Dusty Chalk Posted November 30, 2010 Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 Yeah, otherwise you wouldn't be able to reign supreme over team dead-fucking last...(I think the first one that said anything was Mike). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crappyjones123 Posted December 1, 2010 Report Share Posted December 1, 2010 Received shipping info today. Dac should arrive on the third. In my hands on the 4th hopefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crappyjones123 Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 very very very nice dac. waaaaaaay nicer bass than gamma 2 based on 10 minutes of listening. sounds faster/more nimble. can now hear things i wasnt hearing with the sound card. (using usb + foobar). build quality is pretty nice. only wish i could get the damn remote to do something =/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyrion Posted December 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 CJ, I agree, it is a very nice DAC. When you consider the price, it is a bargain. As with all Emotiva gear, the case and remote are nicer than gear well above its price. I've only listened to it for a couple hours last night but my initial impression is that anyone looking for a good home source and limited funds should check it out for sure. I will see how it compares to the Amarra 4 next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crappyjones123 Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 just figured out how to get the remote to work. have to remove the back panel from the remote and remove a tab that is prevent the battery circuit from completing. both remote and dac seem solid. kinda wish that werent the case. one the guys around here just got his bike stolen...oh well. the thing is cheap enough to where i could get two. but that would be a waste. might get another desk and put all the audio stuff underneath that one to hide it. sonically i like it. if memory serves me well, its faster than the parasound 1100 and gamma 2. one of the better sources ive heard. yes i know ive been using my laptop as a source. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessingx Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Any more impressions from HCers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smeggy Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Sure looks like a sexy beast, and I'm also hoping for more to read here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postjack Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 (edited) I'm really enjoying the XDA-1. To me everything sounds right, instruments all sound lifelike and in their correct place. Tight bass, and the midrange even seems to have a little bit of "pop", bloom, whatever you want to call it, it comes out a bit, which I like. Maybe not the most perfect high frequencies in the world, but they aren't fatiguing, which I'll take. So having said all that maybe it does have a touch of that bassy-with-rolled-off-highs sound that a lot of cheap DACs have, albeit only a tiny bit of that sound (a far cry from say, the outright muddiness of an Oppo 970) but I think the surprisingly natural midrange sets this source above the competition. I'm picturing a desktop system with this DAC, a cheap pair of powered speakers (audioengine?) and a headphone amp and headphone of one's choice would be very nice. Listening right now through foobar wasapi > USB > MiniMax > PS1000. Its a very enjoyable setup. EDIT: it should be noted that users are reporting issues with the volume control. apparently its not a smooth 0.5db increase for each tic, somewhere at the bottom of the volume it starts jumping greatly, then it smooths out. I haven't really used the volume control so I can't speak to this issue. Edited January 6, 2011 by postjack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiosceptic Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 I've had the XDA-1 for a few weeks in my speaker system. I have it hooked up via coax to a Logitech Touch. I really can't tell the difference between the DAC and the analog output of the Touch. The sound out of both is very enjoyable. I'm on the loaner program for the Audio-gd REF 7 DAC so I'll be able to do more comparisons later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhjazz Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 Once these get out in the wild, I'd like to know how this compares to the Buffalo. Looks like by the time a Buffalo were packaged up the cost would be roughly the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postjack Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Once these get out in the wild, I'd like to know how this compares to the Buffalo. Looks like by the time a Buffalo were packaged up the cost would be roughly the same. Please take this for what its worth, being audio memory recall, but I recall the Buffalo DAC (auditioned over a year ago) being more aggressive (in a good way) then the XDA-1, with punchy midbass I just loved. No problems with upper frequency extension that I can remember from the Buffalo. It had a nice clean sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spychedelic Whale Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 I got this statement from them when I was inquiring them for a possible purchase "Please note pricing reflects our current Holiday Sale already in progress for a limited time while supplies last." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postjack Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 I got this statement from them when I was inquiring them for a possible purchase "Please note pricing reflects our current Holiday Sale already in progress for a limited time while supplies last." yeah, it's already increased from $299 to $349. I guess the final price will be $399. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aura Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 yeah, it's already increased from $299 to $349. I guess the final price will be $399. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Would you say that it's still worth it despite the $100 hike posty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postjack Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Would you say that it's still worth it despite the $100 hike posty? I'd still say its worth it, but I've never had the Cambridge Audio DACMagic and would really like to compare it to that first, since I think that puts it right in the DACMagic's price range. I'm really looking forward to other's impressions. Not everybody on the internet likes this DAC, so maybe some other HC'er will dislike it. Still sounds good to me, I listened to tunes just about all day today and never got fatigued. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDen Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 I ordered one to go with the speaker setup I'm doing, I only have a neko dac and an old ibasso d1 to compare to though... should be here by the end of this month Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postjack Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 I ordered one to go with the speaker setup I'm doing, I only have a neko dac and an old ibasso d1 to compare to though... should be here by the end of this month I feel confident the Neko DAC will beat the shit out of the Emotiva, because Neko DAC rules! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDen Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Indeed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvdunhill Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 I'd put my money on the cat as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepak Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 I'd still say its worth it, but I've never had the Cambridge Audio DACMagic and would really like to compare it to that first, since I think that puts it right in the DACMagic's price range. I'm really looking forward to other's impressions. Not everybody on the internet likes this DAC, so maybe some other HC'er will dislike it. Still sounds good to me, I listened to tunes just about all day today and never got fatigued. postie get a Rega DAC because you are an SH member and over there Rega = moast win Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhjazz Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Thanks for the info Posty! I had forgotten about the DacMagic being in that range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellylh Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 (edited) Since we are talking about DACs, I have been thinking of upgrading the the Pico DAC on my desktop rig (Mac Mini -> Pico DAC -> GS-1. It will need to have a small footprint. I have been going back and forth between the two. Has anyone heard all three? Rega, Neko, Pico? Probably not but I thought I would give it a go. Edit: Oops, I guess the last post in this thread was in January... maybe I should have posted elsewhere. Edited March 25, 2011 by shellylh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morphsci Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 The Neko is a very nice DAC. I had it in my system for an extended audition. If I hadn't gone the Amarra/Metric Halo route I would have probably gone with the Neko. I also recall that the Neko could not use 176.4 input if that matters to you. I also have the Pico DAC/amp but never did a direct comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digger945 Posted March 26, 2011 Report Share Posted March 26, 2011 Wes has been kind enough to offer Round 2 for the Neko Loaner Program . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellylh Posted March 26, 2011 Report Share Posted March 26, 2011 I saw that but I am frankly impatient and suck at writing reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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