McMiRA Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 The time has come to do some equipment upgrading. I'm splitting my 2 ch rig off from its current source and wanting to give it a dedicated dac to feed the Dynaco mk3s into the la scalas. Current setup was a zone out of my sr7007 and wasn't the greatest. Sources will be either a ud7007 or 5007 from marantz for discs, United audio dual 1229 for vinyl, a sonos for streaming and possibly a Mac mini for my digital collection. I am considering 2 dacs and cannot find any comparison threads between the two. Marantz hd-dac1 vs emotiva stealth dc1 Does anyone have any feedback on these two. I cannot find any threads on any forums where tether are compared to each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimjimbo Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 I have not experienced the Marantz DAC, but had an Emotiva Stealth for a while before I replaced it with a Schiit Bifrost. You really should check out the new Schiit Bifrost, it is a very, very good DAC at a great price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McMiRA Posted October 28, 2015 Author Share Posted October 28, 2015 My interest in the marantz is almost all of my equipment is marantz and I would be able to use the remote bus to control the ud player. The interest in the emotiva is the price and favorable reviews it has received along with input and output options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justinsweber Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 I have a Emotiva Steath. Ive used the XDA-1 and XDA-2. I thougt the XDA dacs are great in thier price point. the Steath is a better sounding DAC to me with a nicer remote (fits in the hand better). If I were to do it again... the Oppo DAC is amazing and has many more options.. bluethooth and Airpolay. A significant plus of the Emotiva side is the analog in... having it allows it to work as a pre... analog in for table, digital for CD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cincymat Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 I have the Stealth DC-1 and a XDA-2 gen 2. The DC-1 is a much better dac IMHO. Seems smoother with more detail. The XDA exhibits connection issues with my Mac Book pro if I don't turn everything on in the proper sequence. MacBook, then XDA. The DC-1 connects regardless of start up order. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teaman Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 I own multiple Emotiva XPA-2's. Both Gen 1 and Gen 2. The Gen 2 has the smaller easier to handle remote and what seems like better processing from a computer source. The Emo is a great option because it can be used as a stand alone DAC, a preamp or a headphone amp. I use mine for all of the above. Plenty of drive for most cans, smooth sounding DAC and the option to use as a preamp that provides XLR outputs to run to your amps while using the RCA outputs to run a pair of subs if you like. I have not heard a bad thing about the DC-1 either but the full size Emotiva XDA-2 blends much nicer in my arrangements with my other components. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McMiRA Posted October 29, 2015 Author Share Posted October 29, 2015 That is why I'm looking at both of these units. They both can function as a pre and headphone amp. No one has anything to say about the marantz hd dac1? Chipset is from their reference line, porthole design matches the rest of my equipment and I can use the remote bus..... But the emo had a great price point and seems to be somewhat smarter in some aspects. Had to look up the oppo. It looks nice but it's priced outside of my budget. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 how about a peachtree? the dac it has the sabre chip in it. and on sale right now for 299. I'm tempted to buy one myself right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McMiRA Posted October 29, 2015 Author Share Posted October 29, 2015 The emo is $399 right now Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spezjag Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 You really should check out the new Schiit Bifrost, it is a very, very good DAC at a great price. It's really good Schiit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McMiRA Posted October 30, 2015 Author Share Posted October 30, 2015 Needing something I can use as a pre that is also capable of analog in. This puts the peach tree and bifrost out. The oppo looks great but it is more than I want to spend right now and a sonos will be handling my streaming. I'm leaning towards the emotiva but strongly considering the marantz. I just don't have enough information on the marantz from real world use compared to the emo. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted October 30, 2015 Moderators Share Posted October 30, 2015 I use the Emotiva XDA-1 and i really like it, works well and no noise at all. But what I really wanted to say is i did the same by separating 2 Ch from the HTR. I had no idea how much difference it was going to make, it improved everything, and I don't mean by a little, I will never go back to a HTR as a preamp. Now I know it will depend on how good your HTR was doing but I expect you to see a big difference, good luck and great idea. :I did keep the same BR player for both setups with an optical splitter, it's the only way there connected. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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