In his April 2025 review on SoundStage! Ultra, Phil Gold discusses the EMM Labs DV2i, a high-end streaming DAC-preamplifier priced at $35,000 (all prices in USD). The DV2i, by integrating network streaming capability with advanced digital-to-analog conversion, marks an evolutionary step from its predecessors, the DV2 and the DV2 V2 (Phil’s reference DAC at the time), which lack this capability.
The DV2i incorporates several proprietary technologies that work synergistically to produce an outstanding performance: MDAC2, single-bit dual-differential DACs operating at 16×DSD (i.e., DSD1024); MDAT2, a DSP engine that processes audio in real-time, performing transient detection, upsampling, and filtering; and MCLK3, an asynchronous clock located strategically next to the MDAC2 circuits to ensure clocking precision.
Also included is the proprietary VControl digital volume control, originally developed for the DV2, which maintains resolution even at low volume levels. As our measurements of the DV2i reveal, this volume control provides 100 steps in increments of 2dB, 1dB, and 0.5dB, depending on the volume level. The DV2i features an improved switch-mode power supply compared to that in the DV2 as well as a new class-A analog output stage, which builds on the work EMM has done on power amplifiers. Both single-ended (RCA) and balanced (XLR) outputs are available.
The DV2i supports high-resolution formats, including DSD, 2xDSD, DXD, and MQA, and integrates with streaming protocols, such as Roon, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, and UPnP. The mConnect app, which EMM recommends for use with the DV2i, adds support for Qobuz, Deezer, and vTuner. Digital inputs include coaxial (RCA) and optical (TosLink) S/PDIF, AES-EBU (XLR), network (RJ45), USB Type-B, and Optilink, a proprietary optical interface. USB-based storage can be accessed via a Type-A connector.
In Phil’s audition, the DV2i was driving a Solution 511 stereo power amplifier ($39,975), which, in turn, was driving a pair of YG Acoustics Hailey 2.2 loudspeakers ($55,800/pair). To gain a more complete picture of the DV2i’s performance, Phil also tested it with a pair of Audiovector Trapeze Reimagined loudspeakers ($19,950/pair). Cables were all from Nordost.
For his critical listening, Phil selected several challenging tracks from his customary diverse playlist of mainly acoustic instrumental music. He was immediately impressed: “Within seconds of playing my first music selection, one word flashed in my mind: amazing. What I heard was concert-hall sound, particularly with percussion, brass, piano, violins, and plucked bass. And this impression only strengthened in subsequent listening sessions.” He was especially impressed by the bass, noting that the bass lines in “My Baby Just Cares for Me” from Girl Talk by the Holly Cole Trio and in “Fables of Faubus” from Charles Mingus’s Mingus Ah Um “emerged tight and well resolved, with the kind of definition you would expect in a midrange, not in the bass.” He adds: “The fine percussion detail and rich saxophone harmonics on Sonny Rollins’s “St. Thomas,” from his Saxophone Colossus (SACD, Analog Productions CAJP 7079SA), were extraordinary.”
Neither these nor subsequent tracks revealed any inherent shortcomings or fundamental limitations in the DV2i, Phil reports. What they did reveal was the true quality of recordings, and with hi-rez recordings the DV2i really shined, he writes, elaborating with a few tracks that made a particularly strong impression on him:
Among the many recordings I played were Jordi Savall’s 2023 period-instruments recording of Mozart’s Requiem with Le Concert des Nations (24/88.2 FLAC, Alia Vox / Qobuz), the Holly Cole Trio’s hugely atmospheric Don’t Smoke in Bed (SACD, Analog Productions CAPP 049), and Beethoven’s Piano Trio No. 10, played by the Weiss Kaplan Stumpf Trio on their 2023 album Beethoven: Complete Piano Trios (24/96 FLAC, Bridge Records / Qobuz). The Beethoven recording, in particular, was rendered with such precise imaging, full dynamics, and rich instrumental tone it was easy to imagine the three musicians in the room with me.
The DV2i pulled me into the music completely. I lost track of time and found myself compelled to replay tracks just to experience them again. That’s the hallmark of a component that is truly special.
In his conclusion, Phil recommends the DV2i for “anyone blessed with deep pockets who possesses a quality system and a desire for the closest thing to a live concert-hall sound right at home.” His enthusiastic endorsement of the DV2i in his review earned this DAC a Reviewers’ Choice award at the time it was published. The ultimate endorsement came shortly after when he decided to purchase the DV2i as his new reference DAC. And with such endorsements, the DV2i naturally qualifies for this month’s Recommended Reference Component award.
Manufacturer contact information:
EMM Labs
5065 13 St. SE
Calgary, Alberta T2G 5M8
Canada
Phone: (604) 761-2593
Email: info@emmlabs.com
Website: www.emmlabs.com
