Emm labs DAC2x v2 or Meitner MA3i or ?


If anyone has a first-hand experience with the two (or another contender), could you please share your takeaways. Let's ignore for a moment that one unit doesn't have a built-in streamer and assume a reasonable streamer pairing. Thanks!

rays19

Showing 2 responses by v-fi

I've heard both and have a slight preference for the Meitner. Even though it is the "lower" of the two in terms of original positioning. To my ears the Meitner sounded a little more natural and organic. They are both excellent though.

@rays19 I heard both at the home of a friend who uses a slightly older middle of the range Antipodes server which feeds a Berkeley Alpha USB series 2 USB to SPDIF converter, then out to the DAC using AES/EBU cable. Not the most current server but still quite good, and should be enough to make the most of each DAC. 

Now that I think about it, the results may vary based on using USB or AES or other input type. But from the scenario I heard, the Meitner was superior. This was all using PCM though, no comment on DSD.