Emotiva XDA-1
audiocr381ve
Posts: 2,588
My Emotiva XDA-1 arrived today. Double boxed, solid.
Can you believe this remote?
I'll keep this review brief. First of all, I have no affiliation with Emotiva. I'm just a regular dude from southern cali not connected to industry in any way except for the thousands of dollars I waste (or as H9 would call it, invest
) looking for the perfect setup.
First of all, price point. This thing was delivered to my door for $349. It functions as both a preamp and DAC and comes with a remote. I don't want to go into details about the inputs and outputs, you could find that stuff on their website. Let's get down to how it sounds.
I've been rockin' my SDA's with a vintage Marantz 2245 which isn't ideal as I'm finding out. I now have the XDA-1 acting as both DAC and Preamp and I'm using the amp section on the ol' Marantz. Refinement and depth are the first things that came to mind when hearing this thing for the first time. Acoustic guitars sound right, vocals are thick and focused, cymbals are shimmering, imaging has improved, depth is siiiick. Hands down the best $349 I've spent on audio. I still have a lot of time to spend with the XDA-1 so I'll check in later. My first impressions are really good. It's definitely a niiice improvement. Next comes the Carver TFM-45 amp which I have maybe too high of an expectation for. Hearing the difference of taking away the Marantz preamp section has lead me to believe that the new amplifier will make these speakers do what I want them to do. This DAC hasn't fixed everything, but has gotten me so much closer to what I'm looking for.
EDIT: Just FYI, I tend to give reviews in my shock and awe state, I wouldn't trust anything I say until a good week
Can you believe this remote?
I'll keep this review brief. First of all, I have no affiliation with Emotiva. I'm just a regular dude from southern cali not connected to industry in any way except for the thousands of dollars I waste (or as H9 would call it, invest
) looking for the perfect setup.First of all, price point. This thing was delivered to my door for $349. It functions as both a preamp and DAC and comes with a remote. I don't want to go into details about the inputs and outputs, you could find that stuff on their website. Let's get down to how it sounds.
I've been rockin' my SDA's with a vintage Marantz 2245 which isn't ideal as I'm finding out. I now have the XDA-1 acting as both DAC and Preamp and I'm using the amp section on the ol' Marantz. Refinement and depth are the first things that came to mind when hearing this thing for the first time. Acoustic guitars sound right, vocals are thick and focused, cymbals are shimmering, imaging has improved, depth is siiiick. Hands down the best $349 I've spent on audio. I still have a lot of time to spend with the XDA-1 so I'll check in later. My first impressions are really good. It's definitely a niiice improvement. Next comes the Carver TFM-45 amp which I have maybe too high of an expectation for. Hearing the difference of taking away the Marantz preamp section has lead me to believe that the new amplifier will make these speakers do what I want them to do. This DAC hasn't fixed everything, but has gotten me so much closer to what I'm looking for.
EDIT: Just FYI, I tend to give reviews in my shock and awe state, I wouldn't trust anything I say until a good week
Post edited by audiocr381ve on
Comments
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That Marantz is really clean and sexy looking!"....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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The amp will most likely make you wet yourself compared to the Marantz. I say that not even being a huge fan of Carver gear, but nonetheless it will be a huge improvement, especially since you took the time and spent the money to have it properly refreshed.
Remember to come back to this post when you get the Carver, as I understand it, it won't be for awhile since Rolland is backed up with work.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Puritan Audio PSM136 Pwr Condtioner & Classic PC's | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node3 - Tubes add soul! -
The amp will most likely make you wet yourself compared to the Marantz. I say that not even being a huge fan of Carver gear, but nonetheless it will be a huge improvement, especially since you took the time and spent the money to have it properly refreshed.
Remember to come back to this post when you get the Carver, as I understand it, it won't be for awhile since Rolland is backed up with work.
H9
:redface: I do want to make you proud bro, BUT, I ended up getting it serviced locally. I found a local vintage audio repair shop and spoke with the owner for a good 20 minutes before deciding to take it in to him. He's an older guy who has seen his fair share of Carvers.
Anywho, this DAC can play 24Bit/192kHz. Where would I find an audio track higher than 16/44.1? I don't even know if my PS3 could output a hi-res audio track. Any advice? -
HD Tracks, you need a player that can feed the dac hi rez audio.
https://www.hdtracks.com/index.php?file=staticpage&pagename=audiophile_96khz"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Puritan Audio PSM136 Pwr Condtioner & Classic PC's | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node3 - Tubes add soul! -
HD Tracks, you need a player that can feed the dac hi rez audio.
https://www.hdtracks.com/index.php?file=staticpage&pagename=audiophile_96khz
Does the Squeezebox Touch output hi res audio? Sucks that my PS3 doesn't. I thought I was gonna be okay using it as my music server. -
audiocr381ve wrote: »I'm no rookie, I've been in the game for years now and my wallet has definitely felt it. Separates? Been there done that.
Your posts say otherwise.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Your posts say otherwise.
EDIT: I shouldn't have said that.
I was being a jackass when I said that, even though you took the quote out of context. -
I was kicking a$$ and taking names when I was 12.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Alright, so I've gotten to spend a good amount of time with the XDA-1.
As a DAC, it's phenomenal. As a preamp, not so much. If you're thinking about purchasing the DAC to use for preamp duties (like I did), think again. It's cold as ice connected directly to the amplifier. When plugged into my Marantz 2245, golden.
You gotta love the functionality of this product. I'm a super happy camper and I highly recommend this DAC as a DAC.
