Audio GD versus Emotiva
BlueFox
Posts: 15,251
A couple of days ago in a DAC thread I heard about a company called Audio GD. I had never heard of them before so I looked them up on the web. They appear to be a Chinese audio manufacturer. That is, they have no presence in the United States, except for dealers. Since they are pure Chinese their costs must be very low. Yet, their prices are higher than Emotiva's prices for similar gear.
Of course, that raises the question of why are the Emotiva prices so low. We are told it is because they are made in China. Is Audio GD gouging customers, or do they have a better audio product which costs more to make. I have seen a few posts from Emotiva users stating that higher priced gear is not any better than Emotiva gear. So, can it be that while Emotiva does make good gear for the price it is possible that better gear exists, but at a higher price.
http://www.audio-gd.com/En%20audio-gd.htm
Of course, that raises the question of why are the Emotiva prices so low. We are told it is because they are made in China. Is Audio GD gouging customers, or do they have a better audio product which costs more to make. I have seen a few posts from Emotiva users stating that higher priced gear is not any better than Emotiva gear. So, can it be that while Emotiva does make good gear for the price it is possible that better gear exists, but at a higher price.
http://www.audio-gd.com/En%20audio-gd.htm
Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits.
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits.
Post edited by BlueFox on
Comments
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The Audio GD gear I've heard sounds spectacular. I was not that impressed with the Emotiva DAC.
Based on what I've heard the Audio GD is worth the extra cost. -
I think popcorn may be in order... I'll get some popping'. Who's got the Sam Adam's?The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
Did you start this on purpose?Home Theater
Onkyo PR-SC5508 Sharp LC-70LE847U
Emotiva XPA-5 Emotiva XPA-2 Emotiva UPA-2
Front RTi-A9 Wide RTi-A7 Center CSi-A6 Surround FXi-A6 Rear RTi-A3 Sub 2x PSW505
Sony BDP-S790 Dishnetwork Hopper/Joey Logitech Harmony One Apple TV
Two Channel
Oppo 105D BAT VK-500 w/BatPack SDA SRS 2.3 Dreadnought Squeezebox Touch Apple TV -
As an Audio GD owner all I need to say is look at the build quality of their units from the pics. Then look at all the reviews of their gear. Then factor in the owner responds to threads on high fi with explanations on why choices were made on dacs and layout. Add in he then listens to what folks want and is constantly revising his gear to meet those needs and it makes sense why its costs more. Its a better product than Emotiva IMHO.
I would gladly buy their gear again. Also lets be honest, most of us look used in which case the cost of a unit will be lower than new.
So to answer your original post, yes IMHO its a better product worth paying more for from a company that is extremely responsive to both customers needs (with new products) and questions about why one DAC was chosen over another, how to troubleshoot products ect.
I also failed to mention that if an upgrade comes out for your unit that makes it better, they make those boards/parts availible either for you to purchase and install yourself or send it back and they will upgrade it for you.
Case and point, my NFB-5 could have the parts in the link below added to it to upgrade it to the new NFB-5.2:
http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB5/NFB5EN_Custom.htm"....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) -
the gear looks interesting.
I find most Emo amp to have too high of gain.
Looks like better parts than Emo and fully balanced (least the one I looked at). -
Yes, the gain is a tad too high but knowing this and the reason why allows me to control the volume. On balanced units and build quality I feel they are very near the top. My 2 channel is balanced from my DAC/Pre to my CD to my Parasound...very, very quiet and detailed. You would have to drop a lot of coin to best this rig.
Main Family Room: Sony 46 LCD, Sony Blue Ray, Sony DVD/VCR combo,Onkyo TXNR 708, Parasound 5250,
Polk SDS-SRS with mods, CSI 5 center + Klipsch SC2, Polk RT2000P rears, Klipsch KG 1.5's sides, Polk Micro Pro 1000, Polk Micro Pro 2000, Polk SW505, Belkin PF60, Signal Cable Classics,Monster IC's, 2 15 amp circuits & 1 20 amp circuit.
Living Room: Belkin PF60, Parasound HCA2200, MIT ProlineEXP balanced IC's,Emotiva XDA-1 DAC/Pre,Emotiva ERC2 transport,MIT AVT2, Polk LSI 9's. -
Did you start this on purpose?
If this is directed to me then the answer is yes. While it is easy to accidentally reply to a wrong thread, it is hard to not start a thread on purpose.
Anyway, the first thought that came to me when I was looking at the Audio GD gear is that the prices are higher. With this thread I wanted to find out if somebody could spend a few more dollars and get better gear, or if the Emo gear is the best, and anything costing more is not worth it. My feeling is while the Emo gear is good, in the end, you get what you pay for.
Since my only experience with Emo is their CD player, which did sound good, I thought it might be interesting to get some comparisons between the two different Chinese manufacturers.
One of the benefits of these Internet forums is the ability to provide information. Of course, one of the drawbacks is many people provide false, and incorrect information. Exhibit one is Roger Russell, and others who claim cables make no difference. When false information is given then we should try to provide accurate information to help those who are learning. On the other hand, some people never learn, but that is their problem.Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »The Audio GD gear I've heard sounds spectacular. I was not that impressed with the Emotiva DAC.
Based on what I've heard the Audio GD is worth the extra cost.
Ditto!"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 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
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I built my own DAC..........
Taken from a recent Audioholics reply regarding "Club Polk" and Polk speakers:
"I'm yet to hear a Polk speaker that merits more than a sentence and 60 seconds discussion."![:\](https://forum.polkaudio.com/resources/emoji/confused.png ":\")
My response is: If you need 60 seconds to respond in one sentence, you probably should't be evaluating Polk speakers.....
"Green leaves reveal the heart spoken Khatru"- Jon Anderson
"Have A Little Faith! And Everything You'll Face, Will Jump From Out Right On Into Place! Yeah! Take A Little Time! And Everything You'll Find, Will Move From Gloom Right On Into Shine!"- Arthur Lee -
All because products are Chinese does not equate to poor quality. Of the millions of products that they produce, there will be bad ones. Difference? The associate press baited you like fools long ago. Get over it. Take some bad things and exploit it. Only idiots cant reason beyond it. I could list an endless list of piss poor products from any country, yes.. Even the states.
Ignorance...... -
Get your popcorn ready, I am ready to mow down the idiots.
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Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
I call BS. I have been studying Chinese made crap for almost 20 years now. I've used this Chinese crap and had it fail and have seen items others use fail quickly over and over and over. Are there exceptions (i.e. that some Chinese made items are made to a higher quality? Sure. But, they are the exception and not even close to the standard.) I do not need any media telling me what fails and doesn't fail from China. I have experienced it first hand over and over and over. That said, if you like purchasing the same item over and over and over after a quick failure, then hey go for it and enjoy.............halenhoang wrote: »All because products are Chinese does not equate to poor quality. Of the millions of products that they produce, there will be bad ones. Difference? The associate press baited you like fools long ago. Get over it. Take some bad things and exploit it. Only idiots cant reason beyond it. I could list an endless list of piss poor products from any country, yes.. Even the states.
Ignorance......
Taken from a recent Audioholics reply regarding "Club Polk" and Polk speakers:
"I'm yet to hear a Polk speaker that merits more than a sentence and 60 seconds discussion."
My response is: If you need 60 seconds to respond in one sentence, you probably should't be evaluating Polk speakers.....
"Green leaves reveal the heart spoken Khatru"- Jon Anderson
"Have A Little Faith! And Everything You'll Face, Will Jump From Out Right On Into Place! Yeah! Take A Little Time! And Everything You'll Find, Will Move From Gloom Right On Into Shine!"- Arthur Lee -
Did you also put your pants on by yourself?
Usually only one leg at a time.
Edit: The point of that post was that others can build their own and don't have to settle for a Chinese made one................
Taken from a recent Audioholics reply regarding "Club Polk" and Polk speakers:
"I'm yet to hear a Polk speaker that merits more than a sentence and 60 seconds discussion."
My response is: If you need 60 seconds to respond in one sentence, you probably should't be evaluating Polk speakers.....
"Green leaves reveal the heart spoken Khatru"- Jon Anderson
"Have A Little Faith! And Everything You'll Face, Will Jump From Out Right On Into Place! Yeah! Take A Little Time! And Everything You'll Find, Will Move From Gloom Right On Into Shine!"- Arthur Lee -
halenhoang wrote: »Get your popcorn ready, I am ready to mow down the idiots.halenhoang wrote: »All because products are Chinese does not equate to poor quality. Of the millions of products that they produce, there will be bad ones. Difference? The associate press baited you like fools long ago. Get over it. Take some bad things and exploit it. Only idiots cant reason beyond it. I could list an endless list of piss poor products from any country, yes.. Even the states.
Ignorance......
I think you are in the wrong thread, or daylight saving time change is scrambling your thinking. Nobody is saying Chinese products are of poor quality. Typed as I listen to my Aerial Acoustics 7T speakers built in China.
Edit: Oops, maybe I was a bit to late with this post. Anyway, the point here is not the quality of Chinese products in general, but, rather, can you get better gear than Emo by spending a few more dollars. Xenophobes on both sides try to stay on-track. Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
"....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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EndersShadow wrote: »link?
There have been a few modifications to this since these pictures were taken, but it'll give you an idea...
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?119264-Fully-balanced-Buffalo-II-DAC-with-Tube-I-zator-tube-output.
Taken from a recent Audioholics reply regarding "Club Polk" and Polk speakers:
"I'm yet to hear a Polk speaker that merits more than a sentence and 60 seconds discussion."
My response is: If you need 60 seconds to respond in one sentence, you probably should't be evaluating Polk speakers.....
"Green leaves reveal the heart spoken Khatru"- Jon Anderson
"Have A Little Faith! And Everything You'll Face, Will Jump From Out Right On Into Place! Yeah! Take A Little Time! And Everything You'll Find, Will Move From Gloom Right On Into Shine!"- Arthur Lee -
I think you are in the wrong thread, or daylight saving time change is scrambling your thinking. Nobody is saying Chinese products are of poor quality. Typed as I listen to my Aerial Acoustics 7T speakers built in China.
Edit: Oops, maybe I was a bit to late with this post. Anyway, the point here is not the quality of Chinese products in general, but, rather, can you get better gear than Emo by spending a few more dollars. Xenophobes on both sides try to stay on-track.
I am......with some exceptions.
Taken from a recent Audioholics reply regarding "Club Polk" and Polk speakers:
"I'm yet to hear a Polk speaker that merits more than a sentence and 60 seconds discussion."
My response is: If you need 60 seconds to respond in one sentence, you probably should't be evaluating Polk speakers.....
"Green leaves reveal the heart spoken Khatru"- Jon Anderson
"Have A Little Faith! And Everything You'll Face, Will Jump From Out Right On Into Place! Yeah! Take A Little Time! And Everything You'll Find, Will Move From Gloom Right On Into Shine!"- Arthur Lee -
Hahaha. Oh boy. Lets get this started
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There have been a few modifications to this since these pictures were taken, but it'll give you an idea...
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?119264-Fully-balanced-Buffalo-II-DAC-with-Tube-I-zator-tube-output.
LOL, probably waaayyy outta my price range for something like that even if built by someone for free lol.."....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) -
The Chinese have been around millennial compared tovwhat you could understand. Hmmmmm why so? It is not complicated.
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I'm a fan of Emotiva, but not the XDA-1 DAC that I had. It was sterile & bright IMO. I have not heard the XDA-2 so I can't comment on their current DAC's.
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halenhoang wrote: »The Chinese have been around millennial compared tovwhat you could understand. Hmmmmm why so? It is not complicated.
Sir, you are never going to convince me that the average imported Chinese made item is as well made as something from Germany, Japan, England, or the USA (unless it is a specialized item that originated in China of course). Never. As I have said, I have been paying attention (studying) to the Chinese imports for almost 20 years. No really, 20 years. I have nothing against the Chinese people, it is what they export to other countries (including the USA) that I have a problem with (with some exceptions). If my personal expreriences with Chinese made items has brainwashed me, hell haven't we all been brainwashed then?
Taken from a recent Audioholics reply regarding "Club Polk" and Polk speakers:
"I'm yet to hear a Polk speaker that merits more than a sentence and 60 seconds discussion."
My response is: If you need 60 seconds to respond in one sentence, you probably should't be evaluating Polk speakers.....
"Green leaves reveal the heart spoken Khatru"- Jon Anderson
"Have A Little Faith! And Everything You'll Face, Will Jump From Out Right On Into Place! Yeah! Take A Little Time! And Everything You'll Find, Will Move From Gloom Right On Into Shine!"- Arthur Lee -
A couple of days ago in a DAC thread I heard about a company called Audio GD. I had never heard of them before so I looked them up on the web. They appear to be a Chinese audio manufacturer. That is, they have no presence in the United States, except for dealers. Since they are pure Chinese their costs must be very low. Yet, their prices are higher than Emotiva's prices for similar gear.
Of course, that raises the question of why are the Emotiva prices so low. We are told it is because they are made in China. Is Audio GD gouging customers, or do they have a better audio product which costs more to make. I have seen a few posts from Emotiva users stating that higher priced gear is not any better than Emotiva gear. So, can it be that while Emotiva does make good gear for the price it is possible that better gear exists, but at a higher price.
So, you say Audio GD has dealers in the United States? Dealers = Higher Costs.
Emotiva = Online only, no dealers and therefore, Lower Costs.
Nice try though...Happy Trolling! :rolleyes: -
I've had a couple of Audio gd dacs. Nfb2 & now a reference 5. They are great value for money. A freind of mine has Emotiva gear and is very happy with it.
I think Audio gd is more 2 channel focused which I like.
It makes me laugh how some talk of so called **** from china and good quality from Japan. I'm old enough to remember when it was "**** crap". Even if I make my own dac where do you think the electronics are going to come from?
The bold part of your statement is the important part.
I have built my own DAC (in a post above is a link to it) and it does not contain a single piece I purchased and soldered into it that came from China. Please do not try to compare current Japanese made items with current Chinese made ones. It doesn't fly...
Taken from a recent Audioholics reply regarding "Club Polk" and Polk speakers:
"I'm yet to hear a Polk speaker that merits more than a sentence and 60 seconds discussion."
My response is: If you need 60 seconds to respond in one sentence, you probably should't be evaluating Polk speakers.....
"Green leaves reveal the heart spoken Khatru"- Jon Anderson
"Have A Little Faith! And Everything You'll Face, Will Jump From Out Right On Into Place! Yeah! Take A Little Time! And Everything You'll Find, Will Move From Gloom Right On Into Shine!"- Arthur Lee -
The bold part of your statement is the important part.
I have built my own DAC (in a post above is a link to it) and it does not contain a single piece I purchased and soldered into it that came from China. Please do not try to compare current Japanese made items with current Chinese made ones. It doesn't fly...
I your opinion.2 Channel
Amp - Jas Audio Bravo 3.2 set
Power Cord - Tunami GPX
CDP - Marantz cd6002 - Audio gd Ref 5 Dac
Speakers - Tekton Lore,Polk Audio RTA11tl completely refreshed. -
China may produce some worthwhile goods but.......their long-run track record for product quality, environment & plain old human rights/ decency (not to mention hygiene :eek:) is abysmal ! They are turning their country into a toxic Hell, with zero regard for the ultimate consequences. Whenever I have the option, I will always buy non-Chinese products. Oh......and no melamine for my dog's food either, thanks just the same. :rolleyes:
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teekay0007 wrote: »So, you say Audio GD has dealers in the United States? Dealers = Higher Costs.
You are right. I should have said "representatives", and even that is an assumption. Maybe you have to directly deal with China to buy anything. It can't get cheaper that that. Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
Looking at a few of the Audio GD amps in the OP's link. I like the layout inside the amps, especially the Master 3. Nice and clean looking design, but price wise, edges awfully close to where more established brands sit. Still, nice looking gear!Equipment list:
Onkyo TX-NR3010 9.2 AVR
Emotiva XPA-3 amp
Polk RTi70 mains, CSi40 center, RTi38 surrounds, RTi28 rears and heights
SVS 20-39CS+ subwoofer powered by Crown XLS1500
Oppo BDP-93 Blu-ray player
DarbeeVision DVP5000 video processor
Epson 8500UB 1080p projector
Elite Screens Sable 120" CineWhite screen
![[Deleted User]](https://w2.vanillicon.com/243781f4695802fc35649f1d28763e29_100.png)
