This is a review based on 2.1 Computer w/ MUSIC only.
Setup:
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AudioEngine A5's on 30" Sonus speaker stands (12" space between rear of speaker and back wall @ 36" from listening position)
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Onix X-Sub
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Emotiva XDA-1 connected with Emotiva Optical Cable
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Windows PC running lossless media via Foobar2000
I call Emotiva a few weeks ago and they sold me a XDA-1 they had B-Stock because they are on a month backorder. I paid $219 + $16 for the optical cable, it arrive 2 days later.
Overall, I am 100% happy with Build Quality, Appearance, Packaging, Remote (really cool), Customer Service ect. I've done my research and narrowed it down between XDA-1, Peachtree Audio DAC iT, Cambridge Audio DAC Magic, and Grant Fidelity TubeDAC-11.
This is a fantastic link for DAC research. The XDA-1 was the one I chose due to it's company reputation and connectivity.
Listening Impressions:
I've had a chance to compare with / without XDA-1 for a few weeks now and my impressions using various music is as follows:
Immediately after connecting the XDA-1 and playing one of my reference songs, Tycho - Dive, I was blown away by how much cleaner the sound came through. I can not really tell the in the lower octaves (probably due to budget sub) but in the upper regions and vocals it's become super smooth.
I never would have thought adding something like a DAC could improve music so much. It just sounds so clean and effortless. When I connect without the XDA-1 I can immediately tell the difference. However, this is only with high quality music. Crappy youtube videos still sound crappy. Steaming MOG music and upgraded Pandora sound better with the XDA-1 vs without.
Examples of what I can hear now vs before;
-When a guitar string is plucked you can really hear how crisp it is
-Seems to open up or purify vocal
-My subwoofer cant really tell me anything changed on the low end.
Listen to
Lumumba (Chill Mix) by SunLounger aka Roger Shah and tell me what you think. Even if you already have a great system you should check it out. But this song sounds fantastic now vs before. It really opened up everything for me and brings out the best in my A5's (which I really like).
IS IT WORTH IT?
To put it simply it improved my impression of sound quality by 5-10% depending on the song. That is significant to me.
It was to me because I'm building a respectable system. Something I can come home to and know I'm going to get damn good sound from.
I will say this.... If you have a computer setup and are running your system without a DAC and think your getting good sound quality, you are probably missing out.
Pic of the Ladies playing around
