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Last month I bought a used Emotiva Big Ego DAC for my son to replace his original AQ Dragonfly DAC. I am pleasantly surprised at how good this usb DAC sounds. It plays hi-rez up to 384khz and it sounds amazingly good. The sound leans on the warmer side of neutral and it is very smooth and musical. It is very analog sounding and has good texture and depth. It has good bass and treble is clean with good air without sibilants. It is also built like a tank. My son is using it in his 2ch system with my hand me down Parasound A21 amp and Pass B1 preamp/buffer. Cables are an AQ Cinnamon usb and an AQ Golden Gate mini RCA to RCA IC. It also sounds great with his headphones.
He added his AQ Jitterbug and it took the DAC to another level of refinement with more detail and a blacker background. The JB really gives the DAC a high end sound.
I tried it in my main rig to see how it compares to my Luxman DAC. Interestingly it has the same general tone and sound (smooth, warm and analog sounding) but it lacks the detail, air and transparency of the Luxman. I just bought another Big Ego for myself to use in a bedroom system.
For $219 new, the DAC is a great buy.
He added his AQ Jitterbug and it took the DAC to another level of refinement with more detail and a blacker background. The JB really gives the DAC a high end sound.
I tried it in my main rig to see how it compares to my Luxman DAC. Interestingly it has the same general tone and sound (smooth, warm and analog sounding) but it lacks the detail, air and transparency of the Luxman. I just bought another Big Ego for myself to use in a bedroom system.
For $219 new, the DAC is a great buy.
