The Ego DACs are back! Meet the new Ego PLUS models

[KeithL]

The Ego DACs are back... better than ever.

Meet the next generation of Emotiva Ego DACs: The Big Ego Plus and Little Ego Plus.

We've kept the best features of our popular Big Ego and Little Ego and made a few improvements.

Our Big Ego and Little Ego DACs always sounded really good...
But we've made a few minor upgrades inside to make them sound even more refined.

The original flat black finish was a bit boring and sometimes showed fingerprints...
So we've upgraded to a stylish new linear brushed finish that resists scratches and fingerprints better.

And now you no longer need to install extra drivers to play hi-res audio in Windows 10.
The new Big Ego Plus and Little Ego Plus also work with newer iPads that have a USB-C output jack.
(And they work with most modern Android phones and Linux-based music players with USB outputs.)

Of course we kept all the good stuff:
- the real solid metal case
- the high performance headphone amplifier
- the three user selectable oversampling filters
- the convenient sample rate indicators
- the built-in headphone blend mode
- the selectable compatibility mode
- the separate line level and optical outputs on the Big Ego Plus

The Big Ego Plus and Little Ego Plus both sound awesome with our new GR1 Graphene Lattice Reference Headphones.

But of course they sound great with other headphones too.

You can download the manual here: www.dropbox.com/s/rart56l89fsqh55/Ego_Plus_User_Manual.pdf?dl=0

And you can buy them here:   emotiva.com/collections/dacs

[garbulky]

Any mention of the dacs used?

[KeithL]

On the Big - Texas Instruments PCM5142

On the Little - Texas Instruments PCM5141

May 4, 2021 9:20:22 GMT -5 garbulky said:

Any mention of the dacs used?

[brutiarti]

Too bad that emo didn’t add a volume knob that is very useful in desktop applications.

[rbk123]

Hair Nick must be on vacation.

[Hair Nick]

May 4, 2021 21:04:18 GMT -5 rbk123 said:

Hair Nick must be on vacation.

Nope, Keith loves him some DACs so I told him to run with it. We will have a formal announcement in a few weeks.

[robs]

Just put an order in for the Big Ego+.

The analog line-out is a 3.5mm?

It's getting harder to find cheap DACs these days that don't use ESS chips. With the AKM fire, ESS has become dominant it seems. I've tried various USB dongles with newer ESS chips but there's just a particular characteristic in all of them I do not like, mostly in the treble area.

Look forward to trying this as a headphone dongle and to hook up to my modded Adcom amp.

Thanks Emotiva!

[robs]

@keithl, can you tell us what opamps are being used in the output stage of the Big Ego+ DAC? The internal shot of the DAC on your website is too small and blurry to read.

[KeithL]

The output op-amps on the Line Outputs are LME49860 .

The dedicated headphone amp is a TPA6130A2 .

May 28, 2021 8:06:14 GMT -5 robs said:

@keithl, can you tell us what opamps are being used in the output stage of the Big Ego+ DAC? The internal shot of the DAC on your website is too small and blurry to read.

[KeithL]

Both ESS and AKM DACs have established a sort of brand recognition with audiophiles ...

ESS Sabre DACs have a somewhat unique sonic signature... which different products that use them exhibit to varying degrees.

Even though they measure as having a very flat and accurate frequency response they sound as if the treble is slightly boosted.

People who like them often describe ESS DACs as sounding "incredibly detailed" ...

And people who don't like them often describe them as sounding "grainy" or "etched" ...

(This coloration can sound pleasant with speakers that are "a bit laid back" and harsh with speakers that are already "somewhat forward".)

We prefer the more neutral sound of other high quality DACs - like the AKMs (we also like TI / Burr Brown, Analog Devices, and some Cirrus DACs.)

May 28, 2021 4:57:12 GMT -5 robs said:

Just put an order in for the Big Ego+.

The analog line-out is a 3.5mm?

It's getting harder to find cheap DACs these days that don't use ESS chips. With the AKM fire, ESS has become dominant it seems. I've tried various USB dongles with newer ESS chips but there's just a particular characteristic in all of them I do not like, mostly in the treble area.

Look forward to trying this as a headphone dongle and to hook up to my modded Adcom amp.

Thanks Emotiva!

[creimes]

May 28, 2021 4:57:12 GMT -5 robs said:

Just put an order in for the Big Ego+.

The analog line-out is a 3.5mm?

It's getting harder to find cheap DACs these days that don't use ESS chips. With the AKM fire, ESS has become dominant it seems. I've tried various USB dongles with newer ESS chips but there's just a particular characteristic in all of them I do not like, mostly in the treble area.

Look forward to trying this as a headphone dongle and to hook up to my modded Adcom amp.

Thanks Emotiva!

I purchased a Balanced SDAC from Massdrop that I use between my Mac Mini and Sherbourn PT-7030 and really enjoy it, it was like $150 US.

I owned a Little EGO that barely got moved and the USB connector fell off the board, I have no intentions of owning another DAC that doesn’t use the USB-B connection.

[foggy1956]

May 28, 2021 9:40:16 GMT -5 creimes said:

May 28, 2021 4:57:12 GMT -5 robs said:

Just put an order in for the Big Ego+.

The analog line-out is a 3.5mm?

It's getting harder to find cheap DACs these days that don't use ESS chips. With the AKM fire, ESS has become dominant it seems. I've tried various USB dongles with newer ESS chips but there's just a particular characteristic in all of them I do not like, mostly in the treble area.

Look forward to trying this as a headphone dongle and to hook up to my modded Adcom amp.

Thanks Emotiva!

I purchased a Balanced SDAC from Massdrop that I use between my Mac Mini and Sherbourn PT-7030 and really enjoy it, it was like $150 US.

I owned a Little EGO that barely got moved and the USB connector fell off the board, I have no intentions of owning another DAC that doesn’t use the USB-B connection.

Same thing happened with my Big Ego twice, won't make that mistake again.

[cawgijoe]

May 28, 2021 11:26:45 GMT -5 foggy1956 said:

May 28, 2021 9:40:16 GMT -5 creimes said:

I purchased a Balanced SDAC from Massdrop that I use between my Mac Mini and Sherbourn PT-7030 and really enjoy it, it was like $150 US.

I owned a Little EGO that barely got moved and the USB connector fell off the board, I have no intentions of owning another DAC that doesn’t use the USB-B connection.

Same thing happened with my Big Ego twice, won't make that mistake again.

Hopefully they have addressed the issue, because it looks like a really nice unit.

[davidl81]

I just ordered the Memorial Day sale GR-1 headphones and the Little Ego+. I wanted te headphones anyway, and for $25 I might as well have the DAC to use. Question, can you run the little ego off of an iPad Pro with the USB-C connection?

[davidl81]

Just realized that if this all works right with Apple Music going HiFi I should be able to go from my iPad Pro to the little ego and get hifi music. We shall see.

[Boomzilla]

OK - I didn't see it in the specs of the DAC product page - I don't see it in this thread, so I'm obligated to ask: Are these DACs Roon-compatible? I realize that being USB devices, they won't be endpoints in and of themselves, but will Roon recognize them as compatible DACs?

ALSO - I see no mention of it in the product page - I don't see it in this thread, so I'm obligated to ask (although I think I already know this answer): Are these DACs MQA compatible?

And finally - This probably IS in the product page but I just missed it: Are these DACs DSD compatible?

Thanks - Boomzilla

[KeithL]

Roon

To quote the Roon FAQ:

"Any audio devices recognized by the OS will be recognized by Roon, from Built-in Sound to PCI Soundcards to USB DACs."

(There are no special "compatibility requirements" beyond "recognized by your operating system".)

So Roon should work just fine with The Big Ego Plus and Little Ego Plus.

MQA

The Big Ego Plus and Little Ego Plus are NOT "MQA decoders" or "MQA renderers".

However, as a standard high quality PCM DAC, they will work with anything that does the first MQA unfold in software.

(In other words, they won't decode MQA, and aren't an official MQA DAC, but they will work fine with something like Tidal running on your computer.)

DSD

The Big Ego Plus and Little Ego Plus do not support DSD or DoP.

May 30, 2021 13:09:40 GMT -5 Boomzilla said:

OK - I didn't see it in the specs of the DAC product page - I don't see it in this thread, so I'm obligated to ask: Are these DACs Roon-compatible? I realize that being USB devices, they won't be endpoints in and of themselves, but will Roon recognize them as compatible DACs?

ALSO - I see no mention of it in the product page - I don't see it in this thread, so I'm obligated to ask (although I think I already know this answer): Are these DACs MQA compatible?

And finally - This probably IS in the product page but I just missed it: Are these DACs DSD compatible?

Thanks - Boomzilla

[thezone]

Well they look very nice and I was contemplating ordering one but shipping to Australia is US$88!

[KeithL]

The basic design is the same... but we have added some stronger adhesive to support that connector.

I agree that I prefer the USB-B connector on a DAC.

However, in order to use that, we would have had to make the Ego DACs significantly larger...

And many people prefer portable DACs to be as small as possible.

To be honest I really don't like any of the USB connectors.

A USB connector is intended to be used for data as well as for DACs and printers...

And, in many situations, data could be lost or corrupted if the connection comes loose during a data transfer.

And even the larger USB-B connectors pop out quite easily if you tug on the wire.

I've always felt that a locking connector should have been specified for USB.

(But we're stuck with the choices offered in the standard.)

May 28, 2021 11:26:45 GMT -5 foggy1956 said:

May 28, 2021 9:40:16 GMT -5 creimes said:

I purchased a Balanced SDAC from Massdrop that I use between my Mac Mini and Sherbourn PT-7030 and really enjoy it, it was like $150 US.

I owned a Little EGO that barely got moved and the USB connector fell off the board, I have no intentions of owning another DAC that doesn’t use the USB-B connection.

Same thing happened with my Big Ego twice, won't make that mistake again.

[robs]

Well folks, got the Big Ego DAC in today and it is fantastic...except for one problem:



So iPhone 12 max can't deliver enough juice? Is there a way around this? I'm trying to think how I can power it separately and then somehow feed a digital signal into it while using my phone.