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Article: EMM Labs DV2 DAC Review


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1 hour ago, ted_b said:

Chris,

Thanks for this review.  I loved my MA-1 for years.  And as you know I love DSD implementations.  :)

 

Question:  do you have any fave or well-learned recordings in both DSD and PCM and compared them into the DV2?  IOW, how well does the DV2 internally upsample PCM to 16xDSD vs great PCM dacs you've had?  Do the DSD recordings win over their PCM counterparts (realize this is oversimplified cuz there are VERY few samples of native PCM and natve DSD coming from same recording/mastering..maybe analog tape to digital is bigger pool)?  The Norah Jones DSD and PCM boxsets are a good example, as they use different mastering engineers but get to a similar place.  My Holo dac sounded better with the PCM set at 384 than even the DSD at DSD512.  First world hair splitting I know.  :)


Hey Ted,

 

We can’t thank you enough for the long-lasting support. We’re very happy to hear you’re enjoying the MA1 V2. If there’s ever anything we can help you with, please don’t hesitate to let us know. 
 

All the best.

 

-Ed & the EMM Labs team. 

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34 minutes ago, Andy Yuen said:

Thank you Andy!

 

-Ed

 

Hi Ed.

 

I didn't notice your post to me until now. I really appreciate that little note! Thank you! By the way, I am still enjoying your creation, the DA2. The honeymoon period is not over yet! 


We are very happy to hear that Andy! We’re very proud of the DA2‘s performance. It may get even better soon 😉 

 

Wishing you the very best. Let us know if we can help you with anything.
 

-Ed & the EMM Labs team

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13 hours ago, Andy Yuen said:

 

Hi Ed.

 

You should rightly be proud of the DA2's performance. I am. For example, I love to play certain SACDs to friends who came to listen to my sound system, and watch their reaction! I am referring to SACDs like the RCA Living Stereo SACD Brass & Percussion Morton Gould, tract 2 - Gould: Parade (for percussion) and harmonia mundi usa Tarik O'Regan Acallam na Senorach: an Irish Colloquy, National Chamber Choir of Ireland, Steward French, guitar, Paul Hillier, conductor, tract 1 - Prologue to Part One. These recordings sounded like the real thing on my sound system, which consists of  EMM Labs SACD transport, DA2, EMM Labs Pre, Constellation Audio Centaur, Magico M2, Magico Q-Sub 15, Ansuz Diamond cables, Ansuz DTC resonance control footers under all equipment, and Critical Mass System Maxxum rack and amp. stands.

 

I look forward to the up-coming upgrades to my DA2! Let me know when it is ready. Thank you.


Thank you Andy. Sounds like a fantastic system you have. Thank you for sharing it with the people around you and spreading the good word. 
 

We will keep everyone updated via our website and social media of course, and I’ll send you a DM when more news is announced. 
 

All the best,

 

-Ed & EMM Labs

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On 1/28/2020 at 5:40 PM, shp said:

When I saw the headline on the home page I immediately thought to myself, "I wonder which is better: EMM, TotalDAC, DCS, or Berkeley."  (I'll never be able to hear any of them.)

 

You answered it in the first line.

 

When I sold hi-fi in the 80's, I tried to bring in Meitner.  I've always loved his stuff.

 

 

 

Thank you for the nice words 🙏🏼

 

If there is ever anything we can help you with, like hearing the DV2 for yourself, please don't hesitate to let us know.

 

-EMM Labs

 

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On 1/29/2020 at 9:08 AM, Jud said:

Wondering about the volume control. In possibly misunderstanding the review I thought it was described as being done to the bitstream in DSD format, but I didn't think that was possible. Curious to know more, though of course if it's proprietary it's proprietary.

 

Hi Jud, 

 

Thanks for your question. There are some things that we can reveal, and some we cannot.

 

The DV2 Volume Control, or more broadly, our DAC audio level control method for PCM (multi-bit audio), never changes or attenuates the original input signal. Therefore, we do not create re-quantization errors, even at lowest volume settings. The resolution of the original signal is always maintained. Audio level changes are done much keeping in the DAC's signal chain, and this process is coupled with our single-bit conversion system.

 

The DSD signals have their own, separate signal path, and their handling is still different.

 

We hope that this helps 😊

 

-Mariusz Pawlicki & Amadeus Meitner of EMM Labs

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13 minutes ago, matthias said:

@EMM Labs

Will EMM Labs be exhibitor at HIGH END Munich this year?

Thanks

 

Matt

 

Hi Matt,

 

We wouldn't miss it. High End Munich is one of our favourite events of the year as its a chance to catch up with customers, distributors and music lovers from all over the world at a fantastic show. It's fitting that Munich is where Ed Meitner, our founder, was born as well! We will be exhibiting in the F wing at the MOC alongside fantastic partners.

 

We may also have a product release ready for Munich this year... Stay tuned 😉

 

See you there!

 

-Amadeus Meitner & EMM Labs

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  • 3 weeks later...
2 hours ago, Pale Rider said:

Chris's review is timely. I just this past week placed an order for Rossini+Clock, but the comments about internal-vs.-external clocking got me to thinking and researching. So, I'm getting a demo of the DV2 scheduled for next month.


Hi Pale Rider, 

 

We are humbled to hear that you have decided to audition the DV2. We believe that you will be very happy with the performance and functionality :) please let us know directly if you have any questions during the audition period, we are happy to help!

 

1 hour ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Great to read you will have a chance to compare the two solutions. Different solutions to the same playback issues, and different sound qualities. 

 

A good person to talk to is @miguelito. He had EMM and switched to a Rossini + Clock. It was the right move for him. Perhaps his reasoning may help you decide one way or the other. 

 

Although we would encourage you to talk to Miguelito we do not believe this to be a valid comparison as Miguelito had the XDS1V2, now over 6 years old, which is now upgradable to V3 architecture, whereas the DV2 is our latest flagship DAC. A lot has changed since the days of the XDS1. We still regard it as a fantastic product and customers still revere them, especially with the V3 upgrade, but the advancements in both the digital and analog domain cannot be understated.

 

1 hour ago, Pale Rider said:

Thanks Chris. I have reached out to him. In the meantime, I have another question or two of EMM or anyone with experience. I am a network audio guy, and generally don't care for USB solutions, but I'll follow the best SQ wherever it leads. Right now, I have a Roon Nucleus+ feeding my various systems. The EMM DV2 does not of course have a direct network input, and I noticed you solved this aspect with a Sonore Rendu Optical. Makes sense. I plan to test an EMM NS1. Any thoughts on whether to use the NS1 with direct access to my NAS using mConnect [ugh, my last experienced with mConnect was really awful], or just to use the Necleus+ and the NS1 [two "streamers"?]. Second involves MQA, and I don't want to start anything here, but I thought I would ask about this note in the NS1 manual and whether it will change in the near future: "

  1. *When playing MQA® through the NS1 coupled with MQA®-enabled DAC, the NS1 will output MQA® Core decoded signal. The MQA®-enabled DAC will display the original sample rate of the MQA® stream. In case of the DV2 DAC, the Optilink input currently cannot fully render MQA® streams beyond the Core decoding of 24bit, 96kHz.


The NS1 is a great complement to the DV2 working flawlessly as a Roon-ready endpoint. We have yet to try the Sonore line of products ourselves but we have a lot of trust in Chris’ evaluation. Roon is the standard that we recommend when using the NS1 connected via EMM Link. That said, whatever input you choose to use on the DV2 is entirely up to you. The USB input is the most versatile with DSD128, DXD and MQA support, it is also galvanically isolated. All other inputs support 44.1-192kHz and DSD64. The NS1 sends MQA Core decoded signal but as you pointed out, the DV2 currently supports full rendering of MQA over USB only. If you look at the history of upgrades available for our products, like the DA2 V2 upgrade that was recently announced (https://www.emmlabs.com/da2v2.php), I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of full MQA rendering on all inputs in addition to some other goodies in the future. This is a part of our ethos at EMM to never have a “closed box” product.

 

Please let us know if we can help you any further :)

 

-Amadeus Meitner & EMM Labs

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