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Acoustic Research Mysterious New Audiophile DAP
Feb 21, 2015 at 6:32 AM Post #182 of 215
on display at he Bristol Show 
 
one funny thing i sthat they mention microSD AND USB as "memory expansion" ??
 

 
Mar 8, 2015 at 11:29 PM Post #184 of 215
tongue_smile.gif
 
beerchug.gif

 
Mar 16, 2015 at 5:54 AM Post #185 of 215
well, for me the main question is: How does it's SQ compare with the ZX2 which is (almost) same price ?
 
-> Besides for a more powerful amp, why someone will buy a M2 instead of the Sony ZX-2 (which, as opposed to the M2, has a digital-out & 128 Gb inside) ???
 
Mar 21, 2015 at 9:43 AM Post #187 of 215
I guess if output impedance is below 0.5 we can now round down to '0'. 
 
I guess it was just a salesman. I found a spec sheet, Output impedance is claimed at .26. Bravo.
 
http://www.foundergt.com.hk/zh-hant/product/acoustic-research-m2-2/
Still not into the size created by that big screen and I'm not really into their dac chip comparisons on the link. A pcm1794's decoding is the same as a pcm1792 for instance and while I like that particular series very, very much, their x times better than claims are over the top. I have no idea how the M2 sounds but I've heard both truly superb and quite mediocre things using that same series of DAC.
 
Mar 21, 2015 at 11:42 AM Post #188 of 215
I had a chance to try out the M2 this afternoon. I was listening to songs on my micro SD card insert into the M2. I was using my FitEar ToGo 334 with a wagnus cable.
 
I am not sure if it has already been mentioned before but the device is made in China. Built quality seems pretty good. The size of the DAP is not too big in my opinion (sorry but Head-Fi does not allow me to post images). Based on my brief listening experience, I can only give a very short summary of my observations :
 
1) I like the sound quality of this DAP. Without the EQ enabled, I found the mids pretty forward sounding. Some may like this but some may not. The clarity and bass were very nicely rendered. I would say that the sound was full and dynamic. Personally, I think it fared very well against the AK240.
 
2) I heard what I think were static sounds when the music stopped. I know the 334 is a sensitive iem but the static noise was a bit too obvious for me - even without turning the volume wheel. I hope the DAP I was listening to is a pre-production unit.
 
3) I only need to turn the volume wheel about 1/4 way before it became too loud for me. So the amp seems to be quite powerful. I am a bit concern with the volume wheel being placed at the top of the device. It turns quite easily as there was very little resistance on the M2 I tested.
 
4) I tried DSD on my micro SD card but the machine seemed to be "stammering." It worked fine with 16/44 files. The surprising thing was it played DXD files from its internal memory without any hiccup. So I am wondering if the micro SD card had anything to do with the "problem" I encountered.
 
5) The UI was pretty standard for an Android device. I think the DAP I was playing with was on Android 4.3.
 
6) Like most big display DAP, the M2 attracts fingerprints a lot! Front and back.
 
I did not try the line out.
 
* I forgot to mention that the 64GB internal memory is a bit limiting, imo. I reckon it is better to load hi-res files in its internal memory so at least 128GB would have been much better.
 
Mar 21, 2015 at 4:27 PM Post #189 of 215
mimouille said:
I saw the AR-M2 in real life today, did not have time to test it, but I did not like the looks. Build quality and design were much better on the first model.
Click to expand...

 
 
Are you mostly referring to the heavily-chamfered plastic rear panel?
 
Mar 22, 2015 at 2:17 AM Post #190 of 215
alanywm said:
I had a chance to try out the M2 this afternoon. I was listening to songs on my micro SD card insert into the M2. I was using my FitEar ToGo 334 with a wagnus cable.

I am not sure if it has already been mentioned before but the device is made in China. Built quality seems pretty good. The size of the DAP is not too big in my opinion (sorry but Head-Fi does not allow me to post images). Based on my brief listening experience, I can only give a very short summary of my observations :

1) I like the sound quality of this DAP. Without the EQ enabled, I found the mids pretty forward sounding. Some may like this but some may not. The clarity and bass were very nicely rendered. I would say that the sound was full and dynamic. Personally, I think it fared very well against the AK240.

2) I heard what I think were static sounds when the music stopped. I know the 334 is a sensitive iem but the static noise was a bit too obvious for me - even without turning the volume wheel. I hope the DAP I was listening to is a pre-production unit.

3) I only need to turn the volume wheel about 1/4 way before it became too loud for me. So the amp seems to be quite powerful. I am a bit concern with the volume wheel being placed at the top of the device. It turns quite easily as there was very little resistance on the M2 I tested.

4) I tried DSD on my micro SD card but the machine seemed to be "stammering." It worked fine with 16/44 files. The surprising thing was it played DXD files from its internal memory without any hiccup. So I am wondering if the micro SD card had anything to do with the "problem" I encountered.

5) The UI was pretty standard for an Android device. I think the DAP I was playing with was on Android 4.3.

6) Like most big display DAP, the M2 attracts fingerprints a lot! Front and back.

I did not try the line out.

* I forgot to mention that the 64GB internal memory is a bit limiting, imo. I reckon it is better to load hi-res files in its internal memory so at least 128GB would have been much better.
Click to expand...
Besides the internal storage..... :)
 
Mar 28, 2015 at 4:34 PM Post #194 of 215
LOL - why is this thread still being dragged-on, even though it has rigor mortis?
biggrin.gif

 
 
Here's the new one dedicated to the AR-M2 (Mim', I know you already know this)
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/754114/2015-acoustic-research-m2-audiophile-grade-hi-res-portable-player-launching-soon
 
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