I took the next step & bought an Emotiva DC-1 DAC / preamp

[bluesman]

Curiosity got the better of me (and we don't have a cat) - so I ventured into the world of an all digital front end with this:

 

The build quality is outstanding, and it's a simple intuitive device to set up and operate. It arrived yesterday and I set it up last night, so I only have a few hours of listening on which to report so far. The rest of the system is a PrimaLuna power amp and the latest Focal 726s. Removing the external analog preamp & interconnects from the system along with a separate DAC and substituting this single piece have left the sound a bit cleaner and more dynamic - bass and percussion have a little more snap, and the road from pianissimo to forte does seem a tiny bit longer. The sound quality is excellent - solid, stable imaging with realistic detail, no obvious colorations, and a very realistic presence. My 16/44 FLAC rips sound at least as good as the original CDs through the same system, and the Susan Lauck 24/96 piano files are very very fine. Horn sections (Rob McConnell's Boss Brass, Tower of Power, Don Ellis' Orchestra) are very clearly groups of individual horns - any smearing or suggestion of a big horn playing chords is gone. With quiet passages at my usual listening level for each piece, the loud parts are a hair louder. I'll measure this with my SPL meter when I have time to set up a tripod and do it right.

 

The above is sourced from an old home-built Celeron-based box running Amarok and Audacious on Ubuntu Studio via coax digital. Unfortunately, my BeagleBone Black (running MPD) sounds terrible so far - the FLACs are playing back much too slowly despite showing the correct sampling rate on the screen, and there's more than a bit of audible distortion. I'll reconfigure my output parameters in the .conf file tonight when I get home from work (right now the format line is commented out to allow native rates to pass through, but I was told to try using "*:*:2" in the format line).

 

But I fear the BBB may not be as compatible with UAC2 as has been suggested, as it works great with my Emotiva XDA-1 (a UAC1 device). We shall see what we shall see - but this is a great piece. I can't imagine doing better for anywhere close to $500.

[Audio_ELF]

RE BBB...

 

Have you seen Home - Volumio - Audiophile Music Player

[Paul R]

Congrats - sweet setup and a lot of real fun ahead for you. The journey can be almost as fun as the end result.

 

-Paul

[bluesman]

RE BBB...

 

Have you seen Home - Volumio - Audiophile Music Player

Hi, Eloise!

 

Yes I have, thanks. - I'm planning to try it over the weekend. If that doesn't do it, I'll also give Rune a try.

[bluesman]

With a little help from Emotiva (thank you, Keith!!) I fixed it - now Snoopy (my BBB) plays perfectly through the DC-1 at all sampling rates, and the correct rate shows on the display. The secret was to uncomment the format line in the mpd.conf file and change it to

 

format "*:*:2"

 

The syntax is "sample rate : bits : channels" and the asterisks tell it not to force a format. Chris' setup instructions say to comment out the format line, and that worked fine with the XDA-1 DAC (a UAC1 device). Keith thought the mismatch may be between the BBB and the UAC2 Stealth, but that turned out not to be the case. It seems equally fine in synchronous and asynchronous modes, although it was midnight when I got to it so I didn't do a lot of critical comparing. Instead, my wife and I listened to Irma Thomas' The Story of My Life a few times and went to sleep.

 

I've never heard Irma Thomas' reproduced voice sound closer to live (we heard her at her club in New Orleans, sadly closed now). The band's sitting in front of me, the rhythm section's tight as a drum (sorry...) and all's right with the world (the sonic world, at least).

 

I strongly recommend the Emotiva Stealth DC-1. At $500 delivered, it's a fine fulfillment for several needs - analog line level preamp, DAC, multiple input switching, excellent remote, precision volume control, small form factor, tough as nails, great sound.

[wgscott]

Can you go into the volume control a bit more? I mistakenly thought it was digital.

[bluesman]

Can you go into the volume control a bit more? I mistakenly thought it was digital.

From the horse's mouth:

 

"Each channel of the DC-1 is controlled by its own Muses 72320 precision digitally controlled analog ladder volume control, operated in our proprietary dual gain mode, for perfect channel tracking, low noise and distortion, and 0.25dB resolution."

 

The only thing some reviews have complained about is that the volume control is stepped in 1/4 db increments - so it takes a little longer to accomplish wide volume swings with the remote. I do not find this to be a problem. And the max output is 10 db above 2V, according to Keith at Emotiva - this baby will drive almost any amp to its rated output.

 

I just set up Foobar on my Linux box using Wine - it sounds great!

[Gary.D.Olson]

Curiosity got the better of me (and we don't have a cat) - so I ventured into the world of an all digital front end with this:

 

The build quality is outstanding, and it's a simple intuitive device to set up and operate. It arrived yesterday and I set it up last night, so I only have a few hours of listening on which to report so far. The rest of the system is a PrimaLuna power amp and the latest Focal 726s. Removing the external analog preamp & interconnects from the system along with a separate DAC and substituting this single piece have left the sound a bit cleaner and more dynamic - bass and percussion have a little more snap, and the road from pianissimo to forte does seem a tiny bit longer. The sound quality is excellent - solid, stable imaging with realistic detail, no obvious colorations, and a very realistic presence. My 16/44 FLAC rips sound at least as good as the original CDs through the same system, and the Susan Lauck 24/96 piano files are very very fine. Horn sections (Rob McConnell's Boss Brass, Tower of Power, Don Ellis' Orchestra) are very clearly groups of individual horns - any smearing or suggestion of a big horn playing chords is gone. With quiet passages at my usual listening level for each piece, the loud parts are a hair louder. I'll measure this with my SPL meter when I have time to set up a tripod and do it right.

 

The above is sourced from an old home-built Celeron-based box running Amarok and Audacious on Ubuntu Studio via coax digital. Unfortunately, my BeagleBone Black (running MPD) sounds terrible so far - the FLACs are playing back much too slowly despite showing the correct sampling rate on the screen, and there's more than a bit of audible distortion. I'll reconfigure my output parameters in the .conf file tonight when I get home from work (right now the format line is commented out to allow native rates to pass through, but I was told to try using "*:*:2" in the format line).

 

But I fear the BBB may not be as compatible with UAC2 as has been suggested, as it works great with my Emotiva XDA-1 (a UAC1 device). We shall see what we shall see - but this is a great piece. I can't imagine doing better for anywhere close to $500.

 

 

Anything to add to the above now that you've had more time with your DC-1? I was about to pull the trigger months back but life threw a curve ball.

[bluesman]

Anything to add to the above now that you've had more time with your DC-1? I was about to pull the trigger months back but life threw a curve ball.

I love it more than ever! After hearing several DACs that came out afterward, I can only say that I'd buy it again today. Great build quality, clean uncolored sound, tight bass, great detail & clarity, excellent remote - who could ask for anything more?

[beerandmusic]

RE BBB...

 

Have you seen Home - Volumio - Audiophile Music Player

 

 

does that support NATIVE DSD?

[Gary.D.Olson]

I love it more than ever! After hearing several DACs that came out afterward, I can only say that I'd buy it again today. Great build quality, clean uncolored sound, tight bass, great detail & clarity, excellent remote - who could ask for anything more?

 

Thanks. The DC-1 may be an absolute perfect match for my rig. I've read many a post raving about the power amp section of my vintage Luxman R-117 and how it far out-performs its preamp as well as most separate power amps. I have an excellent 200wpc Yamaha M70 power amp the Luxman spanked at all volumes, so I tend to believe it. If the preamp of the DC-1 is as good as they say, I'll be in hog heaven.

[dentlfly]

has anyone compared this emotiva DAC to others in the sub $1000-2000 range especially the gustav? off topic am considering an emotiva gen3 5 channel amp; seems like a good product at a great price point.

 

ed

[bluesman]

Thanks. The DC-1 may be an absolute perfect match for my rig. I've read many a post raving about the power amp section of my vintage Luxman R-117 and how it far out-performs its preamp as well as most separate power amps. I have an excellent 200wpc Yamaha M70 power amp the Luxman spanked at all volumes, so I tend to believe it. If the preamp of the DC-1 is as good as they say, I'll be in hog heaven.

The R117 was a powerhouse for its time, making a strong 160WPC into 8 ohms and sounding great in the process. I drive either my PrimaLuna power amp or a pair of JBL powered monitors with my Stealth, and it's outstanding through both - so I'd expect nothing less through the Lux power stage.

[fritzg]

I'm considering this DAC. Any thoughts after it's been in your system a while? Comparisons to a Dragonfly Black?