Bricasti
M1 DAC (-)
I find the aesthetics of the M1 quite appealing; it’s reminiscent of the SimAudio’s Moon NEO range, the looks of which I also quite like.
Inside the M1 you’ll find dual, stereo, AD 1955 DAC chips operated in mono-mode. In fact, the entire DAC is built in a dual-mono configuration, down to power supplies. If you pull the top off you’ll see either side of the unit has matching power supplies on separate boards, two individual DAC/analog boards (made with a special material which helps with HF EMI), and then a separate power supply for the control and interface electronics, which also has its own board.
Incidentally, you’ll find the same DAC chips, in the same configuration, in something like the Emotiva Stealth DC-1, which is a much more wallet-friendly $499. Though you’ll forego the trick filters, dual-mono construction, special materials and so on.
Filters in the M1 are custom in-house jobs, and selectable. There’s a bunch of them, 15 I think, from what I recall. Actually I think there are some additional filters for DSD operation, but I did not try it in that mode as I was already “off the DSD train” at that point. The filters do make a difference to the sound, and while some aren’t much different to others (to the point that I couldn’t tell some of them apart at all) I found myself consistently preferring the minimum phase filters. This has pretty much been the case with every DAC I’ve heard that offers selectable filters and apodizing/minimum phase options.
Anyway, technical waffle over … how does it sound?
Really very good, actually.
This shouldn’t really be surprising given the price of entry, though some of the other units in this evaluation have left me wondering!
It didn’t, as with many other units I’ve listened to now, measure up to Yggdrasil in the reproduction of piano for me. It was able to render the soundstage at a level where I could still discern the left-to-right projection of which notes were being hit (likely due to the excellent stereo separation), but didn’t find it quite matched Schiit’s monster in terms of overall tone.
Imaging was good, but not in the same league as the Chord DACs or Yggdrasil; placement and separation in 2D space was solid, but the image felt lacking in height (via speakers).
I found the overall presentation to be quite fluid and organic, with a very even projection across the spectrum. Bass was tight, controlled, articulate, detailed and tuneful, perhaps slightly edging ahead of the Schiit unit with very fast bass work. Higher registers were portrayed with no sibilance or drama, even on challenging female vocals – to the degree that this might be the best rival to Yggdrasil in this regard – without feeling like it’s softening those vocals (which was something apparent with some DSD and D/S based converters). The mid-range was perhaps a little fuller than Yggdrasil tends to render.
In fact, I might describe the overall sound of the Bricasti as slightly meatier overall than Yggdrasil. I wouldn’t describe Yggdrasil as having a lean sound … but it’s a shade leaner than the M1. I could listen to either, but find this effect signature of the Yggdrasil to be more to my liking with a greater portion of my listening material.
Overall detail/resolution was excellent, but I felt the Yggdrasil was still ahead here (especially with another favorite evaluation … brushwork with cymbals). And instrumental separation would go to Yggdrasil as well, though again there’s really not much it and this was really only apparent with very complex passages or those with lots of subtle texture.
Dynamics and transients often favored Yggdrasil, but this was not something that was apparent on every recording, and at times I felt the Bricasti was being a bit more honest here. This might be the difference in the leaner vs. meatier portrayal between the two, that was hard to pin down. Maybe Yggdrasil seems a bit more “exciting” as a result, but that’s only good if it’s supposed to be.
I found the M1 to be very musical and pleasure to listen to. Involvement was good and it was quite able to bring out suitable emotional responses, much like Yggdrasil, but unlike a number of other DACs that I’ve gone through so far. As another comparison, I found it slightly less detailed than the Hugo TT and the Chord unit also imaged significantly better (so did the basic Hugo, now that I think about it), but the M1 had a more enjoyable presentation overall.
So there are a few things here that, for me, slightly edge out Yggdrasil, but certainly not across the board, and some were music, mood or signature preference dependent. Musicality and involvement was, despite that, at a very similar level and actually perhaps ahead of the PS Audio units, at least prior to the latest software update I put on them.
This is definitely worth an audition … but it’s hard to consider it much of a competitor to Yggdrasil on the basis that it’s fully four times the Schiit DAC’s price. Particularly where for me it did a bit less impressively with the music I tend to favor, and my signature preferences, than my existing reference. As a result, as good as it is, I just don’t think it’s worth the asking price for me – given what I already have and what’s out there. I could have another Yggdrasil, and a PS Audio DirectStream and still have change for the Network Bridge, or another Yggdrasil and the Metrum Pavane (which I also liked better overall).
That’s a tough reality …
So, this doesn’t make it to my shortlist, but I’d still encourage anyone that’s interested in DACs at this level to seek out an audition. It’s musically very rewarding.
