[HPiper]

Just talking about sound quality of the two dacs here. Has anybody had a chance to compare these two. After looking at stuff a long time I think it has come down to one of these. I saw some posts on the DC-1 forum but I am thinking those people may be a bit biased. Stat and feature wise the DC-1 is the clear winner but stats never tell the whole story with audio equipment.

 

[boatheelmusic]

Fwiw, the DC1 is more comparable to at least the Gungnir//Mjolnir combination.

 

[Mingus Ah Um]

I was hoping for a few more replies to this thread as I'm trying to make the same decision.  I think in the end a lot of it comes down to whether or not you need all of the additional connections the DC-1 offers.  However, I am curious to know if anyone has had a chance to hear these two DAC's side by side and compare the sound.

 

[wnmnkh]

Somewhere in this forum, there was comparison between Gungnir and DC-1 via blind test, and they could not tell difference.

You really shouldn't hear difference between DAC anyway.

 

[musicinmymind]

I have UberBifrost and had Emo DC-1 for a while, the main difference I noticed was the bass impact, bifrost had a more detailed low range; while the highs were more clear and precise. 
 
The difference is very small though, you need to switch between these DAC many a times to notice the difference. DC-1 is smooth and both are winners, they are good DAC in price range.
 
 
google "emotiva dc-1 vs schiit" you will more comparison, not sure I would be allowed to link them here.

 

[BrainFood]

Somewhere in this forum, there was comparison between Gungnir and DC-1 via blind test, and they could not tell difference.

You really shouldn't hear difference between DAC anyway.

 
I agree with that.  There was that big dac recent thread where it was found some of the dacs, including the DC-1, were virtually indistinguishable from each other.
 
The killer feature of the DC-1 for me, being primarily a speakers user, is that is has an analogue preamp, and great value at $500.  The main thing putting me off is its C-media driver cannot be used with JPLAY because it doesn't support Kernal Streaming, which I use.  Seems like a no-go for JPLAY and Audiophile Optimiser users.
 
I also have reservations about whether the DC-1 will sound slightly on the 'polite' side, but that's just from a couple or comments I've noticed.

 

[HPiper]

I ended up with the Uber Bifrost, as was already mentioned, mostly because the bass is just tighter and more detailed. Someday I would like to get a DC-1 as well, I love the display and the fact you can run RCA or Balanced out of it. Much more versatile unit than the Bifrost. Plus it has those headphone outputs built in. I didn't get to listen to them in the store very long but they didn't sound terrible. Might even sound pretty good with the right phones.