1. Luckbad

    Luckbad Traded in a unicorn for a Corolla

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    Starting a thread for Emotiva, a nice bang-for-the-buck Made in USA outfit similar to Schiit but without the die-hard following (or TOTL offerings as of yet).

    I have a Big Ego at work and it's super capable, especially at its price.

    The DC-1 is heralded as one of the best bang-for-the-buck balanced DACs out there as well.

    For the ultra-nerdy, there's a 226 page Audio Precision report available for the latter:
    http://emotiva.com/resources/media/DC1_AP_Report.pdf

    Does anyone else rock any Emotiva gear? Most people who have their stuff seem to have other home theater components than DACs/Amps.
     
  2. Pyruvate

    Pyruvate Friend

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    @schiit

    Surprise surprise. Jason is a proud owner of some of their speaker amps.

    I'm looking to get one for my speaker set up someday.
     
  3. antifocus

    antifocus Friend

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    I think most of their stuff are made in China? Not that it really matters...
     
  4. thegunner100

    thegunner100 Hentai Master Chief

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    I have their discontinued Emotiva ASM stand which has served me pretty well. I've tried their old Airmotiv 4 and A100 before a year or two back. They're having a nice sale right now for those interested. I'd love to hear more thoughts about their speaker amps from people here.
     
  5. Perot

    Perot Facebook Friend

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    I've been consideringtheir 2 channel preamp to put between my DAC and powered speakers. I also have a sub I've never happily integrated and considering buying a cheap\value turntable. Thus the croosever bass management and phono pre appeal to me. Anyone used or heard the XSP1?
     
  6. AustinValentine

    AustinValentine Friend

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    I use a pair of Airmotiv 4s's with a logitech bluetooth widget for a budget living room music setup. For those purposes, they work really well.

    The Stealth DC-1 is a very good DAC. I didn't take to the sound of the Big Ego when I owned it. (I brought one to the Tweak Audio late summer Chicago meet...which had a Geek Out V2+ prototype available. It didn't compare favorably >.< Nice build quality and feature set though and for a very, very good price. All U.S. parts & labor too for the Big Ego, which deserves at least a special mention.)
     
  7. velvetx

    velvetx Gear Master West/Vendor Spotlight Moderator

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    They are currently having a huge sale till the end of the year. Just bought a DC-1 DAC to tide me over while I save for the Yggdrasil ($400 on sale can't beat that).
     
  8. TomNC

    TomNC Friend

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    I have had their XPA-5 multichannel amp to drive 3 Revel speakers for about five years now. Although one channel has become on and off soon after I received it, it otherwise has been a good workhorse. It sounds moderately warm, plenty of power. I think they have a good customer service. But I haven't tried to ship it back for service, the major reason being that it is very heavy and without handles so that it is intimidating to move and pack.
     
  9. mickeyvortex

    mickeyvortex Friend

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    Emotiva and their people know their shit. I have a DC-1 I bought a couple years and although many others came and went, I never let go of my DC-1. It does everything I need it to do and more. Very clean, neutral sound signature. Just gets out of the way and that's probably why such products may not attract a lot of attention. I just wish their Ego DACs were (more) smartphone compatible.
    BTW, I also have their Stealth 6 monitors which are simply awesome. I again went through tons of passive speakers, amps (incl Emotiva) but settled on powered because it's convenient and seems to make more common sense.
    I actually read almost 150 pages of the DC-1's measurement datsheet until I realized what I was doing. It's all good.
     
  10. mickeyvortex

    mickeyvortex Friend

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    I have never heard the XSP-1 per se but I have heard another one of their cheaper preamps and it did a stellar job of what it was meant to. Very transparent, superbly engineered stuff and with good aesthetics.
     
  11. meloman

    meloman Acquaintance

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    Emotiva is great, waiting on delivery of their Airmotiv 5s powered monitors to connect to my Gungnir Multibit.

    Their XDA-2 Gen2 DAC (now on closeout) is an awesome deal if you need most of those inputs/outputs/features.
     
  12. Luckbad

    Luckbad Traded in a unicorn for a Corolla

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    The Big Ego is why I believe the Regen actually works, at least in some setups. It had a few rough edges at work from its crappy USB, but got very smooth with the Uptone Regen.
     

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