[punit]

Yeah, sometimes a HP & an amp which are quite good individually & should on paper go well together , do not synergise well actually. Go Figure! I also sometimes use it as a pre-amp in my speaker system (when I want to give my tube pre-amp a rest). It's an equally good pre-amp.

 

[zeissiez]

 
Ahh...so its not my ears deceiving me. Perhaps the smooth HEK could be a contributing factor as well. 

Please share your impressions with the HE-6 And other dynamics if you have as well.

I am hearing the same thing, but I think this needs to be considered in the audio chain. Both my DAC (Bricasti) and HP (Utopia) are a little forward and punchy, so I don't really miss much with the M9 being a little laid back. It works for my current setup, but maybe with another rig, and a can like the HEK, it could get problematic.

I am starting to think that amps sit on a spectrum of Bright/Punchy/Detailed/Thin to Warm/Musical/Euphonic. It is a matter of taste, and your rig, on where you want to sit on that spectrum.

I found the Taurus too far on the bright side - it irritated me no end with the HD800 + Vega setup I was then using.

The 430HA was too far on the warm side for me. It gives up too much technically to be of interest to me.

The V281 and M9 are more my thing. Neutral-warm, if that makes sense. I can sacrifice some punch for the smoothness of the M9 - I prefer that to having sharp / fatiguing treble.

Still very early days for me with the M9, so please take all this with a hefty lump of salt.

How do you compare the soundstage width, depth layering and vocal positioning of the M9 to that of the V281?

 

[TonyNewman]

How do you compare the soundstage width, depth layering and vocal positioning of the M9 to that of the V281?

 
Way, way, way too early for me to even guess at that. Would have to A/B test with my buddy's V281. I sold mine.

 

[drwlf]

  i have the master 9.i use it with my lcd-x for audio mastering and critical listening sessions.
in a month i should receive a brand new HE-9 so i'll be able to make a comparison.

 
Did this happen btw?

 

[fradoca]

yes it happened! the he9 is celarly a step forward when compared to the m9 for speed clarity and power.
 
highly recommended

 

[TonyNewman]

  yes it happened! the he9 is celarly a step forward when compared to the m9 for speed clarity and power.
 
highly recommended

Does it have more punch than the M9? That's about the only weakness I have found so far in my M9 - it doesn't hit in the bass like the V281 or Taurus. I wouldn't call it limp (like the 430HA), but it doesn't thump like those other amps do.

 

[fradoca]

 
Does it have more punch than the M9? That's about the only weakness I have found so far in my M9 - it doesn't hit in the bass like the V281 or Taurus. I wouldn't call it limp (like the 430HA), but it doesn't thump like those other amps do.

 
yes definitely
it has more punch, it goes deeper and it has a better bass control than the m9.

 

[Rossliew]

The HE-9 looks like a nice amp that hopefully lives up to its power output numbers .

 

[marhol]

I wonder how many people have HE-9. In my case, I´m in a market for Master 9, seems more than good enough for me 

. Hopefully I´ll be able to purchase it by the end of 2017.

 

[DrWhite]

hi all,
 
i have a he-6 and wanna buy a master 9 to drive it, i can buy modded or unmodded for he-6 , in long term what u suggest, should i buy modded or not, in case of selling he-6 in the future. 
is unmodded standart master 9  enough for he-6?

 

[Clemmaster]

HE-6 - even modded - sound shrill out of the M9, despite its power rating.

 

[punit]

IMO "standard " M9 will not drive HE 6 to its full potential, can't comment on the M9 version with higher power. In that price range the ifi ican pro does a better job.

 

[punit]

HE-6 - even modded - sound shrill out of the M9, despite its power rating.

 

  is unmodded standart master 9  enough for he-6?

I don't think he was talking about modded HE 6, he is talking about "modded" M9. I think he is referring to the other version of M9 with higher power specs.

 

[DrWhite]

Yes i was talking about the modded m9, not modded he6 , it says in their website, custom version for he6, it's gain i think higher than standart version not specs.

 

[Clemmaster]

Is the modded M9 more powerful, or does it just have more gain to it?
 
I used to own the M9 with modded HE-6 (which tame the treble) and the combo was still quite shrill sounding.
 
There's no beating a power amp with HE-6. Doesn't need to be expensive, either.