emm Labs TSDX & DAC2X users .... Please check in ....

edorr

WBF Founding Member
May 10, 2010
3,139
14
36
Smyrna, GA
MSB's ala carte offerings that nickel and dime you to death is starting to annoy me and turn me away (analogue dac).

I hear you. Charging $1000 to turn the RS232 or IP network control on is a little annoying. Without it you cannot even access all the features of the DAC, simply because they will not make them accesible with the remote control.
 

edorr

WBF Founding Member
May 10, 2010
3,139
14
36
Smyrna, GA
It will handily beat my PWD MKII with just a few hours on it I hope, and the gap should be widening from there. I'll find out this evening.

Not disappointed. Spend an hour listening (post debate), and the DAC2X beats the PWD MKII hands down with just a fewhours on it. More dynamics, clearer vocals, and somehow there just appears to be just more "going on" musically.
 

dmnc02

Member Sponsor
Jul 10, 2012
326
1
0
PA, USA
Not disappointed. Spend an hour listening (post debate), and the DAC2X beats the PWD MKII hands down with just a fewhours on it. More dynamics, clearer vocals, and somehow there just appears to be just more "going on" musically.

It will get much better with break-in. Give it at least 200 hours before trying to form an impression of its character and it will keep improving past 500 hours.
 

joeinid

Well-Known Member
Mar 14, 2011
1,543
12
400
NY
Not disappointed. Spend an hour listening (post debate), and the DAC2X beats the PWD MKII hands down with just a fewhours on it. More dynamics, clearer vocals, and somehow there just appears to be just more "going on" musically.

Bump

Any updates edorr?
 

edorr

WBF Founding Member
May 10, 2010
3,139
14
36
Smyrna, GA
Bump

Any updates edorr?

Spend some time with my all time favorite piano recording yesterday. I have been listening to Keith Jarrett's Koln Concert for decades, initially on LP, most recently on 96/24 Flac (courtesy of HDTracks). Going from the 44/14 to the 96/24 flac made very little difference to sonics. Yesterday I played it on the EMM Labs, and what was happening was somehow I heard more contrast between the notes played on the high and low register of the piano. More dynamic contrast. High was more liquid, low was more solid. You could almost visualize which key he was hitting. Felt closer to the musical truth than what I heard before.
 

edorr

WBF Founding Member
May 10, 2010
3,139
14
36
Smyrna, GA
I have just gone through an interesting exchange with EMM Labs about the need to a high grade AES/EBU source, condering the DAC2X allegedly is completely asynchronous and immume to any incoming jitter.

They say any cheap S/PDIF or AES/EBU sources will sound as good as a high grade source. Only benefit is going to MDAT. I have the $3500 Offramp 5 + monolith converter, which according to EMM labs is a total waste of money. Can any owners of the DAC confirm high jitter sources sound just as good as low jitter on the DAC2X?
 

dmnc02

Member Sponsor
Jul 10, 2012
326
1
0
PA, USA
I have just gone through an interesting exchange with EMM Labs about the need to a high grade AES/EBU source, condering the DAC2X allegedly is completely asynchronous and immume to any incoming jitter.

They say any cheap S/PDIF or AES/EBU sources will sound as good as a high grade source. Only benefit is going to MDAT. I have the $3500 Offramp 5 + monolith converter, which according to EMM labs is a total waste of money. Can any owners of the DAC confirm high jitter sources sound just as good as low jitter on the DAC2X?

Their argument would seem to imply that the choice of AES/EBU cable between the source and DAC2X should also be irrelevant. When I was still using the XDS1, which has the same MFAST technology (claimed to eliminate jitter) as the DAC2X, I tried a few different AES/EBU cables and they definitely had different sonic signatures. If the AES/EBU cable makes a difference, I seriously doubt the source upstream of the cable does not.
 

edorr

WBF Founding Member
May 10, 2010
3,139
14
36
Smyrna, GA
Their argument would seem to imply that the choice of AES/EBU cable between the source and DAC2X should also be irrelevant. When I was still using the XDS1, which has the same MFAST technology (claimed to eliminate jitter) as the DAC2X, I tried a few different AES/EBU cables and they definitely had different sonic signatures. If the AES/EBU cable makes a difference, I seriously doubt the source upstream of the cable does not.

It is conceivable the accuracy of upstream clocking (jitter) makes no difference in a completely asynchronous DAC, yet "noise" of the source does. In fact, resident digital design guru Opus 111 suggested just that in another thread. Not sure how cabling factors into this....

I will hopefully have a chance to expirement with different sources at some point in the future. My "source" is really the Trinnov processor that sits before the DAC. Trinnov will be releasing a new version of its processor which supports DLNA streaming. I may get this and compare the PC->USB Converter (AES/EBU) ->Trinnov signal path, with network streaming directly into the Trinnov.

If there is no difference in SQ I can save myself a bundle .....
 
Last edited:

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing