[jchandler3]

Thanks for writing this article! I was looking for a comparison of the Grace and Benchmark, and this helped. 

 

[boatheelmusic]

I'm considering the m903....
 
Still happy?
 
Thanks,

 

[bareyb]

  I'm considering the m903....
 
Still happy?
 
Thanks,

Unfortunately, I had to leave the Hobby. It was definitely my favorite of the bunch though, and I'm grateful to Grace for letting me return it. It's extremely powerful… please be more careful with it than I was. 

 
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/659210/stick-a-fork-in-me-im-done-dr-says-no-more-headphones/150

 

[boatheelmusic]

Sorry to hear this.

 

[koolas]

(deleted)

 

[Byrnie]

Wonderful review barelyb! It really helped me narrow-down my decision.

 

[Stalkeryan]

hi, i am considering buying a centrance dacmini, but I mainly use my HE 500. Other cans I have are Q701 and SR225, and I am also willing to get a pair of RS1 of grado. How do you think the dacmini perform on those cans? Do I still need to buy an good amp? Thanks a lot!!!

 

[Savant]

 Sound Quality: The best way to characterize the sound signature of the m903 is "warm and robust". No lack of Bass on this bad boy. It's got some power too, and that manifests itself in the Bass response as well. The DAC in this unit is a Burr Brown model and it is also very accurate, but it achieves that accuracy in a different way. The Burr is a warmer, more musical sounding DAC than the Sabre, but it does so at the expense of some of the Sabres' clarity and detail. It's a trade off all Amp Mfrs. have to make and in the case of the m903, I think the designers made all the right choices. The midrange is soaring and there is no sign of Sibilance or Tizz.

 
The DAC 1 does not emply a Sabre chip, but rather the AD1853. it's a fairly old chip, and is no longer a real contender among the current crop of Dac chips. But the clear differences that you have heard are most likely attributable to Implementation, not merely due to the choice of Chip. Great comparison, BTW!

 

[paulchiu]

calling for Grace M903 owners with Chord Hugo or Chord TT for comparisons.

 

[agooh]

2 -  Chord Hugo TT :   Tonality : 93 - Bass performance : 93 - Mids : 93 - treble : 94 - Soundstage : 94 - Separation : 93 - Dynamic sound : 93 - Detail : 95 - Tiny detail : 92 - Vocals : 93 - Emotion : 92 - Realistic sound : 94 - Musicality : 95 .
drive High impedance better than hugo, can be used with speakers and headphones .comes with remote control .
clearer than hugo by about 7 %, more separation between instruments , black background which allow you to hear more detail, richer sound than hugo but still behind the flag ship Chord QBD76 HDSD.
 
 
     3 - Chord Hugo :      Tonality : 92 - Bass performance : 93 - Mids : 92 . treble : 93 - Soundstage : 93 -  Separation : 91 -  Dynamic sound : 93 -  Detail : 95 - Tiny detail : 92 - Vocals : 93 -  Emotion : 91 -  Realistic sound : 94 - Musicality : 95 .
  Still the best portable dac/amp , can be used as a desktop dac , very clear , warmth sound , if you didn't warm it up very well, sometimes sound clourless .

 

[agooh]

I'm sorry I didn't have the Grace Designs m903 .