preamp to warm up my airport express?

NOOOOO!!

 

It would be interesting for A/B comparisons, I suppose. Flexibility is always a plus, but I'm with you. I wonder why they put that functionality in there?

 

There seems to be a joke/sales ploy I've heard at different audio gear stores. Maybe it's been around for years, but I only became aware of it recently. It goes something like this:

"I took [new gear that I'm telling you about now] home and hooked it up to my system. My wife/SO who usually is unimpressed with my audio hobby actually say down and wanted to listen to LPs/CDs/SACDs. She was really into it". The first time I heard it, I thought he was telling the truth. After about the third time I heard the exact same anecdote, I knew it had to be some kind of inside joke.

 

Do you know that for sure? I guess I'd want to heat the company pronounce it. Given the spelling I would pronounce it like "sheet". Of course, in polite company (more or less) I have heard people say, "It still sounds like sheet."

 

Tubes fail. I think it's an awesome "Plan B".

 

From the company's FAQ:

 

Except that it is a fairly common tale to hear told! (Not from me though. My wife's been telling me my gear sounds "really good" since we were first married in 1986. I swear she's never commented about thousands upon thousands of dollars in multiple upgrades. Maybe it's all in my head…? Confirmation bias and all that? )

 

OK, thanks. Nothing like self-deprecating humor.

 

I know, I know. I felt kinda dirty even posting it. But, in this case it's 100% honest.

 

Ah, that makes perfect sense. Would have never thought of that.

 

At least you went with "deprecating", considering the hard to pass up option...

 

I have a Rotel RSX 1065 from 2002 B&W CM4 speakers Which Emotiva DAC did you get?

 

The XDA-2.

http://shop.emotiva.com/products/xda2

I'd wager with your clean CM-4's you'd likely hear a significant difference from a 12 y.o. receiver. And Emotiva has either a 30 or 60 day return policy. Shipping to you is free, but can't recall whether they pay return shipping or not.

But, I honestly don't think you can go wrong with any of the DAC's in this price range.

 

Your setup is quite similar to mine - the only thing I'd note is that the Airport Express tops out at 16/44, so you don't need a DAC that handles higher resolution than that. I connect my Airport Express to a PS Audio DLIII (also limited to 16/44) and it sounds terrific.

 

I'm extremely intrigued by this. I've yet to read a bad review for this unit, and I'm wondering how it would sound with vinyl playback.

 

I'd have to assume it would sound pretty good. Definitely would have to be one of the cheapest tubed preamps you'll ever get your hands on.

 

Having had both the Emotiva (XDA-1) and the Bifrost (both uber and non uber) I would vote for the Schiit every time. Although I do miss the remote volume control as my pre amp does not have a remote, the sound from the Schiit is better. Adding the Uber analog stage was again a evident step up.

When you add the fact that the Schiit is modular and easy as pie to upgrade, it's really no contest.

Now, Emotiva amps are much better than their DAC, miles better. I have 4 and they run cool, quiet, and deliver in spades. Check their Emporium on their community forum, lots of good sales in there, lots of XDA's as well.

 

Makes sense. The Bifrost is a bit pricier, so the improved performance doesn't surprise me.

Though I do wonder what the difference in sound quality is between the XDA-1 and XDA-2. I've no experience with the 1.

 

I didn't realize the Emo was that much cheaper....hadn't looked in some time. Hard to argue with the performance at that price. They are well built stuff for shure

 

I sure think so.

 

I may pull the trigger on this over the summer. I was thinking about using the tube output soley for music listening and the solid state for TV and movies.