Just thought i'll share some impressions of my recently acquired M-DAC. What a mission it was to get hold of one....
My system:
B&W 805s
Quad 99 pre and 2 x monoblock power amps
Quad cdp-2 cd player
Logitech Squeezebox touch
HP Microserver running VortexBox
Van den Hull / Audioquest cabling
Some test tracks include:
Dire Straits - The best of - Private Investigations
Jennifer Warnes - Famous blue raincoat - Bird on a wire
Shawn Mullins - Eggshells - Joshua
Jason Mraz - We sing, we dance, we steal things- I'm yours
Birdy - Birdy - Skinny Love
Mary Black - Circus - Roisin
John Mayer - Where the light is - Free falling
Sting - Fields of gold - It's probably me
Just to set the scene, I have been listening to hi-fi components for the better part of 20 years and during this period my hifi set has completely changed many times. You know the story, always looking for the holy grail as far as sound is concerned but never satisfied. My current setup has given me many hours of audio pleasure so far. Most of my listening these days are FLAC files, running the squeezebox's digital out directly into the coax input of my cdp-2 cd player. For those unfamiliar with the player, it has a built in digital pre-amp and external sources can use its 24/96 Crystal dac via digital / optical inputs. I have also listened extensively to music through the squeezebox's own dac, comparing it to that of the Quad.
Before I get to the M-DAC just some thoughts on the sound of the system. I love the B&W's, they make wonderful music that belly there size and I am very happy with them in my 4x3m listening room. They pair very well with 150wpc Quad monoblocks and there is certainly never a lack of power. The cdp-2 is blessed with what i consider to be a warm sounding dac. Voices sound rich and the soundstage is generous. It somehow just lacks a little get-up-and-go and paints over some of the very fine details. I have managed to remedy this to some extend by changing some filter settings on the pre-amp. My biggest issue is the lack of bass power, although bass is well defined it just lacks kick. The squeezebox dac is a different animal altogether. To my ears it is quite harsh sounding introducing sibilance to female vocals and generally being quite a fatiguing listen. Base is tighter than the Quad but the soundstage is a lot smaller. Most of my listening is therefore done through the Quad cdp-2 dac. The tracks above are played on a daily basis and I know them intimately.
Enters the M-DAC, I have the black version and the build quality is excellent. Fresh from the box and the first notes from the system with the brand new device introduced indicated good things to come. My first impression related to the sound of the soundstage. My goodness, it is ABSOLUTELY HUGE, not just vertically but height and depth as well. The walls of my listening room disappeared and so did the ceiling. Voices retained the Quad's warmth but the size thereof increased exponentially. Bassnotes were now huge making the B&W's sound like floorstanders but remained tight turning my favourite drum sequence in Private Investigations into audiogasm. Treble is very detailed but certainly not hard or harsh. I hate the "electronic" sound that is often par for course when listening to digital sources and I am glad to report that Mary Black sings without any pronounced s' :clap:
My word, how this little device has changed the sound of my system. This must be the hifi bargain of the century .....
I'm in the northern subs of the Cape. Your are very welcome to pop around for a listen.
My system:
B&W 805s
Quad 99 pre and 2 x monoblock power amps
Quad cdp-2 cd player
Logitech Squeezebox touch
HP Microserver running VortexBox
Van den Hull / Audioquest cabling
Some test tracks include:
Dire Straits - The best of - Private Investigations
Jennifer Warnes - Famous blue raincoat - Bird on a wire
Shawn Mullins - Eggshells - Joshua
Jason Mraz - We sing, we dance, we steal things- I'm yours
Birdy - Birdy - Skinny Love
Mary Black - Circus - Roisin
John Mayer - Where the light is - Free falling
Sting - Fields of gold - It's probably me
Just to set the scene, I have been listening to hi-fi components for the better part of 20 years and during this period my hifi set has completely changed many times. You know the story, always looking for the holy grail as far as sound is concerned but never satisfied. My current setup has given me many hours of audio pleasure so far. Most of my listening these days are FLAC files, running the squeezebox's digital out directly into the coax input of my cdp-2 cd player. For those unfamiliar with the player, it has a built in digital pre-amp and external sources can use its 24/96 Crystal dac via digital / optical inputs. I have also listened extensively to music through the squeezebox's own dac, comparing it to that of the Quad.
Before I get to the M-DAC just some thoughts on the sound of the system. I love the B&W's, they make wonderful music that belly there size and I am very happy with them in my 4x3m listening room. They pair very well with 150wpc Quad monoblocks and there is certainly never a lack of power. The cdp-2 is blessed with what i consider to be a warm sounding dac. Voices sound rich and the soundstage is generous. It somehow just lacks a little get-up-and-go and paints over some of the very fine details. I have managed to remedy this to some extend by changing some filter settings on the pre-amp. My biggest issue is the lack of bass power, although bass is well defined it just lacks kick. The squeezebox dac is a different animal altogether. To my ears it is quite harsh sounding introducing sibilance to female vocals and generally being quite a fatiguing listen. Base is tighter than the Quad but the soundstage is a lot smaller. Most of my listening is therefore done through the Quad cdp-2 dac. The tracks above are played on a daily basis and I know them intimately.
Enters the M-DAC, I have the black version and the build quality is excellent. Fresh from the box and the first notes from the system with the brand new device introduced indicated good things to come. My first impression related to the sound of the soundstage. My goodness, it is ABSOLUTELY HUGE, not just vertically but height and depth as well. The walls of my listening room disappeared and so did the ceiling. Voices retained the Quad's warmth but the size thereof increased exponentially. Bassnotes were now huge making the B&W's sound like floorstanders but remained tight turning my favourite drum sequence in Private Investigations into audiogasm. Treble is very detailed but certainly not hard or harsh. I hate the "electronic" sound that is often par for course when listening to digital sources and I am glad to report that Mary Black sings without any pronounced s' :clap:
My word, how this little device has changed the sound of my system. This must be the hifi bargain of the century .....
I'm in the northern subs of the Cape. Your are very welcome to pop around for a listen.
