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Quote:
Originally Posted by kexodusc
Yeah, my wife cut off my spending a few months back too, and I've bought enough new gizmos this year to risk another. Maybe we could all cash in our empties, sell some blood, and have an ar.com draw for the winner to try this out? :(
Or GM's gotta pull off the win at Bingo!
I would check on the price of kidneys, but I only have the one ever since I WOKE UP
in that motel room outside of town, covered in ICE...
Oh well, only have 280$ to go in the old penny jar...:1:
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1 Attachment(s)
Quote:
Originally Posted by GMichael
NOOOOOOOO.......!
I don't want to know how good it is...:incazzato:
explains a lot.:1:
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I got an e-mail from Emotiva yesterday for me to contact them about payment details, as my DAC should be shipping around the 24th of this month... So assuming all goes well, I'll give my initial impressions in a few weeks...
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That's great. I also pre-order the XDA-1 about a week ago. I plan to connect it to the SB touch and the Sony bluray player which has two digital outs.
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From just the input here it looks like the XDA may be a hot item if similar enthusiasm is in other places as well.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Peabody
From just the input here it looks like the XDA may be a hot item if similar enthusiasm is in other places as well.
It's already sold out before the 1st shipment has arrived... So only those of us early on the pre-order list are getting DACs from the 1st shipment... Other persons who have pre-ordered have to wait for the next shipment...
Of course the initial reviews from us 1st shipment guinea pigs will likely increase or destroy the demand for the XDA-1...
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I just received my Fedex tracking number, so my XDA-1 should be here in a few days... Initial impressions and comparisons with my Benchmark DAC1 will be available shortly thereafter...
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Oh good, we like guinea pigs 'round these parts :)
Let us know your thoughts.
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First impressions are in on the Emotiva Forums from a user called briank. Just scroll through and you'll see several post of his initial impressions...
To summarize: he's really impressed so far... Finds it to be a definite improvement over the ERC1
EDIT: briank also agrees with Lonnie (Chief Engineer/Designer/Whatever at Emotiva) that the real increase in performance comes from connecting the XDA-1 direct to your power amp, rather than through the USP-1...
I'm really excited as that is exactly how I intend to use it...
http://emotivalounge.proboards.com/i...d=14863&page=3
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The Emotiva products I've heard are IMO a very good buy. However, I'm inclined to be a little skeptical of reviews by Emotiva "lovers" published on Emotiva's web site.
Reading a bad or negative review of any Emotive product isn't going to happen often, if ever at the Emotiva Lounge. I'm not suggesting they are censored or influenced by the manufacturer. On a site where virtually all the posters are extremely enthusiastic owners or "wanna be" owners can you expect anything else? I'm waiting for reviews from some independents who aren't so connected to Emotiva.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JoeE SP9
The Emotiva products I've heard are IMO a very good buy. However, I'm inclined to be a little skeptical of reviews by Emotiva "lovers" published on Emotiva's web site.
Reading a bad or negative review of any Emotive product isn't going to happen often, if ever at the Emotiva Lounge. I'm not suggesting they are censored or influenced by the manufacturer. On a site where virtually all the posters are extremely enthusiastic owners or "wanna be" owners can you expect anything else? I'm waiting for reviews from some independents who aren't so connected to Emotiva.
Emotiva forums are like forums for any other manufacturer... Meaning that if you hang out there, chances are high that you are a fanboy (I guess chances are that I'm a fanboy and just haven't realized it yet)... So caution should always be taken when reading feedback from fanboys... However, I do find that there is also some rather frank conversation that occurs on the Emo forums about new products... Generally, Emotiva seems to be quite open to constructive feedback and doesn't appear to do much censoring...
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My first impressions of the XDA-1 are out:
http://forums.audioreview.com/digital-domain-computer-audio/emotiva-xda-1-initial-impressions-35695.html
I'll update later when the DAC has some more hours under it's belt...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ajani
If you plan to use a digital only system, then the XDA-1 is supposed to be the best option direct to your power amp...
Emotiva (Lonnie) says it has better sound quality than the USP-1, and in his tests the system sounded best driving the amps directly with the XDA-1 and no USP-1 in between...
So unless you plan to use a turntable with it, the XDA-1 is cheaper and sounds better than the USP-1...
Also the XDA-1 sounds better than the ERC-1 (all according to Emo)....
The XDA-1 is DAMNED tempting. I had any money I'd go for in second. :frown5:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Feanor
The XDA-1 is DAMNED tempting. I had any money I'd go for in second. :frown5:
If you have $300 to spare, the XDA-1 is an easy recommendation. The combination of price, features, sound quality and looks is unbeatable... But in absolute sonic terms I prefer my Benchmark DAC1... However, there's no shame in the $300 XDA-1 being beaten by the $1K DAC1 and besides someone else might prefer the XDA-1 to the DAC1...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ajani
If you have $300 to spare, the XDA-1 is an easy recommendation. The combination of price, features, sound quality and looks is unbeatable... But in absolute sonic terms I prefer my Benchmark DAC1... However, there's no shame in the $300 XDA-1 being beaten by the $1K DAC1 and besides someone else might prefer the XDA-1 to the DAC1...
Glad to hear it sounds good and worked out for you. I would be interested in how it stacks up against the Beresford TC-7520 which has been wearing the crown of sub-$500 dacs for sometime now.
I would also like to know how it sounds against the Cambridge Audio dacMagic. The dacMagic is a much OVERrated unit IMO.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by poppachubby
Glad to hear it sounds good and worked out for you. I would be interested in how it stacks up against the Beresford TC-7520 which has been wearing the crown of sub-$500 dacs for sometime now.
I would also like to know how it sounds against the Cambridge Audio dacMagic. The dacMagic is a much OVERrated unit IMO.
On the Emo forums it has been compared favourably against the DACMagic, MusicHall 25.2 & NuForce and Jolida entry level DACs... I expect it to hold it's own against any sub $700 DAC... And not be embarrassed against the $1K ones (though I wouldn't expect it to beat those ones)...
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I ordered an UMC-1 and a XPA-3, hopefully it'll be a considerable inprovement over my Denon receiver.
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I believe you may be the first here to try a processor, be sure to let us know how the system works out.
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Not the first - I have one, think I wrote some comparisons with an Integra unit I tried out too last spring. I like my UMC-1, and if the firmware and interface were good from the start I'd probably like it more. I wouldn't recommend it as strongly as their amps or CD player, but for people looking to upgrade from a receiver without dropping $2k or more on an Anthem, it's hard to argue against.
I bet that XPA-3 makes it sing though.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kexodusc
Not the first - I have one, think I wrote some comparisons with an Integra unit I tried out too last spring. I like my UMC-1, and if the firmware and interface were good from the start I'd probably like it more. I wouldn't recommend it as strongly as their amps or CD player, but for people looking to upgrade from a receiver without dropping $2k or more on an Anthem, it's hard to argue against.
I bet that XPA-3 makes it sing though.
I had a very similar experience with their DAC... Had it been right from the start I'd probably like it a lot more... For $300 it's hard to argue against, but I wouldn't recommend it the way I would my XPA-2 amp...
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Ooop! Kex you are right, I remember that now you refreshed my memory.
Emo needs to be careful, the word is getting out on them fast as being gear that is a good bang for buck but too many of these issues and people will begin to shy away. They may becoming larger than their little group of employees can handle.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Peabody
Ooop! Kex you are right, I remember that now you refreshed my memory.
Emo needs to be careful, the word is getting out on them fast as being gear that is a good bang for buck but too many of these issues and people will begin to shy away. They may becoming larger than their little group of employees can handle.
I think you hit the nail on the head. They obviously have some good connections in the industry as they have access to some great design/production capabilities. But too much, too fast, can backfire if they build a reputation of bugs and glitches. The UMC-1 was not very good when I got it. It sounded great in analog but too many digital/firmware issues made me want to pull my hair out. So much so I had another product in my home ready to make a switch. I gave them longer than I probably would have for any other component because so many companies are having issues with HDMI generation processors (Emo's not alone for sure).
But to have a few issues with another new product, the XDA-1, is disappointing. I probably would have bought one but now I'll wait and see. They've been more than reasonable with issues from my perspective. I bet they've learned a lot of lessons along the way. If they haven't, their next generation of products won't get the eager buyers.
To be honest, I just don't have burning need to upgrade anything except maybe speakers these days. I need to buy a bigger vehicle and a **** load of baby stuff soon. :cornut:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ajani
I had a very similar experience with their DAC... Had it been right from the start I'd probably like it a lot more... For $300 it's hard to argue against, but I wouldn't recommend it the way I would my XPA-2 amp...
Let me know when you're ready to sell that sucker to upgrade to mono-bocks! :cornut:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kexodusc
I think you hit the nail on the head. They obviously have some good connections in the industry as they have access to some great design/production capabilities. But too much, too fast, can backfire if they build a reputation of bugs and glitches. The UMC-1 was not very good when I got it. It sounded great in analog but too many digital/firmware issues made me want to pull my hair out. So much so I had another product in my home ready to make a switch. I gave them longer than I probably would have for any other component because so many companies are having issues with HDMI generation processors (Emo's not alone for sure).
But to have a few issues with another new product, the XDA-1, is disappointing. I probably would have bought one but now I'll wait and see. They've been more than reasonable with issues from my perspective. I bet they've learned a lot of lessons along the way. If they haven't, their next generation of products won't get the eager buyers.
To be honest, I just don't have burning need to upgrade anything except maybe speakers these days. I need to buy a bigger vehicle and a **** load of baby stuff soon. :cornut:
The issue Mr Peabody raised was also raised by myself and a few others on the Emotiva forums... However, we got shot down hard by the ultra fan-boys, who believe Emo is perfect... I just hope the words of warning were taken seriously by the powers that be at Emo...
As for the the issues with the XDA-1, I regard it as a bigger mess up than the UMC... While the UMC had far more bugs and took much longer to resolve them, they were at least user serviceable (required a software update - well, several updates)... The Volume Control problem with the XDA is a major screw up (though Emo won't admit it) as it requires users to ship their units back to Emo for correction... So for overseas customers like myself, the fix just isn't worth the extra shipping costs (nor is returning the unit for a refund).... So it means some of us are left permanently disgruntled about the product.... That is the absolute worst thing you can have when your sales are largely based on good word of mouth...
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Hopefully the issues with these products gets FULLY resolved soon. I know many companies try to minimize the amount of money they will have to spend to resolve product issues but they need to realize that they should not create a scenario where ANY of their customers should have to incurr any costs or any type of significant inconveniences. The world is a very small place, so to speak, nowadays and it doesn't take very many unhappy customers to ruin a companies reputation. From what I've seen and experienced with Emotiva, it is a good company and hopefully they acknowledge and try to resolve their customers concerns with both product issues and concerns brought to light by Mr. P, Ajani and others so they can continue to be a good company.
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