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Post by Gary Cook on Jan 21, 2016 3:52:38 GMT -5
Did a few back to backs on Tuesday night, comparing a few headphones, over ear, on ear and buds using the BigEgo from a MacMini, to an IPhone 6, an iPad Air and an iPad Mini. On everything we tried, iTunes, YouTube, ripped lossless CD's, the BigEgo was noticeably better sounding. Things like rim shots and cymbal hits the source (blind listening) was easily picked. Even playing via the Airmotive 4's sometimes. The iPhone 6 internal DAC has a pretty good rep, but the BigEgo bested it pretty easily.
I think it convinced my co-listener (daughter's boyfriend) that he needs an Ego for travelling.
Cheers
Gary
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Post by copperpipe on Jan 21, 2016 9:43:48 GMT -5
Thinking about getting one for work and travel...some questions: If I just want to use the headphone amp, will the big ego be noticeably better? Or I can get the small one and not lose much? Does it work with iPhone? If so, what is required? How compatible is it to dc1 dac headphone amp? If you want to compare big ego vs little ego; apparently KeithL at one point said the sound quality was (minimally / ever so slightly) better than the little. The big also comes with a line-out, but you can use the headphone out on both devices and feed that to a power amp line-in. The lossless volume control only affects the headphone out, the line-out on the big is not affected by volume changes in the OS (of course if you change the volume in your media player itself, then yes the volume will go down) I have the big ego, really like it and would recommend it to anyone, even as a permanent DAC for your computer and not just for travel. It also comes with a little black cloth bag that you can put it in when traveling. I do believe it will work with the iphone with an appropriate adaptor: emotivalounge.proboards.com/post/758028/thread |
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Post by gkhercules on Oct 8, 2016 23:55:30 GMT -5
Hello can anyone tell me if I can use the big ego or little ego as my primary DAC on for my main audio system or are the just meant for headphones? If so how is the audio quality compared to find other more expensive DACs.
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Post by geebo on Oct 9, 2016 9:44:00 GMT -5
Hello can anyone tell me if I can use the big ego or little ego as my primary DAC on for my main audio system or are the just meant for headphones? If so how is the audio quality compared to find other more expensive DACs. In addition to a headphone output, the Big Ego has separate Toslink digital and line level analog outputs meant for connection to a system. |
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Post by Gary Cook on Oct 9, 2016 18:39:18 GMT -5
Hello can anyone tell me if I can use the big ego or little ego as my primary DAC on for my main audio system or are the just meant for headphones? If so how is the audio quality compared to find other more expensive DACs. A few things to keep in mind; 1. Ego's only have USB input. 2. The headphones output is 1.8 volts and its output volume is controlled by the resister ladder (hence analogue volume control with no loss of fidelity). As long as your power amplifier has decent grunt, 1.8 volts is plenty. 3. The analogue output on the Big Ego is 2.1 volts and its volume is not controlled by the resister ladder (hence uses digital volume control with the inherent loss of fidelity that involves). 4. The Ego's use an excellent Ti/Burr Brown DAC implementation. 5. The toslink output is pre DAC, hence the Ego would only be being used for converting the USB input (digital) to a toslink output (digital). 6. Price (as with all Emotiva products) is no indication of sound quality. Cheers Gary |
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Post by gkhercules on Oct 9, 2016 19:07:34 GMT -5
Is there a DAC that you could recommend for the $200-300 range? I will most likely be playing music from my laptop. Also I am using a Marantz SR7002 as my pre but might upgrade to the SR5011 in the next few months. Does it make sense to get a Marantz HD-DAC1 or NA8005 USB DAC instead of a different preamp?
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Post by lehighvalleyjeff on Oct 9, 2016 19:23:14 GMT -5
It might be a hair biased as I'm listening to my Strealth DC-1 DAC from Emotiva right now. I originally bought it last year out of curiousity but figured id end up returning it. After hooking it up and having a listen, it blew away other dacs I had (which will remain nameless). Instead of being used as a secondary back up to listen to CDs now it is an essential part of my listening system.
Everything from streaming Spotify to CD's all sound more detailed, open and airy than they had thru other DACs. Yes the DC-1 is priced a bit above $300 but it also is an EXCELLENT balanced preamp as well. One think that validates its desirability is the fact that as soon as one is listed it usually sells used in hours. This component seems to have a strong following because of how good it makes things sound.
In the $300 price range their are other options but because Emotiva offers a 30 day risk free in home trial period I'd suggest putting it on in your system and seeing how you like it. If it doesn't meet your sound needs then all it cost you was $12 to ship it back. After a year with my DC-1 I couldn't imagine listening to music without it. I've even swapped DACs out and put in more expensive players to compare but in every case the DC-1 sounded better by a margin.
Good luck on your search!
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Post by Gary Cook on Oct 9, 2016 21:01:27 GMT -5
Is there a DAC that you could recommend for the $200-300 range? I will most likely be playing music from my laptop. Also I am using a Marantz SR7002 as my pre but might upgrade to the SR5011 in the next few months. Does it make sense to get a Marantz HD-DAC1 or NA8005 USB DAC instead of a different preamp? For <$300 I haven't found anything that gets even close to the sound of a BigEgo. If I had my time over, as I'm only using the headphones output, I'd probably buy a LittleEgo, for $99 it's an amazing bargain. If a USB input covers your requirements then that would be my recommendation. If not and the DC-1 is a stretch (financially) then I'd hang out for the XDA-3 which must be due shortly. Cheers Gary |
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Post by garbulky on Oct 10, 2016 9:20:32 GMT -5
It might be a hair biased as I'm listening to my Strealth DC-1 DAC from Emotiva right now. I originally bought it last year out of curiousity but figured id end up returning it. After hooking it up and having a listen, it blew away other dacs I had (which will remain nameless). Instead of being used as a secondary back up to listen to CDs now it is an essential part of my listening system. Everything from streaming Spotify to CD's all sound more detailed, open and airy than they had thru other DACs. Yes the DC-1 is priced a bit above $300 but it also is an EXCELLENT balanced preamp as well. One think that validates its desirability is the fact that as soon as one is listed it usually sells used in hours. This component seems to have a strong following because of how good it makes things sound. In the $300 price range their are other options but because Emotiva offers a 30 day risk free in home trial period I'd suggest putting it on in your system and seeing how you like it. If it doesn't meet your sound needs then all it cost you was $12 to ship it back. After a year with my DC-1 I couldn't imagine listening to music without it. I've even swapped DACs out and put in more expensive players to compare but in every case the DC-1 sounded better by a margin. Good luck on your search! I too will second the DC-1. I love it. You want a DAC that you can stick with and act as a decent preamp - DC-1. Couple that to a XPA-1 gen 2 and you get really nice sound. Also another nice (cheaper) coupling: a used XPA-200 yum yum. |
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Post by creimes on Oct 10, 2016 9:40:44 GMT -5
Is there a DAC that you could recommend for the $200-300 range? I will most likely be playing music from my laptop. Also I am using a Marantz SR7002 as my pre but might upgrade to the SR5011 in the next few months. Does it make sense to get a Marantz HD-DAC1 or NA8005 USB DAC instead of a different preamp? Modi Multibit from Schiit Audio schiit.com/products/modi-2I've owned the Modi DAC and Asgard 2 headphone amp and wow really well built great sounding gear. Chad |
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Post by gkhercules on Oct 10, 2016 9:55:59 GMT -5
Is there a DAC that you could recommend for the $200-300 range? I will most likely be playing music from my laptop. Also I am using a Marantz SR7002 as my pre but might upgrade to the SR5011 in the next few months. Does it make sense to get a Marantz HD-DAC1 or NA8005 USB DAC instead of a different preamp? Modi Multibit from Schiit Audio schiit.com/products/modi-2I've owned the Modi DAC and Asgard 2 headphone amp and wow really well built great sounding gear. Chad |
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Post by gkhercules on Oct 10, 2016 9:58:24 GMT -5
Is this a better DAC then the BIG EGO for a more permanent setup?
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KeithL
Administrator 
Posts: 10,256
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Post by KeithL on Oct 10, 2016 10:20:56 GMT -5
A slight correction - or perhaps reframing.... Both the Little Ego and Big Ego use a digitally controlled analog ladder network volume control on their headphone outputs. (Only certain programs, like jRiver, have the ability to control that ladder volume control.) The LINE output on the Big Ego doesn't have a volume control at all - because it's intended to be connected to something like a preamp that has its own volume control. So, yes, if you use your computer to control the volume of that output, then you will have "a lossy digital volume control".) Hello can anyone tell me if I can use the big ego or little ego as my primary DAC on for my main audio system or are the just meant for headphones? If so how is the audio quality compared to find other more expensive DACs. A few things to keep in mind; 1. Ego's only have USB input. 2. The headphones output is 1.8 volts and its output volume is controlled by the resister ladder (hence analogue volume control with no loss of fidelity). As long as your power amplifier has decent grunt, 1.8 volts is plenty. 3. The analogue output on the Big Ego is 2.1 volts and its volume is not controlled by the resister ladder (hence uses digital volume control with the inherent loss of fidelity that involves). 4. The Ego's use an excellent Ti/Burr Brown DAC implementation. 5. The toslink output is pre DAC, hence the Ego would only be being used for converting the USB input (digital) to a toslink output (digital). 6. Price (as with all Emotiva products) is no indication of sound quality. Cheers Gary |
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Post by creimes on Oct 10, 2016 16:17:50 GMT -5
Is this a better DAC then the BIG EGO for a more permanent setup? I can't personally tell you whats better as we all could possibly have different findings for that, I myself really like the products that I have owned from Schiit Audio so I thought I could give you another option in your price range, but don't decide on a product by price only as both Emotiva and Schiit Audio punch way above the cost of ownership IMO. Chad |
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Post by Gary Cook on Oct 10, 2016 17:03:25 GMT -5
Both the Little Ego and Big Ego use a digitally controlled analog ladder network volume control on their headphone outputs. (Only certain programs, like jRiver, have the ability to control that ladder volume control.) Hi Keith, my understanding is that the iTunes (iMusic) volume slider doesn't control the analogue ladder but the Apple (in my case MacMini) master volume does. It certainly sounds better at lower volumes (than using the iTunes volume control). Cheers Gary |
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Post by Mechnutt on Oct 13, 2016 13:39:48 GMT -5
Hi, I am interested in buying the Big Ego for my son to use in his 2 channel rig. He is using my hand me down gear which is a Parasound A21 amp and a Pass Labs DIY B1 preamp/buffer that I built that has zero gain. Music player is Bug Head Infinity Blade. Currently his DAC is an AQ DragonFly 1.0. Speakers are PSB B6's and a velodyne sub. It sounds great but needs a bit more gain for quality recordings like Blue Coast music as the output of the DF 1.0 is 1.2vrms. I am looking for a sub $300 DAC that leans a bit on the warmer side. User reviews on the Big Ego comparing it to other DAC's are hard to find.
Other DAC's that I am considering are the Schiit Modi Multibit, AQ DF Red, Optima uDAC5. Has any one compared the Big Ego to any of these DAC's or more expensive DAC's. If so, can you expound on your findings. I like the Big Ego because it plays 32bit/384K. Bug Head upsampling is fabulous and it probably is the best player around although the GUI is a bit cumbersome but worth it and it requires a lot of cpu horsepower.
Also, does anyone know if the Big Ego is compatible with Bug Head Infinity Blade. Bug Head can use asio4all drivers. It is a deal breaker if it is not compatible with Bug Head.
Much Thanks,
Larry
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Post by garbulky on Oct 13, 2016 14:10:15 GMT -5
Hi, I am interested in buying the Big Ego for my son to use in his 2 channel rig. He is using my hand me down gear which is a Parasound A21 amp and a Pass Labs DIY B1 preamp/buffer that I built that has zero gain. Music player is Bug Head Infinity Blade. Currently his DAC is an AQ DragonFly 1.0. Speakers are PSB B6's and a velodyne sub. It sounds great but needs a bit more gain for quality recordings like Blue Coast music as the output of the DF 1.0 is 1.2vrms. I am looking for a sub $300 DAC that leans a bit on the warmer side. User reviews on the Big Ego comparing it to other DAC's are hard to find. Other DAC's that I am considering are the Schiit Modi Multibit, AQ DF Red, Optima uDAC5. Has any one compared the Big Ego to any of these DAC's or more expensive DAC's. If so, can you expound on your findings. I like the Big Ego because it plays 32bit/384K. Bug Head upsampling is fabulous and it probably is the best player around although the GUI is a bit cumbersome but worth it and it requires a lot of cpu horsepower. Also, does anyone know if the Big Ego is compatible with Bug Head Infinity Blade. Bug Head can use asio4all drivers. It is a deal breaker if it is not compatible with Bug Head. Much Thanks, Larry I'm going to hear the Gungir multibit in the near future. I've also heard the Dragonfly 1 and 1.4. The 1.4 is a noticebale improvement. The 1.0 had treble shenanigans. At the level of the Dragonfly, it's not really things like hi res and other stuff that make that much of a difference. There are more audible differences between DACs than 32 bit capability. Also....note that even though it is 32 bit capability you aren't getting anywhere near 32 bits of resolution in playback. It simply supports and decodes it but cannot do it at that resolution. I doubt even the recording equipment can get up to that level. I think most of them struggle to get to 24 bits of resolution. My current unit is a DC-1. |
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Post by Soup on Oct 13, 2016 14:39:57 GMT -5
Can't wait to hear your impressions of the Gungnir Multibit!
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Post by garbulky on Oct 13, 2016 14:41:52 GMT -5
B'zilla just got his in!
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Post by Larry S on Oct 13, 2016 14:43:34 GMT -5
I agree with what you have to say somewhat. I use a $5K Luxman DA-06 DAC and it's sweet spot is 352-384K which sounds better than DSD and DSD 2x with Bug Head. Even the DF 1.0 sounds better at 88K and 96K with Bug Head than 44K. I believe every DAC has its sweet spot from my dealings with several DAC's such as the Hugo Chord, Marantz NA11s1, PS Audio Direct Stream DSD and Cary Audio 200T. Certainly budget DAC's are a different animal.
I guess I may have to buy the Big Ego and return it if it does not work out.
Thanks,
Larry
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