EMM LABS DV2 INTEGRATED D/A CONVERTER
The DV2 builds on EMM Labs’ groundbreaking technology used in our flagship, multi-award-winning DA2 converter by integrating EMM’s high-resolution volume control system (VControl™) into our discrete, single-bit converter.
EMM Labs set a new standard for DAC sound quality with the ground-breaking multi-award-winning flagship DA2. Considered to be a ‘brother’ to the DA2, the DV2 simply adds an integrated high-resolution volume control system (VControl™) to create volume control functionality. Both DACs are considered benchmark products around the world and feature in reference audiophile systems.
VControl™ maintains the input signal without re-quantisation allowing for complete transparency at any volume setting, wide attenuation range, and no loss of audio resolution.
MDAC2™ is the world’s first fully discrete single-bit D-to-A converter with an internal conversion rate of 1024fs (16xDSD) and is completely free of inherent non-linearity that plagues every mass-market chip created to date. The EMM Labs MDAT2™ DSP has been refined and updated to synergistically work with their MDAC2™. The MDAT2™ DSP performs real-time transient detection in addition to processing and up-conversion of all incoming audio before being sent to the MDAC2™ for conversion.
The USB interface includes EMM’s proprietary hardware galvanic isolation. In combination with MFAST™, their high-speed asynchronous jitter removal technology and MCLK2™, their custom-built clock, jitter is completely removed from the conversion process.
The DV2 features a multitude of inputs and support for PCM up to 24bit/192kHz, DSD, 2xDSD, DXD, and for the first time in any EMM Labs product, MQA® via USB.
With its redesigned analogue and digital systems, integrated high-resolution volume control, discrete componentry, and user-friendly operation, the DV2 can be connected directly to the amplification stage in any high fidelity system with ease.
If you are looking for the very best sounding DAC available, there is no need to invest in stacks of boxes that will cost you 2-3 times this amount. You can approach it in two ways. The first way is to research the very latest converter technology and applications. Research the studies, the data from all of the experiments and the various measurements that lead the latest DAC designs. If you do, you will find Ed Meitner’s fingerprints everywhere and it will become apparent that EMM Labs are ahead of the curve.
Reviews
Soundstage Ultra, Aron Garrecht, 2020
I consider Ed Meitner to be one of the leading minds — if not the leading mind — in digital audio playback devices today. His DV2 D/A converter is the best-sounding DAC I’ve ever heard, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. In terms of life, warmth, fluidity, resolution, and realism, the DV2 has redefined what I thought possible from a fully digital product. It’s also built to some of the most exacting standards I’ve seen in the industry. While $30,000 is not cheap, when I consider what its price would have to be for its sound quality to be improved, it’s a steal. Read more.
Hi-Fi+, Alan Sircom, 2020
It’s tough to say this given the price tag, but what the EMM Labs DV2 represents is the least-expensive way into top-tier high-end audio. Its rivals aren’t those excellent players and DACs in the £20,000-£30,000 range; it’s a £50,000 DAC that forgot to uprate its price tag. And, as many current DACs go for a sound that seems ‘etched’ next to the EMM Labs, its rival group gets smaller year-on-year. The DV2 is more than just another clever DAC; it’s one of the easiest sounding digital devices you’ll ever hear. It should be on the shopping list of all high-enders! Read more.
Enjoy the Music, Phil Gold, 2019
Simply put, I cannot fault this DAC. It brings music to life in a way that defies belief. It is seamless, fully dimensional, with truly realistic sound colour, extremely high resolution and an extension of the bandwidth at both extremes. EMM Labs’ DV2 DAC is aimed at the audiophile who wants the closest approach to the music. It is astonishingly neutral and accurate across all the octaves, plus it throws a large stable image revealing layers of depth normally flattened by digital processors. Furthermore, it maintains the full colour of musical instruments and voices, and it is somehow very easy to listen to.
EMM Labs’ DV2 volume control enables me to remove the preamp from my system, to control the whole system from a single remote, and I am now enjoying the best sound I’ve ever had. Read more.
Read more information at emmlabs.com