New Audiolab DAC - Page 46

That's what I've been listening in the past a few nights. And I don't feel M-DAC's headphone out is lack of juice for T1, even compared w/ a powerful amp like V200. 

 

T1 has 600ohm impedance, but it's very sensitive (SPL is 102dB, in comparison the DT880 600ohm has a 96dB SPL). It's not as hard to drive as some would think, at least from my own experience it's not as hard to drive as the DT880/600ohm.  

anyone tried m-dac with hd600 and hd650? 

Can't comment myself on the T1s with the M-DAC since mine have been on loaner for a long time now, so I never really tried. Will do so when I get them back, but since I didn't like their sound signature even on tube amps which should be well-matched, I will really only be able to compare the relative merits... I know that with the FA002 LE, the difference was quite drastic, even just switching between high & low impedance on the amps I tried them with, but as somebody pointed out earlier, the T1s are more sensitive, thus easier to drive, and less likely to be impacted as much.

With my DT-880-600 Ohm's the volume is usually at -15 or so, with a lot to spare.

My D7000's are very easy to drive and I'm typically at around -30.

 

I have also listened to the W4's and DBA-02's and am usually in the -40's.

 

I'm really loving the M-DAC, especially with the different filters for the different HP's.

 

I know I'm not deaf as I have my hearing tested every year and get great results, but -30 seems awfully soft. On my T90's I normally listen anywhere between -15 to -10. With my COP's -20 to -15.

Only if I wanted soft back-round volume levels would I reduce by 10db.

I must admit my wife turns it down a bit. Either I like loud music or the test are lying.

 

We also may be dealing with differently 'normalized' source files.

 

Right now, with my D7k's on, listening to some Irish trad., I've got it at -35, and it's plenty loud for me.

 

Some CD's are so freakin' loud (brick-wall mastering), that I actually have to normalize them to a much lower volume so that I don't have to lower it into the -50's.

 

And... conversely... some recordings are pretty quiet. But most of my normal volume material is listened to in the -30's with the D7k, -15 or -17 with my 600-Ohm DT880's.

Latest developments from John improving the M-DAC:

http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showpost.php?p=1976560&postcount=969

 

Add in a lifetime warranty (excluding caps and such), sounds like a no-brainer to us Europeans.

 

M-DAC is a terrific machine as-is, I can't begin to imagine what it's after these mods by the designer himself.

Edited by daisangen - 4/12/13 at 1:46pm

 

Do you recall if he said somewhere that North American customers would not be able to take advantage of this? It seems like he did but I couldn't find it when checking after seeing your post.

I have become very interested in the M-dac. I plan to use it as a standalone Dac and pair it with a tube amp (Lafigaro 339) and He500. The tube amp has a warm tubish sound and I have heard that pairing these type of amps with sharp detailed dacs like the m-dac make good pairings. Anyone else have this pairing that could input their opinion? Much appreciated.

I run my WA6 with wonderful results on my T90, if that is any help.

For now with mdac / HD800 I feel between-10dB to 0dB, sound nice and detailed, I'm missing a bit 'of body and impact ...... looking for an amp in the future, but right now satisfied

I bought the m-dac yesterday. When I first plugged it in, it was distorting, bass was bloomy and everything sounded bad. Turned out to be a bad connection. Replug everything, and sorted. Initial impressions, I feel it has a very analogue sound especially comparing it to a dacmagic. It is very transparent, I found some interesting details about some of my songs. It is very smooth and musical.

Its currently on a continuous burn.

 

I don't know how efficient the HD800's are. I've heard them, like them, but have never owned them, and have not heard them on the M-Dac.

And while I'll admit to not listening to things too loudly... I am typing this with my Westone W4's in my ears, and the volume is at -42, and it's just fine.  Hahahaha! (but they are very efficient IEM's)

 

I couldn't ask for more power or dynamics.

the HD800 have 102db of efficiency .... I am a bit 'deaf and I like to listen to high volumes .... you give an example, I also have the denon d2000 and listen to them with the mdac between-15db and-7db I take them to 0db ..... if I break out the ears.

Since two weeks I am the proud owner of the M-DAC. I based my decision for a large part on the reactions here so thanks a lot for your contributions and information.

 

I'm very happy with the purchase. The sound is very detailed to my ears but at the same time very smooth (after running it in for 2 weeks). So far I have only used the USB input. Setting up foobar (WSAPI) was a breeze. As a result my first "bitperfect" test was successful right away. I use a Supra USB 2.0 cable for connection to my PC. I use Sennheiser HD-600 headpones.

 

On the day of purchase I brought my good old Sennheiser HD-600 to the hi-fi store for an audition and did a comparison against their Musical Fidelity M1 DAC. Some here have described the sound of the M-DAC as a little forward but to my ears this is not the case. I find the sound much more coherent and not harsh compared to the M1 DAC. The sound signature resembles my Rega Apollo. The M1 DAC sounded as if the loudness button was switched on. The bass was more defined but at the expense of a in my view harsh treble.

 

For some music I find the M-DAC's headphone amp missing bit of kick. Using the equalizer solves this but that kind of defeats the purpose. And with some music files the volume just doesn't get high enough. Therefore I'm looking at the Lehmann Rheinlander amp. Does anybody here perhaps have this combination?

 

I also have the relatively cheap Bravo audio Ocean tube headphone. This one doesn't gel well together with the M-DAC unless I active the internal pre-amp in the M-DAC and lower the volume significantly else I hear clear distortion. The sound with the tube amp has a bit more authority in the lower region. While some details are lost using this amp (I still need to replace the stock tubes) it surprises me that the sound signature is not that different from using the internal headphone amp.