[Sauntere]

 
+1
 
I would love to read something about Femto also. I have heard a passing comment that it is too analytical.

From a Review..
 
"It did not take me long to discover that the Calyx Audio Femto is an excellent sounding DAC and very competitive with the other high end DACs I have reviewed at this price point. The soundstage of the Femto is wide with perceivable depth that I would rank as very good when compared to most other similarity priced DACs. The Femto has an upfront presentation with excellent detail and focus. The sound is slightly dry with a greater emphasis on fundamentals with less emphasis on the overtones with a short decay. The DAC is quite free of digital artifact hardness and definitely avoids long term listening fatigue. Both macro and micro dynamic contrasts were very well reproduced with the Femto."
 
and another..
 
 "Likewise, the Femto sounded more forward than the Simaudio Moon Evolution 650D ($9000), which I reviewed earlier this year and found to be pretty much a statement-level digital source, if slightly less upfront than the Eximus DP1 ($3000), which is quite lively in its sound. When components’ sounds differ in this way, it’s hard, if not impossible, to know which is "right" -- but after listening to many recordings through all three sources, I suspect that the Femto and the DAC 24/192 were the most neutral; also, their soundstages began right at the plane defined by the speakers’ front baffles and extended rearward from there."
 
And back to waiting for the M..

 

[ALRAINBOW]

I have not heard the femto. But I can say the m will not be forward
If played with speakers is headphones

So you may say why ???? Well I IEMS are already forward they are I your ears
So it will be a bit laid back with headphones or speakers
Just a thought.

Al

 

[CosmicHolyGhost]

  From a Review..
 
"It did not take me long to discover that the Calyx Audio Femto is an excellent sounding DAC and very competitive with the other high end DACs I have reviewed at this price point. The soundstage of the Femto is wide with perceivable depth that I would rank as very good when compared to most other similarity priced DACs. The Femto has an upfront presentation with excellent detail and focus. The sound is slightly dry with a greater emphasis on fundamentals with less emphasis on the overtones with a short decay. The DAC is quite free of digital artifact hardness and definitely avoids long term listening fatigue. Both macro and micro dynamic contrasts were very well reproduced with the Femto."
 
and another..
 
 "Likewise, the Femto sounded more forward than the Simaudio Moon Evolution 650D ($9000), which I reviewed earlier this year and found to be pretty much a statement-level digital source, if slightly less upfront than the Eximus DP1 ($3000), which is quite lively in its sound. When components’ sounds differ in this way, it’s hard, if not impossible, to know which is "right" -- but after listening to many recordings through all three sources, I suspect that the Femto and the DAC 24/192 were the most neutral; also, their soundstages began right at the plane defined by the speakers’ front baffles and extended rearward from there."
 
And back to waiting for the M..

Thanks, it sounds excellent.
 
Hope they can live up the expectation and can compete well with HM901 and Chord Hugo.

 

[cooperpwc]

If you're tight on money don't forget in order to take advantage of the Calyx's capacity you're looking at spending another $450 or so on a 256GB SD card. But I think you'll be much happier with it long term and you won't be looking to upgrade as soon. JMO

 
 
It depends on how much storage you need. For about $150 on top of the purchase price, you can have the M with a total of 256GB on board which is quite a lot of music. That is how I will be using it.

 

[akhyar]

^ ^
I agree with you. I already have few 64GB micro SD cards that I used before with the AK120.
Most probably I'll spend $150-ish for 128GB SD card, to give me a total of 256GB of stoarge

 

[JackDiesel]

Good points, I forgot most people already have SD and micro SD cards. I'm coming from a Sony F807 and since Sony doesn't seem to believe in SD cards I get to start from scratch.

 

[cooperpwc]

^ ^
I agree with you. I already have few 64GB micro SD cards that I used before with the AK120.
Most probably I'll spend $150-ish for 128GB SD card, to give me a total of 256GB of stoarge

 
 

  Good points, I forgot most people already have SD and micro SD cards. I'm coming from a Sony F807 and since Sony doesn't seem to believe in SD cards I get to start from scratch.

 
I got this very good 128GB card for $99.99. It is about $118.00 now. For $150, I was suggesting that you can get both a 128 SD and a 64 microSD. (The M will have both slots.) I suppose it will actually be between $150 and $200 depending on the market and day.
 
And yes it is true that many of us already have cards. For example, the above 128GB SD card will be going straight into my M.

 

[akhyar]

   
 
 
I got this very good 128GB card for $99.99. It is about $118.00 now. For $150, I was suggesting that you can get both a 128 SD and a 64 microSD. (The M will have both slots.) I suppose it will actually be between $150 and $200 depending on the market and day.
 
And yes it is true that many of us already have cards. For example, the above 128GB SD card will be going straight into my M.

 
Agree with you again... 

You can get a 128GB SD card for below $100 (depending on brands and market) and SanDisk Ultra 64GB micro SDxc card for slightly less than $50.

 

[Gintaras]

Thanks, it sounds excellent.

Hope they can live up the expectation and can compete well with HM901 and Chord Hugo.

well, i think the matter must be put into a slightly different perspective. Calyx M should NOT compete with either 901 or Hugo, all it must do is win your ears and heart.

when i buy equipment all i care is how it sounds and if my ears like what they hear then i just cash & carry it ))

 

[Gintaras]

btw, i still believe RWAK100 is a good DAP and believe AK120 must be a good DAP too knowing how many well reputed HeadFiers love it. for me this journey twist with M is a chance and i hope Calyx meets my expectations. i also have dx50 which many like but for me dx50 without good amp is waste of time and money, and with amp bulky and not portable, sorry for saying this here but dx50 left me mixed on this, good DAP which sadly received inferior amp section.

so all what matters is what your ears and your wallet are going to vote for

 

[audionewbi]

Go M go, well i will be watching this one but deep in my heart i want M to be great but after so many DAP i've tried i am going to wait this one out and try not to get over excited about it.

 

[musicheaven]

I truly hope Calyx has put the effort and money on the amp section, the DAC is fabulous but if the amp is lousy, no amount of trickery will make the player an outstanding one.

 

[cooperpwc]

  I truly hope Calyx has put the effort and money on the amp section, the DAC is fabulous but if the amp is lousy, no amount of trickery will make the player an outstanding one.

 
This is certainly true. I have high hopes but we must wait and see.

 

[OddJobs]

Taken from Calyx M Facebook page:
 
Line-out of Calyx M:

We recently have a request from a potential customer, of adding a line-out of "CLEAN" signal on M.

So we need to address about this issue.

There MUST be an amplification section, or current driver/whatever right after digital-to-analog converter. This circuit is inevitable. 

They ask "CLEAN" line-out to drive their head-amp or pre-amp. We ask how clean is the amplification stage of those amp they are using?

If any amplification is not clean enough in a DAP, how can they says the amplification stage of their gears are clean enough?

We did our best to make the output stage as clean as we can and for objective matter, we measured with Audio Precision and publish all the measurements. 

We heard that a company (or a person inside the company) mentioned on our M like " We will check out what we can do more after looking at." 
We recommend them at least to give respect to their colleagues in the same industry and show the measurement of their products first.

Period.

 

[AmberOzL]

  Taken from Calyx M Facebook page:
 
Line-out of Calyx M:

We recently have a request from a potential customer, of adding a line-out of "CLEAN" signal on M.

So we need to address about this issue.

There MUST be an amplification section, or current driver/whatever right after digital-to-analog converter. This circuit is inevitable. 

They ask "CLEAN" line-out to drive their head-amp or pre-amp. We ask how clean is the amplification stage of those amp they are using?

If any amplification is not clean enough in a DAP, how can they says the amplification stage of their gears are clean enough?

We did our best to make the output stage as clean as we can and for objective matter, we measured with Audio Precision and publish all the measurements. 

We heard that a company (or a person inside the company) mentioned on our M like " We will check out what we can do more after looking at." 
We recommend them at least to give respect to their colleagues in the same industry and show the measurement of their products first.

Period.

Fair enough to me. Also I don't think I will be amping so it doesn't really matter much to me.
 
After everything they did for us (us: spoiled audiophiles

), I am quite happy with the final product honestly.
 
Yes, it is gonna be costly for me but I feel like I won't need to upgrade every other 6 months. I want something all in one as well as end of the line (at least for a long while). They covered everything I value a lot (like capacity, UI, size etc). So I just have to wait until I get this cuz that's gonna put my student wallet in some trouble. Also I still need to purchase some micro/normal sd cards to complete the package.
 
Too bad, I was thinking buying Mim's cable for SE5way but I guess if I go for Calyx M instead of X5, I won't be able to purchase it.