The History Kid Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Well, first stand-alone DAC that is... Last weekend I found an Emotiva XDA-2 for sale over on the Emo Forums for a lovely $175. With some saved money left over after the Fusion 8100 selection, and money still to come from the sale of the Yamaha RX-V2500 - I decided to buy it. Having never owned a DAC before, nor an Emo. Today it arrived. I ran around the house until 2 when I had to leave for work. It arrived at 330 - luckily someone was there to bring it in from the cold. It was hard standing around at work waiting for 830 to come around, but I did it somehow. Raced home to be greeted with a box on the kitchen table (no thebes...I wasn't happy to eat it). At any rate, I got it all unpacked and set up. Gawking at the remote that I swear I could beat someone with and do some serious damage. Purdy blue lights to clash and eventually phase out the orange of the Yamaha. After having a near-heart attack with my computer not recognizing the device at first, and having to jump through some hoops to get the drivers installed, I'm now sitting here listening to some of the greatest Doobie Brothers hits of all time (no Michael McDonald please...). Lovin' what this thing's brought forward so far, and can't wait to see its interaction with the Fusion when it arrives. This was also the first time I used the power triggers...why I haven't used them before, I couldn't begin to tell you. P.S....obligatory pics. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Quality externals DACs are what really bring computer based music to life! Hope you enjoy. I have the Emotiva mini 100 amp and really enjoy it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthews Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 NOT in the same league, but I too was amazed and thrilled what this little guy did for my "streaming"... Congrats and have fun 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 A msIII yes, had a II, worked well. Congrats on the DAC Ibiza... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avguytx Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 I have one of the Muse DAC's similar to yours and two of the Fiio D03K's and for the prices paid, they do a great job. The Muse is in the garage system tied to the Optical out of the AppleTV I use for streaming PLEX from my server to the garage. The other two Fiio's are in the living room; one for the Optical output of the PS3 (which used to be my streaming device) and the other to my HTPC's Coax digital output. I had thought about the XDA-2 but I do need an analog input for turntable. Although, I could take an NAD PP4 that has USB output and tie into the USB connection. And I'd also thought about the Fusion 8100. Still deliberating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 (edited) Congrats Flame and enjoy! My first dac this week as well. A Maverick Tube magic D2 which replaced a Dragon Fly dac loaned to me by minermark. No need to install drivers...plug and play. I added all options. An upgrade tube and opamps (3) and the D2 has an improved usb chip. Sounds great. Edited February 13, 2015 by Tarheel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted February 13, 2015 Moderators Share Posted February 13, 2015 (edited) I love mine, it's the original version XDA-1 and my first DAC, it separated my 2 Ch form the AVR and made a huge difference in sound compared to being connected to the AVR. If the 2 is like the original the lights on the front have a dimmer with like 5 settings. The remotes are crazy, your right it could be used as a weapon, and overall they seem to be well built. I got it used also, for $135 shipped when the 2 version came out, with over a year warranty still left on it. I use it as a pre-amp, I run the BR player, and stream directly into the DAC and use it's volume knob Edited February 13, 2015 by dtel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The History Kid Posted February 13, 2015 Author Share Posted February 13, 2015 Quality externals DACs are what really bring computer based music to life! Hope you enjoy. I have been thrilled with what I've been hearing so far. Since the TV will only pass up to 48kHz/24 bit...it's now solely on video source duty only. The DAC's managing all the music. Even helps out the 320-mp3's I have. And I'd also thought about the Fusion 8100. Still deliberating. Mine should be arriving sometime next week or early the week thereafter. I was excited for it before, but the success with this DAC has me even more pumped to see what else they have to offer. If the 2 is like the original the lights on the front have a dimmer with like 5 settings. The remotes are crazy, your right it could be used as a weapon, and overall they seem to be well built. I got it used also, for $135 shipped when the 2 version came out, with over a year warranty still left on it. Yeah, the 2's got a ton of dimmer options...though I was expecting Dimmer 5 to be darker than Dimmer 1...not so - it's quite the opposite. lol These seem to be built like a hummer. This is the first time I've owned something like this, so I was surprised about the build quality especially. People seem to love Emotiva products. I think there's still a year or two warranty running on this thing too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teaman Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Glad to hear you are enjoying your new Emotiva XDA-2 DAC. I own four of them and they sound awesome. I am sure it will mesh perfectly with your new Fusion. I have read a lot of good reviews for that receiver and for the clear out pricing they offer it at now it is a no brainer..............enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The History Kid Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 Just an update...I've been toying with the SRC Bypass on the DAC - particularly with lower resolution MP3's that I haven't gotten around to updating. It actually helps a great deal, and does wonders for noise reduction too. I swear I've never heard music before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MORE KLIPSCH PLEASE Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Nice IbizaFlame......enjoy Would have gave your post a "like" but I'm all out :-( I'll hit ya up later :-) MKP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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