tblake10 Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 Looking for a dac for my sister's system. Thinking of the Grant Fidelity DAC-11 (tube) or the Emotiva XDA-1 (Solid state). What do you guys think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troutboy Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 I have one of the GF 09 dacs and with the right tube in it the thing performs as well as a couple of other dacs i have that cost twice as much. I have been very pleased with it's performance. It also allows you to bypass the tube and run ss output which is a pretty neat feature. Looks like the GF 11 also has that option. The new GF 11 dac uses a different tube so not sure if my results with the 09 will hold true with it or not. Probably so new that there aren't a lot of units out there right now to get feedback from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 It would help to know how she plans to use it. USB feed from a computer? CD feed? Other? I own one of the Emotiva XDA1s. It is an excellent DAC and performs well above its price point. I had one of the previous version Grant Fidelity DACs and it was a pretty nice piece as well. The tube buffer in the output stage was an improvement on most music for me. I’ve not heard one of the new ones yet. If the feed is going to be from a computer (USB) keep in mind that the XDA1 has some limitations in terms of playing back high resolution files. I don’t think it’ll go past 16bit/48kHz without jumping through a LOT of hoops. If at all. It appears that the GF will do 24bit/96kHz natively. There is a LOT of buzz on the Emotiva forums that they are coming out with a new DAC (XDA-2?) that is replacing the current DAC. Rumor is it will support high resolution USB as well as a couple of other “refinements”. Nothing official yet from Emotiva though. Good luck!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornfedksboy Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 My appologies for following question, but does a DAC improve sound quality from an iPod (using Apple lossless) over using a mini plug/RCA cord directly from iPod to the receiver? I'm interested in getting a DAC, but only if I'm missing something here. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 I have read somewhere that the d/a in the latest ipods were audiophile quality. You are asking a good question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tblake10 Posted October 16, 2011 Author Share Posted October 16, 2011 She'll use it primarily for a satellite receiver and a cd player, to improve the D to A conversion as they are both really cheap units. But a computer feed is a possibilty too. It sounds like the Grant might be the way to go as it is more flexible. thanks for the reply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tblake10 Posted October 16, 2011 Author Share Posted October 16, 2011 Thanks for sharing your experience with the Dac09 troutboy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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