Did you get both???
Man that's awesome! And yes, firmwares are compatible with all versions of the M1 and M1Pro!
Also, buddy, give it time to open up, takes about 120-150 hours to really start to shine, and past 200 to really stabilise. The sound opens up, transparency, staging all improves noticeably.
What are the differ between the two? I'm seriously considering ordering one.
I did actually mention the differences between the 4 models, I'll just do a quick recap here.
M1 Analog: This version is extremely thick, syrupy and rich. The sound they're going for here is extreme musicality.
M1 Vitality: This version goes for clarity, details, as well as a nice open soundstage. The aim is for a vibrant and lively sound.
Now according to the chief designer at soundaware, both the M1 versions, while very good, arent the most natural. The analog is very warm and rich, and the Vitality presents detail in a slightly unnatural way, very accentuated. Of course, This is not to say that they are bad, because they definitely are not. Instead, they are made to cater to different tastes. The Analog is meant for older recordings, the classics, while the vitality is targeted at younger listeners with more modern, mainstream music.
M1Pro: The M1Pro is actually the M1 Analog with femto clocks. It is still lush and musical, albeit much more accurate than the analog, much less coloured. It is still, however, smooth and has a richness. Technically, however, the femtos actually make a big difference, bringing the resolution and soundstaging up to the level of the vitality's
M1Pro Studio Edition: This is the M1 Vitality with femto clocks. Now this version is not yet launched, I have the only beta unit available currently (apart from the one that the soundaware designer has himself). This is an incredible sounding player. Extremely natural, open, extremely detailed and transparent. As the name suggests, the sound that the soundaware designer is going for is a reference sound.
Now with the M1Pros, the addition of the femto clock, along with a couple more component upgrades (I am told however, that the differences are predominantly brought by the femto clocks), really does make the players sound very very natural indeed, while the analog has a slightly more musical take on the sound. I've compared them to most of the top of the line DAPs, and compared to say the questlye qp1r, the questyle really wows, the details are so clear, the dynamics are incredible, but the questlye sounds a little unnatural even though it really impressed me. It just seems to present the detail a little too obviously, not quite how things are in real life. With the M1Pro Studio edition, the details are all there, no doubt about that, but they're presented much more naturally.
