My DC-1 showed up yesterday (7/26) and I've spent a few hours listening to it, as well as comparing it to my Schiit Bifrost and the DAC in the ERC-2. I'll say up front that most folks probably won't like my review as compared to what others have written I'm like a fish swimming upstream. But these are my honest impressions.
First of all, the product exudes elegance and quality as soon as the outer box is opened to reveal the actual DC-1 box. It's nicely padded with dense foam, not the cheap styrofoam stuff. The DC-1 itself is solid. Build quality is excellent, it's nicely compact, and looks good, too. The remote is no slouch either and I wish I had a universal remote that had such a quality feel to it. It's metal, looks great, feels just right in the hand, and the buttons are logically laid out and nicely spaced. Emo includes a screwdriver to remove the tiny battery panel screws, and also includes a spare fuse. Unlike some other recent products, there is a user manual as well which looks professional with a thick glossy paper cover instead of pages stapled together. All in all, it looks expensive.
Setup is very easy. The display is clear, easy to read and I just love everything about this DAC. I configured it to be in Asynchronous mode, with variable volume so that I could match the level with the Bifrost DAC.
Initially, this is how I set things up: Sonos Box -> Coax out -> DC-1 -> RCA out -> XSP-1 RCA input 3 -> Stealth 8's. The comparison setup was Sonos Box -> Optical out -> Bifrost -> RCA out -> XSP-1 RCA input 4 -> Stealth 8's.
When switching the XSP-1 back and forth between inputs 3 and 4, there is a delay of about 3-4 seconds. Even though that is a pretty short delay, I wanted something that was instantaneous so I also changed things and connected the Bifrost RCA out to the DC-1 analog input. The DC-1 has a much shorter switching time between the digital (coax or optical) inputs and the analog input. Switching from digital to analog input is instantaneous; switching from analog to digital is a second or less. During my testing, I also switched it so that the coax output from the Sonos box went to the Bifrost, and optical to the DC-1 to take into account any difference between those two digital means of transmission.
Also what I did was to compare the ERC-2's DAC by comparing its XLR balanced output to the XSP-1 balanced input #2 to a connection of the ERC-2's coax out to the DC-1, and the balanced outs from the DC-1 to the XSP-1's balanced input #1. Again, since there was a 3-4 second switching delay between these two inputs, I connected the RCA out from the ERC-2 to the analog input of the DC-1, then switched the DC-1 between the coax and analog inputs to see what differences there were in the sound.
I did these comparisons using the Stealth 8 speakers and also the headphone jack of the DC-1, listening with Sennheiser HD-650's.
I played a variety of well-recorded material via the Sonos Box and did all the various comparisons between the DC-1 and Bifrost I listed above. I played several CD tracks (not as many as with the Sonos) and compared the ERC-2 versus the DC-1.
This is the part that I figure many folks won't like. I couldn't hear any difference between the DAC's. Not too long ago I also ran a comparison between the XDA-2 that I recently sold, and the Bifrost and they sounded identical, too. The only difference was I had to turn up the XDA-2's gain to match that of the Bifrost. So you can say by way of inference that if the XDA-2 sounded like the Bifrost, then all four DAC's sound the same. So unlike what pretty much every other DC-1 owner has said, I did not hear any immediate difference; if you blindfolded me I would not be able to tell which DAC I was listening to.
I did my evaluation both by listening to the "big picture" with the overall feel of the song, as well as listening for little details such as accuracy/natural quality of the instruments and voices, the "air" or feel of the recording space, decay of the sound, etc. For example, the cymbals at the beginning of "Blue Rondo a la Turk" from Dave Brubeck's "Time Out" CD. In all cases, the strike of the stick on the bell, as well as the flat part of the cymbal sounded the same - all sounded very natural. I could hear the nuances of each strike as well as the decay and the air around the cymbal. Tracks that had brushes on snare drums and cymbals also sounded very natural and identifiable. Everything I listened to sounded musical. Orchestra tracks with a lot of instruments, such as "Danse Boheme" from the opera Carmen composed by Georges Bizet, sounded terrific. No congestion, with great dynamic range. That's a track that starts out very soft and gets really loud, and also includes a tambourine as well as triangle which I would think on a lesser DAC or system would sound like clinking metal. Choirs sounded great. Dynamics and tone on solo piano sounded great. Bottom line, as I did my A/B switching I really did not detect any difference in sound. When I switched, it was more like I had just briefly paused the music, not that I was listening to something with a different timbre or tone. Strings had just the right "grab" or texture to them, be they violin or cello. Plucked strings sounded very natural. There was no harshness at loud volumes. When I thought I heard a difference I went back to double check and in all cases, what I initially thought was a difference turned out not to be. I am afraid I am disappointing those people who were expecting me to say the DC-1 shone above the others.
As far as headphone amp, I think the DC-1 is great. I can't compare it to the Bellari I just sold because my memory is not good enough, but I am happy with using the DC-1 as a headphone amp. It has plenty of power/current to drive my Sennheisers and does not sound lacking in any way.
I did a comparison between the ERC-2 and DC-1 using the Carmen composition I mentioned above. My first impression was that it sounded cleaner or just simply better than hearing it through the Sonos box. That had me thinking hmmm, maybe the CD as a source is purer than streaming a FLAC file. So I set things up to compare the Sonos-streamed file to the CD. Turns out my memory was playing tricks on me as when I A/B'ed them, they sounded identical. That's an example of why I don't trust my memory when comparing electronic stuff like this. Speakers, yes; I still remember the sonic character of all the speakers I've had and listening to the Stealths when I first got them was like night and day versus the Mirage OMD's I previously was using. But for equipment whose specs are much more similar than with speakers, I believe you have to listen and compare in close time proximity; you can't rely on your memory.
This afternoon I stopped comparing things and just had the DC-1 hooked up. I listened to a bunch of tracks and was very pleased. I played Hiromi Uehara's solo CD, "Place to Be" which has excellent sonic quality as well as dynamics. Wow, it sounded great; the piano sounded about as lifelike as it could sound through speakers, and the dynamics were handled very well with no distortion. All the other stuff I played was great, too.
Bottom line: I am happy with the DC-1. It's a keeper. I love how it looks and how solidly it is built. It is also more versatile than the Bifrost since it uses a remote, has a USB input and a display. You may ask, if there's no difference in sound then why spend $699 on this? I guess one might even ask why have a separate DAC? My less than rational answer is, I like having an external DAC. And as far as the price difference, it's sort of like asking why would you spend so much more on an XSP-1 than a USP-1? The XSP-1 is more versatile and overcomes the bass management and volume control issues that affected the USP-1 but soundwise, neutral is neutral. How much more neutral than neutral can you get? That's like saying you can have zeroes of different degrees of nothingness. Is it worth spending that much more for the XSP-1 if you can't hear a difference in sound? To me it is. I look at the DC-1 the same way.
I really wish I could have heard sonic differences. I wonder, how come I can't hear these apparent differences that everyone else can hear? Whatever the reason, I just can't, but I have to say I think the system sounds fantastic. I'm really happy with my setup and I am glad I bought the DC-1. Now someone please buy the Bifrost from me!!!
Now I'd like to just offer up some food for thought. When you start spending a lot of money on a DAC, and these DAC's all have excellent specs/measurements with variances that are below the tolerance of a normal person's ability to discern such differences or variances, then why would you expect to hear big differences between DAC's? Shouldn't there be at most a very subtle difference, unless one of the DAC's is defective? Or unless a manufacturer has deliberately manipulated their DAC to have its own sonic character like tube equipment does? I think both Schiit and Emo aim to make as neutral-sounding a product as possible - a straight wire with gain - and impart no sonic character of its own. With this goal in mind, then the law of diminishing returns ought to apply. The prices of the equipment I compared, including the XDA-2 I no longer have, are not cheap. Most people would not be willing to spend such money for something like a DAC. So for that kind of money you would expect a quality product (which these are). Given that, then why would you expect there to be a significant audio/sonic difference?
I am not saying that to try to defend what might be tin ears on my part, but I'm asking that as a logical question. Whereas amps may sound different based on the load into which they are playing, it seems to me that there would be less variability when it comes to where the output of a DAC is headed.
Perhaps there are subtle sonic differences between the DAC's I compared, but for me such differences are indeed so subtle that I didn't recognize them. Maybe if I just sat back and did some extended listening without trying to be so critical or analytical, these differences might then make themselves known but for now they remain undetected by me. I'm happy with my purchase and happy with the big picture, which is that I think my current system sounds wonderful. If you are looking for a high quality DAC that also has a great headphone section, the DC-1 fits the bill.
By the way: in no way am I discounting the very positive things people have said about the DC-1 and how its sonic character compares to other DAC's. If anything, you ought to be perhaps discounting my sense of hearing! Be that as it may, I just wrote my experiences of what I heard.
I can't think of anything that is "wrong" with it.
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