As general rule of thumb, I try not to review equipment from manufacturers of products that I personally own as it can lend an air of bias on my part. I’m just letting you know up front that I own a UMC-1 pre/pro and three amplifiers from Emotiva. I find their products to perform very well and are true bargains in the A/V world. The reason I allowed myself to indulge in this review of their XDA-1 was because I have never used an outboard DAC and felt I could review it without (too much) prejudice. I’ll admit, most of the audio shows I have attended that display fancy outboard DACs have usually left me thinking, “That’s nice, but why would I need one of those?” Hopefully, this review will help answer that question.