DC-1 is a suitable match as an analog / digital preamp for the XDA-2 gen 2.
I want to connect my phono pre, my networkplayer and my BD-player for SACD and stereo bluray.

cheers

[geebo]

Aug 14, 2013 3:51:49 GMT -5 yessurf said:

Hi everybody,

has anybody used the DC-1 as a preamp for the XDA-2 gen2 and can tell me something about its performance?
I want to upgrade my Stereo-Hifi with exactly this combination and would like to know whether the DC-1 is a suitable match as an analog / digital preamp for the XDA-2 gen 2.
I want to connect my phono pre, my networkplayer and my BD-player for SACD and stereo bluray.

cheers

I'm sure you meant to say XPA-2. The XDA-2 is another DAC.

[GreenKiwi]

yessurf I don't see why it wouldn't.

I have mine set up with a digital source as well my TT, direct to my amps and it works great.

[yessurf]

geebo Si Senor. I definetly meant XPA-2. Thanks

[yessurf]

Aug 14, 2013 8:41:22 GMT -5 GreenKiwi said:

yessurf I don't see why it wouldn't.

I have mine set up with a digital source as well my TT, direct to my amps and it works great.

Hi GreenKiwi I just wanted to make sure that the DC-1 is as good  a preamp for hifi-audio as a dac for studio work.
Actually I would prefer full rack size but Nick told me:

UL 31, 2013 | 10:32AM CDT
Nick Hetzler replied:
Hello Okko,
Thank you for your interest in Emotiva. We do not plan on updating the XDA-2 with the same features as the DC-1 including the analog inputs. The DC-1 actually complements the XPA-2 Gen 2 very well as they are both all black with blue lights. If you would like a shipping quote on the DC-1, please give me your shipping information and I will see that you are taken care of. Thank you and please let me know if you have any other questions.

Best Regards,
Nick Hetzler
Product Specialist

Interesting thing is that in March they told me they would not plan to design a digital / analog preamp and then suddenly the DC-1 popped out.
I am just not sure whether I should wait for a XDA-2 update or respectively a reference DAC / preamp. Since they have started to combine analog and digital preamps in the professional series they logically should also do that in the home user / hifi series.
What do you think?

[brubacca]

"I want to connect my phono pre, my networkplayer and my BD-player for SACD and stereo bluray..."

The only concern here is that you only have one Analog Input on the DC-1. You will have to route your Networkplayer and BD-Player through the digital inputs. Unless I am mistaken SACD can not be passed through the digital connections. You can get either the CD layer or possibly a downsampled signal. You would not be getting the true SACD signal by doing this.

[garbulky]

Aug 14, 2013 3:51:49 GMT -5 yessurf said:

Hi everybody,

has anybody used the DC-1 as a preamp for the XDA-2 gen2 and can tell me something about its performance?
I want to upgrade my Stereo-Hifi with exactly this combination and would like to know whether the DC-1 is a suitable match as an analog / digital preamp for the XDA-2 gen 2.
I want to connect my phono pre, my networkplayer and my BD-player for SACD and stereo bluray.

cheers

There are a few things to note here.
How insistent are you on true SACD playback and how picky are you about that?
I say this because the DC-1 will not be able to take the DSD digital signal of blu-ray as it doesn't have HDMI. For a SACD DAC you need to wait for the XMC-1 which is upcoming.
However DC-1 will take a PCM output from your SACD player if your SACD player is able to output that in SPDIF output. I don't know if that's possible. It will also take the analog output too.
But if you are wanting to ocnnect your phono output and the analog output from your SACD player - you can only connect one at a time.
But if you are okay with just needing one analog input you will be fine.

The XDA-2 is digital analog pre-amp. It has an analog volume control just like the DC-1 but it's digitall controlled. It does not have analog inputs if that's what you mean. I doubt they will update the XDA-2 to include it. It just came out and they have a ton of other stuff in the pipeline.

I think the XMC-1 may be more your style. It is not released yet but emotiva plans to release it that's all we know. It WILL do SACD DSD natively which is pretty impressive. It has multiple analog inputs. And if you ever need to upgrade to surround sound it has all that too. If you don't care about Native DSD and don't need multiple analog inputs, the DC-1 will work just fine.
You can buy it for less than its retail price by purchasing a 40% off XMC-1 upgrade card that is sold on these forums by users for around $170-180.

What are your speakers and blu-ray player?

You can also get yourself a USP-1 pre-amp used if you like for around $300 bucks.
Or call emotiva and ask if they have any sherbourn Pre-1 (which is a USP-1 with a few extra stuff) in stock. It's sold out but you never know. If available they sell for $175 amazing price.

[creimes]

I think the XMC-1 may be more your style. It is not released yet but emotiva plans to release it that's all we know. It WILL do SACD DSD natively which is pretty impressive. It has multiple analog inputs. And if you ever need to upgrade to surround sound it has all that too. If you don't care about Native DSD and don't need multiple analog inputs, the DC-1 will work just fine.
You can buy it for less than its retail price by purchasing a 40% off XMC-1 upgrade card that is sold on these forums by users for around $170-180.

I have my Oppo 103 connected to my PT-7030 from the HDMI 2 out on the 103, the 103 will output DSD on HDMI 2 and the PT-7030 accepts the DSD as well, not sure if the PT-7030 is at apr with the DC-1 for sounds quality but I'm really enjoying it so far, I do only have one SACD and that is Ray Charles - Genius Loves Company and it sounds amazing on my system.

Just food for thought the PT-7030 is a nice option at $999....and it's being re branded into the Emotiva Pro line according to Big Dan

Chad

[yessurf]

garbulky thanks for your detailed post

There are a few things to note here.
How insistent are you on true SACD playback and how picky are you about that?
I say this because the DC-1 will not be able to take the DSD digital signal of blu-ray as it doesn't have HDMI. For a SACD DAC you need to wait for the XMC-1 which is upcoming.
However DC-1 will take a PCM output from your SACD player if your SACD player is able to output that in SPDIF output. I don't know if that's possible. It will also take the analog output too.
But if you are wanting to ocnnect your phono output and the analog output from your SACD player - you can only connect one at a time.
But if you are okay with just needing one analog input you will be fine.

Sorry my mistake.
My Bluray player Cambridge Audio 651BD is only for CD playback digitally connected to the DC-1. For SACD playback I use my Cambridge Audio Surround Receiver 651R via HDMI and then hopefully the XPA-2 as poweramp for the front channels as I do with my integrated amplifier now.

I think the XMC-1 may be more your style. It is not released yet but emotiva plans to release it that's all we know. It WILL do SACD DSD natively which is pretty impressive. It has multiple analog inputs. And if you ever need to upgrade to surround sound it has all that too. If you don't care about Native DSD and don't need multiple analog inputs, the DC-1 will work just fine.
You can buy it for less than its retail price by purchasing a 40% off XMC-1 upgrade card that is sold on these forums by users for around $170-180.

No it's not because I want to have an independent stereo system with stereo pre and poweramp. In my experience surround receivers and / or surround preamps do not equal pure stereo setups.

[garbulky]

Aug 14, 2013 12:39:47 GMT -5 yessurf said:

garbulky thanks for your detailed post

There are a few things to note here.
How insistent are you on true SACD playback and how picky are you about that?
I say this because the DC-1 will not be able to take the DSD digital signal of blu-ray as it doesn't have HDMI. For a SACD DAC you need to wait for the XMC-1 which is upcoming.
However DC-1 will take a PCM output from your SACD player if your SACD player is able to output that in SPDIF output. I don't know if that's possible. It will also take the analog output too.
But if you are wanting to ocnnect your phono output and the analog output from your SACD player - you can only connect one at a time.
But if you are okay with just needing one analog input you will be fine.

Sorry my mistake.
My Bluray player Cambridge Audio 651BD is only for CD playback digitally connected to the DC-1. For SACD playback I use my Cambridge Audio Surround Receiver 651R via HDMI and then hopefully the XPA-2 as poweramp for the front channels as I do with my integrated amplifier now.

I think the XMC-1 may be more your style. It is not released yet but emotiva plans to release it that's all we know. It WILL do SACD DSD natively which is pretty impressive. It has multiple analog inputs. And if you ever need to upgrade to surround sound it has all that too. If you don't care about Native DSD and don't need multiple analog inputs, the DC-1 will work just fine.
You can buy it for less than its retail price by purchasing a 40% off XMC-1 upgrade card that is sold on these forums by users for around $170-180.

No it's not because I want to have an independent stereo system with stereo pre and poweramp. In my experience surround receivers and / or surround preamps do not equal pure stereo setups.

I understand.
Well, your issue will likely be the integration with SACD player and the single analog input limitation. I personally wouldn't worry too much about it but you may want to explore that in more detail if SACD is important to you. Maybe call emotiva and ask to speak to somebody there about it. They are very knowledgeable and some of the technical staff are electrical engineers who are also audio enthusiasts.
For instance - Keith or Lonnie.
Or you can create a new thread in this forum and ask about it.
So my question is....
How are you integrating your
Cambridge BD CD player to DC-1
AND
Audio surround reciever 651R
to
the XPA-2?

[yessurf]

Hi garbulky

So my question is....
How are you integrating your
Cambridge BD CD player to DC-1
AND
Audio surround reciever 651R
to
the XPA-2?

I just checked the manual of my Bluray player and I can change the optical / spidf output to pcm. So I will connect the Bluray optically to the DC-1.
Therefore I will use the coax connection  for the audio Network Player.
My phono pregoes into the analog input of the DC-1 and "everything is illuminated" (so to speak) .
I have got a bass module for my front speakers wich also works as an amplifier switch which I use for connecting my AVR front pre outs and the DC-1 outputs with the XPA-2.

[garbulky]

Aug 14, 2013 13:44:24 GMT -5 yessurf said:

Hi garbulky

So my question is....
How are you integrating your
Cambridge BD CD player to DC-1
AND
Audio surround reciever 651R
to
the XPA-2?

I just checked the manual of my Bluray player and I can change the optical / spidf output to pcm. So I will connect the Bluray optically to the DC-1.
Therefore I will use the coax connection  for the audio Network Player.
My phono pregoes into the analog input of the DC-1 and "everything is illuminated" (so to speak) .
I have got a bass module for my front speakers wich also works as an amplifier switch which I use for connecting my AVR front pre outs and the DC-1 outputs with the XPA-2.

On page 12 of your BD manual under 2. Digital audio, it says
"Note: The latest HD audio types, SACD and DVD-A cannot be output over
SPDIF/TOSlink and an HDMI connection must be used for these."
So I don't think that will work for SACD.
Manual found here
www.cambridgeaudio.com/media/azur751bd_usersmanual_01english-1353424964.pdf
Or here
www.cambridgeaudio.com/products/azur-651bd-universal-blu-ray-player

[yessurf]

garbulky
thank you very much vor your concern

On page 12 of your BD manual under 2. Digital audio, it says
"Note: The latest HD audio types, SACD and DVD-A cannot be output over
SPDIF/TOSlink and an HDMI connection must be used for these."
So I don't think that will work for SACD.

but as I tried to explain, the Bluray player will be connected via HDMI with the receiver for stereo and multichannel SACD. For CD-Playback it will be connected via toslink to the DC-1. In both cases the XPA-2 will be the power amplifier for the front speakers.
So for my present setup two digital inputs are sufficient.
My only concern is just that the DC-1 is not built primarily for home audio and therefore perhaps has not got the performance of a pure hifi preamp with digital and anlog inputs.
My first choice would be the XPS-1 with the DC-1 DAC or the XDA-2 with the analog section of the XPS-1 including the phono preamp.

[klinemj]

Trust me...it's got the performance..."not built primarily for home audio" is not a factor. This is a very nice DAC and preamp.

It sounds better than my ERC-2 and Oppo 105 which are both built for home audio.

Mark

[yessurf]

Trust me...it's got the performance..."not built primarily for home audio" is not a factor. This is a very nice DAC and preamp.

It sounds better than my ERC-2 and Oppo 105 which are both built for home audio.

That sounds good Mark.
Since Thursday I have been testing my new Network player and connected it digitally via toslink to my AV-receiver and to my CD player which also works as a DAC to compare the sound quality.
Even though I use my integreated amplifier in both setups as poweramp for my front speakers, the CD player DAC setup sounds definetely better..
Therefore I feel confirmed that a pure stereo system always sounds better than a multichannel system running on stereo mode.
So there are three things left to do:
Setting up a home network with the Synology DS 213j
Getting a quote for the DC-1 and XPA-2 gen2
Getting a good price for my amplifier and CD player

So long

[garbulky]

Aug 16, 2013 13:48:44 GMT -5 yessurf said:

garbulky
thank you very much vor your concern

On page 12 of your BD manual under 2. Digital audio, it says
"Note: The latest HD audio types, SACD and DVD-A cannot be output over
SPDIF/TOSlink and an HDMI connection must be used for these."
So I don't think that will work for SACD.

but as I tried to explain, the Bluray player will be connected via HDMI with the receiver for stereo and multichannel SACD. For CD-Playback it will be connected via toslink to the DC-1. In both cases the XPA-2 will be the power amplifier for the front speakers.
So for my present setup two digital inputs are sufficient.
My only concern is just that the DC-1 is not built primarily for home audio and therefore perhaps has not got the performance of a pure hifi preamp with digital and anlog inputs.
My first choice would be the XPS-1 with the DC-1 DAC or the XDA-2 with the analog section of the XPS-1 including the phono preamp.

I guess this is where I'm confused. You have one amplifier - the xpa-2. It does not have two inputs for the amplifier. But you plan on using both the reciever for HDMI SACD playback and the DC-1 for CD playback.
So are you planning on
1. routing the DC-1 through the reciever to the xpa-2/vice versa or
2. Switching wires everytime you want to switch between the DC-1 and the receiver?
Going with option 1 may put the quality of the DC-1 at the mercy of whatever processing or Analog to digital and digital to analog reconversions the reciever may (or may not) do if its the DC-1 going through the reciever.

[yessurf]

Hi Garbulky

I guess this is where I'm confused. You have one amplifier - the xpa-2. It does not have two inputs for the amplifier. But you plan on using both the reciever for HDMI SACD playback and the DC-1 for CD playback.
So are you planning on
1. routing the DC-1 through the reciever to the xpa-2/vice versa or
2. Switching wires everytime you want to switch between the DC-1 and the receiver?
Going with option 1 may put the quality of the DC-1 at the mercy of whatever processing or Analog to digital and digital to analog reconversions the reciever may (or may not) do if its the DC-1 going through the reciever

My speakers are a German brand and I purchased a specific module for them called ATM that lowers the bass frequency from normally 42 Hz linear (without interfering the signal) to astonishing 27 Hz. For that the ATM lets the 2 bass chassis of each speaker get more more power (very basic description) and therefore a powerful amp is required. My present integrated amp has only 120 Watts on 4 ohm which is not enough especially for higher volumes.
The ATM has three inputs and one output and ideally is put in between preamp and poweramp. Then it also works as an amplifier switch.
You can switch the input sources, in my case either the DC-1 or the front pre outs of my AV receiver.

[TheMachinist]

Jul 26, 2013 20:47:36 GMT -5 Golden Ear said:

Mark, I know some of us want a straight and simple answer. Did DC-1 blow XDA-2 out of the water?

The DC-1 smashed the XDA-2. I had the XDAs, and clearly the the DC-1 crushed them. Been on the DC-1 for few weeks and I can't find any flaw in its sound quality. It replaced 2 DACs in my system, and CD players, and being a very good preamp made the USP-1 redundant too.

[klinemj]

Nice imagery! Glad you are enjoying your DC-1...I am loving mine.

Mark