Those of us who have these superb machines know how good they truly are. Genesis, I agree that they keep getting better. I'm probably at around 1000-1500 hrs and it keeps getting better, more resolving, more timbral accuracy, instrument and vocal location, etc.
Emm labs DA2 v2 upgrade
- Thread starter awsmone
- Start date
The improvements are quite subtle. The first break in milestone is around 1000-1200 hours then it stabilizes for a while. Then again the last milestone is around 4000+ hours and I believe that’s it. We are not talking highs and lows. It’s more the integration of the sonic picture, a rightness of the tone and also an absolute ease in the musical presentation. This will make the DA2i a world class DAC rather than an excellent one.
And I’ve always stressed….im an analog guy to start with and could never listen to digital music. This has turned the tables for digital.
Hi Guys, the following is a review of the DA2i (Audiotechnique, March 2025, No. 522) The reviewer Liang Jinhui is spot-on when he writes:
"Among the myriad genres of music, an excellent DAC must reproduce classical music realistically and naturally. Simply producing beautiful vocals and violins isn't enough. Many DAC designers know how to tune their equipment to be exceptionally pleasing to the ear, especially for vocals and violins. However, this kind of voicing has resulted in a loss of the original sound. For many audiophiles, this might not be a major issue, but for 'hardcore' classical music lovers like myself, who are frequently exposed to the sound of real instruments, especially pianos and orchestras, the artificially enhanced sounds feels particularly jarring. Listening to the DA2i this time, while it possesses a rich analog quality, the sound still maintains its realism and naturalness. When I played Alice Sara Ott's John Field Complete Nocturnes, the DA2i piano sound was extremely textured. The dynamics and timbre were clearly expressed, making the entire piano sound come alive and feel almost tangible. Perhaps this is the power of DSD 1024! Another strength of the DA2i is its ability to reproduced large-scale orchestral recordings. When the recording is of high quality, the DA2i delivers a balanced sound just like a live performance, with clear positioning of each section, a wide and deep soundstage and a remarkably 3D-like image. I found a recording of Dvorak's Sixth Symphony on TIDAL, performed by Jaime Martin and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. I particularly loved the last movement of this symphony because it was so vibrant; the rich blend of strings, woodwinds and brass instruments perfectly showcased the DA2i's ability to reproduce the realism of different instruments. The DA2i value lies not only in its clear imaging and expansive soundstage, but also in the incredibly realistic reproduction of the timbre of different instruments. In other words, this recording further proves that the DA2i doesn't rely on artificial timbre to attract listeners, but rather on accurately reproducing the original recording's timbre without any alteration. .... This time round, the EMM Labs DA2i left a very deep impression on me. When I first got it, it already sounded great. However, I kept it constantly running and the sound quality improved day by day. By the time this article was almost finished, its sound quality was among the best I'd experienced from decoders in the past five years. When compared to other streamers, it was even one of the top three I'd heard. ... Playing high-quality, high-definition music files, the sound is incredibly realistic."
"Among the myriad genres of music, an excellent DAC must reproduce classical music realistically and naturally. Simply producing beautiful vocals and violins isn't enough. Many DAC designers know how to tune their equipment to be exceptionally pleasing to the ear, especially for vocals and violins. However, this kind of voicing has resulted in a loss of the original sound. For many audiophiles, this might not be a major issue, but for 'hardcore' classical music lovers like myself, who are frequently exposed to the sound of real instruments, especially pianos and orchestras, the artificially enhanced sounds feels particularly jarring. Listening to the DA2i this time, while it possesses a rich analog quality, the sound still maintains its realism and naturalness. When I played Alice Sara Ott's John Field Complete Nocturnes, the DA2i piano sound was extremely textured. The dynamics and timbre were clearly expressed, making the entire piano sound come alive and feel almost tangible. Perhaps this is the power of DSD 1024! Another strength of the DA2i is its ability to reproduced large-scale orchestral recordings. When the recording is of high quality, the DA2i delivers a balanced sound just like a live performance, with clear positioning of each section, a wide and deep soundstage and a remarkably 3D-like image. I found a recording of Dvorak's Sixth Symphony on TIDAL, performed by Jaime Martin and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. I particularly loved the last movement of this symphony because it was so vibrant; the rich blend of strings, woodwinds and brass instruments perfectly showcased the DA2i's ability to reproduce the realism of different instruments. The DA2i value lies not only in its clear imaging and expansive soundstage, but also in the incredibly realistic reproduction of the timbre of different instruments. In other words, this recording further proves that the DA2i doesn't rely on artificial timbre to attract listeners, but rather on accurately reproducing the original recording's timbre without any alteration. .... This time round, the EMM Labs DA2i left a very deep impression on me. When I first got it, it already sounded great. However, I kept it constantly running and the sound quality improved day by day. By the time this article was almost finished, its sound quality was among the best I'd experienced from decoders in the past five years. When compared to other streamers, it was even one of the top three I'd heard. ... Playing high-quality, high-definition music files, the sound is incredibly realistic."
Hi Guys,
Jason Victor Serinus (Stereophiles Oct 29, 2025 - Warsaw Premieres and Triumphs) writes: "In my opinion, EMM Labs amplifiers are a sleeper pot of gold at the end of the audiophile rainbow. EMM's achievement in the amplification department is mighty and solid. A sure pairing with Magico S5 loudspeakers, EMM's DA2i DAC, TXi transport, PRE preamp, and MTRX2 V2 monoblock amplifiers sounded fabulous on "Duende" from the CD Black Light Syndrome by Bozzio Levin Stevens. Air was surprisingly excellent for CD, and midrange beauty, color, control, and speed were fabulous. I didn't expect CD to top high-rez streaming, but through the room's Pink Faun music server using Roon, it did. Look for forthcoming full length reviews of the EMM preamp and monoblocks, separately and combined.
Jason Victor Serinus (Stereophiles Oct 29, 2025 - Warsaw Premieres and Triumphs) writes: "In my opinion, EMM Labs amplifiers are a sleeper pot of gold at the end of the audiophile rainbow. EMM's achievement in the amplification department is mighty and solid. A sure pairing with Magico S5 loudspeakers, EMM's DA2i DAC, TXi transport, PRE preamp, and MTRX2 V2 monoblock amplifiers sounded fabulous on "Duende" from the CD Black Light Syndrome by Bozzio Levin Stevens. Air was surprisingly excellent for CD, and midrange beauty, color, control, and speed were fabulous. I didn't expect CD to top high-rez streaming, but through the room's Pink Faun music server using Roon, it did. Look for forthcoming full length reviews of the EMM preamp and monoblocks, separately and combined.
Hi Guys, I just want to share what the reviewer Liang Jinhui said about the musicality of the DA2i:
"It doesn't blindly pursue 'accurate' reproduction at the expense of the music's inherent beauty, nor does it sacrifice musicality for the sake of enhanced analytical power. In other words, the DA2i expresses the beauty of music by naturally capturing musical details and conveying musical content with a smooth timbre. It doesn't create the illusion of high analytical power with bright high frequencies, nor does it smooth out or round off the edges of digital sound with a sweet and rich timbre. Instead, it expresses the music in the most direct way, like 'viewing' the audio visual image through a highly transparent, colorless glass. Whether the recording is good or bad, the DA2i is like a 'high-definition' mirror that reveals everything!" (Audiotechnique, March 2025, No. 522)
"It doesn't blindly pursue 'accurate' reproduction at the expense of the music's inherent beauty, nor does it sacrifice musicality for the sake of enhanced analytical power. In other words, the DA2i expresses the beauty of music by naturally capturing musical details and conveying musical content with a smooth timbre. It doesn't create the illusion of high analytical power with bright high frequencies, nor does it smooth out or round off the edges of digital sound with a sweet and rich timbre. Instead, it expresses the music in the most direct way, like 'viewing' the audio visual image through a highly transparent, colorless glass. Whether the recording is good or bad, the DA2i is like a 'high-definition' mirror that reveals everything!" (Audiotechnique, March 2025, No. 522)
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