Emotiva XDA-1 DAC?

I was an early adaptor and ended up sending it back after 2 weeks

The XDA has a very rich feature set for the money but I found it was lacking compared to the competition in that price range. I have a very revealing setup, and with that being said I found the highs where rolled off and the bass was overly boomy. My Monica2 (NOS) DAC fit nicely in that price range and out performed it all around. While the Monica2 doesn’t go as low as the XDA, it doesn’t make things sound like mud either. Monica also had better control of the high-end, and was far more musical.

The XDA is OK but you can do a lot better.

I also had owned an XDA-1 and had return it dissatisfied. The volume control was an issue but apparently has been addressed since but sound quality isn't anything to write about.

Just as Ts0711 wrote, the bass is bloated and doesn't show much pitch or definition. The midbass and midrange dynamics while is an improvement over the Mac Mini, falls quite short of my Marantz SA-11S1. The treble range recessed and doesn't take any air or space of any kind.

Is it worth its dollar? Well, yes. It does improve the sound compared to my Mac Mini analog. It can not on the other hand be considered a high end killer. I didn't keep it as I knew it wouldn't meet my expectations in the long term.

I use the BB OPA2134 as a headphone amp.
For this use, a little 'opamp rolling' may yield benefits.

As it stands, would the DacMagic for maybe a 'c' note more, be an improvement?

FWIW, tried the XDA-1 but eventually settled on the Eastern Electric Minimax which was markedly better. Thanks all for you input!

After a whole month of break in, I spent the past 2 days listening to digital music and am pleasantly surprised to find no "digital harshness", just music... Been listening to Pandora Music thru a Sony PS3 to my new XDA-1 via optical link, connected unbalanced to my amp, PS Audio Hca-2, driving Ambience Superslim 1800SE... At initial set up the sound was promising but a bit harsh and the mid's sounded metallic... 200 hrs of break in later the sound became more musical and the midrange less harsh but there was still a metallic edge to it... Now, am just enjoying the music and am truly happy at how the XDA-1 delivers the goods. No harshness, no digital glare, great sound and good music... WOO HOOO....