DC-1

[GreenKiwi]

My impression was the same, both an improvement of SQ and some extra features.

[mam]

emotiva just told me that the DC-1 pro dac is for sale right now , available .... 899$ .... i'd like to see specs ,ect ... its not yet placed on emotiva's site ....

[hemster]

I've been running the DC-1 for over a week now. Details to come over the weekend but the bottom line so far is... this one is a keeper! It is definitely better than the XDA-2 (which I also own and compare with the DC-1).

[garbulky]

Jul 5, 2013 21:38:03 GMT -5 hemster said:

Details to come over the weekend ..

Looking forward to it

[mam]

lucky u .... i also am on the market looking for a preamp and dac ... my source being all digital , cd player , mac computer lossless files ... im confused onto what even i need , preamp? dac ? or both lol .... this part just confuses me lol

[mam]

thought the xda was a digital preamp and dac also at the same time , this new emo pro dc-1 is also digital preamp and dac i read it is also a dual mono ...so it has 2 dac chips in it , one for each channel , if im correct..:-)

[GreenKiwi]

Yes and the DC-1 has an analog input.

I believe it is fully dual differential, two dacs two separate signal paths, two analog volume controls.

[mam]

so it is basically the XDA-2 on steroids ... the same preamp , dac function but with better chips , in mono ... :-) nice stuff

[hemster]

^Yes, yes. It's all that and then some! It also has 2 headphone outs.

[mam]

any idea what are the chips used in the new dc-1 .... im so curious loll cant hold myself lol

[klinemj]

mam - I was verbally told in a call to Emotiva (can't recall who I spoke with) that the unit has dual mono AD1955's in it. So, you could look those up for details.

Also, Nick e-mailed me yesterday with this info:
- Selectable A-synchronous sample rate converter
- Analog pass through(you can use it as an analog preamp)
- Dual headphone outputs ( BUF 634 drivers-low impedance)
- National Semiconductor LM4562 output drivers
- Fully differential signal path
- 4 layer PCB
- 0dB fixed output mode
- Selectable mute levels of -20dB,-40dB or fully muted
- 24/192 native USB
- BNC coaxial input
- AES/EBU
- Optical
- RCA coaxial input
- XLR and RCA outputs (they can be used simultaneously)
- Billet Aluminum remote
- Organic LED display
- 1/2 rack space width
- Toroidal power supply with pure copper windings

He also said that even though it's for sale he didn't know for sure when the item would be shown on the website but he thought it would be in the next ~week (they are awaiting final approval from marketing on the web site details).

Mark

[mam]

so it is the exact same chip as in xda-2 , yet it performs better ... ?? lol

[monkumonku]

Jul 6, 2013 12:34:29 GMT -5 mam said:

so it is the exact same chip as in xda-2 , yet it performs better ... ?? lol

Lots of gear shares the same chip or other parts. That's only part of the equation. It is how everything is engineered and implemented that makes a difference. You could give me the parts that go into a Ferrari and I would just make a mess of it. I trust Emo to know what they are doing when they select the components that go into their products.

[mam]

True ... i'll trust people saying it sounds better than xda-2 and try it myself .... :-)

[Dan Laufman]

Jul 6, 2013 12:50:39 GMT -5 monkumonku said:

Jul 6, 2013 12:34:29 GMT -5 mam said:

so it is the exact same chip as in xda-2 , yet it performs better ... ?? lol

Lots of gear shares the same chip or other parts. That's only part of the equation. It is how everything is engineered and implemented that makes a difference. You could give me the parts that go into a Ferrari and I would just make a mess of it. I trust Emo to know what they are doing when they select the components that go into their products.

The DAC chip is the same, but the implementation and the support circuitry is different from the approach used on the XDA-2. THe XDA-2 offers amazing performance and value, but in the DC-1, we took it to a different level. It's a more complex design, and has two stereo DAC's operating in a dual differential mode. Also, the DC-1 is much smaller, it has a 4 layer mother board, an analog input, and uses an expensive OLED display. All of this adds to the cost to build.

The chips used are only part of the equation. It's what you do with them that counts. Both DAC's are exceptional performers at their respective price points.
Cheers,
Big Dan

[klinemj]

...and I so can't wait to get one...but I am leaving on Friday to be gone for 3 of the 4 next weeks! Oh well, it'll be here ready to buy when I get back.

Mark

[yeeeha17]

Why is the DC-1 not in the same casing to look like other Emotiva components? I like how the XDA matches my amps and pre/pros.

[Jim]

Jul 6, 2013 15:10:09 GMT -5 yeeeha17 said:

Why is the DC-1 not in the same casing to look like other Emotiva components? I like how the XDA matches my amps and pre/pros.

It's pro gear. It's not meant to match the consumer chassis of other gear.

[pressureworld]

Can someone explain the purpose of 24/192 native USB? Is this for playing FLAC via USB?

[garbulky]

pressureworld Sure is! I would be curious to know what the usb controller is. Is it the same as the xda-2 that has reports of driver trouble.
Also some other thoughts...
- Will they make an Reference emo dac like an RDA-1? Or will they simply update the xda-2 to an xda-3?

If one notices on FR response the XDA-1 and the XDA-2 have flat FR response. Yet they appear to sound a little different and their noise floor/THD is inaudible. Now people that have had both report the RDA-1 sounds different (and better). So how does this happen? IMO there's more to how a component sounds than a few measurements. But if they all have flat FR and specs at "inaudibility" and sound better/different then one can't have an opinion that the difference is inaudible due to inaudibly low distortion while still sounding different/better from another product that measures at inaudibility.