[baiyy1986]

Anyone heard the R-28? Does it compare to the Master 11 at all? Now that PCM1704UK DAC's arent sold anymore. Does this increase the value of Master 11 or are the newer DA-8 DACs good enough?

Currawong has a very detail review for R-28, I am very tempting for this device, but I think master 11 still is a better one, R-28 only has one transformers and m11 has three separate transformers for each module.

 

[FredA]

Currawong has a very detail review for R-28, I am very tempting for this device, but I think master 11 still is a better one, R-28 only has one transformers and m11 has three separate transformers for each module.

I think you are right. The amp section is of course better and the dac section is most likely as good or better. For best result, in both cases, feed it with a nice i2s source. The Gustard u16 is a great choice,

 

[chewynuts]

Hey guys do you know what is the difference between NOS11 and MASTER 11?

 

[Clemmaster]

Google knows

 

[MadSounds]

Currawong has a very detail review for R-28, I am very tempting for this device, but I think master 11 still is a better one, R-28 only has one transformers and m11 has three separate transformers for each module.

I think the phased out PCM1704UK is a much bigger deal then independent transformers. keep in in mind the R-28 has a lower but more practical output power. R-28 should have tons of power for say LCD-3 or similar, NOS/Master 11 amp sections will only have an advantage if you plan to drive the he-6. The lack of PCM1704UK is what really forced the design change, I know several reviewers were rather disappointed with Audio-gd's new ladder dacs compared to the classic ones. IMO the value of NOS/Master should have gone up, but i dont think the market agrees. 6 years ago Audio-gd was an extremely popular brand at all prices, IMO best value at 300$, 800$, and 1800$, now I think their best value is at the lower end.

I'll be using my NOS 11 until it needs to be re-capped, then hopefully another 15 years after that. Also a good i2s source is critical. I'm using a singxer su-1 and found it clearly better then without.

 

[marcan]

Never been impressed by audio-gd dac but I was impressed by their amp. Actually, I bought a NOS11 and I did'nt like the sound. Then I plugged my Weis DAC 202 on the amp of the NOS11 and was really happy with the sound.
So I switched the NOS11 for a HE-9, can't be more happy with it.

 

[skygarden]

FPGA firmwares download

http://www.audio-gd.com/Firmwaredownload.htm

 

[macsoo]

I'm considering Master 11 as an upgrade for my current setup and since I'm not really using headphones at all I wonder if it's still good choice when I need just DAC and pre. My amp are d class Hypex NC500 mono blocks so I need something volume knob. I know that asking it here might give me slightly biased answers, but do you guys that it'll be best shot for around $1500?
DAC to be replaced is Hegel HD20.

 

[gk2013]

Presume you can buy a 2nd hand Master 11 for 1500 USD ?
Why not a new R8 with; this is a DAC only with R2R discrete ladder network.
In case you prefer PCM1704 you might want to search for a Master 7 (Singularity)

 

[macsoo]

Presume you can buy a 2nd hand Master 11 for 1500 USD ?
Why not a new R8 with; this is a DAC only with R2R discrete ladder network.
In case you prefer PCM1704 you might want to search for a Master 7 (Singularity)

yup, it would be 2nd hand.
R8 or Master 7 would require me to get additional pre amp since (as far as I see) those have no volume control and I need this for my power amp (which I'm pretty happy with). If I had integrated amp those two would be my first choice.

 

[Hensema]

I will be shipping my M11 back to china. for a list of things to be done. mods mainly. I'll miss her. Likely shipping her out in a week from now, maybe two.

Could you share the mod list? Are the mods finished now?

 

[MadSounds]

I've owned Bimmer's specially modded m11 => nos11 for about 2 years now. Besides from having been converted to the none oversampling optimized version it also has very high quality eizz 3 pin connectors and all the internal wiring has been replaced with Norne silvergarde. It also was upgrade to the newest at the time USB input and i believe the I2S input was upgraded as well.

I've been extremely happy with the unit, especially once I added a Signxer su-1 as an I2S bridge. Dac is extremely natural sounding yet very dynamic. Amp section was plenty powerful to drive my he-6 until I upgraded to a first watt j2 speaker amp. Nos 11 makes for a very effective dac/preamp.

 

[LCMusicLover]

I hope someone can help with this. I just picked up a used Master 11 and ran into an oddity.

My chain (before adding the Master 11) was:

NUC PC ==> Singxer SU-1 ==> Oppo Sonica DAC & Gumby ==> Hattor mini passive preamp ==> Liquid Platinum & DSHA-3F. The Hattor has 2 balanced & 1 SE input, and 2 balanced outputs.

I added the Master 11, I2S from SU-1 to Input 5 -- no problem as I started listening to my HE-6se. Then I thought, how about comparing my DACs to the Master 11 internal DAC? Moved one preamp output to Input 7 (from the LP balanced in). Still no problem.

But then, I tried comparing:

SU-1 ==> Gumby ==> Hattor ==> DSHA-3F
to
SU-1 ==> Master 11 (I2S into IN-5)

and when I switched the input on the Master 11 to IN-5, no sound out of the DSHA-3F. If I unplug the output from the Hattor into IN-7, then sound comes out of the other amp (doesn't matter if it's the DSHA or the LP). But if the Hattor is plugged into IN-7, and the Master 11 is using another input, switched to an input with nothing connected, or even turned off, then nothing from the other amp. Also, if only one channel is plugged in, the other channel works normally.

Note that this behavior is new. Both outputs from the Hattor are active no matter what if the LP & DSHA are both plugged in, even if I switch to the SE input on the LP -- DSHA has only one (balanced) input, or if one of the amps is off.

So what the heck is going on?

Wish there was a manual for the Master 11.

I'm reaching out to Hattor as well as asking here.

 

[elira]

I hope someone can help with this. I just picked up a used Master 11 and ran into an oddity.

My chain (before adding the Master 11) was:

NUC PC ==> Singxer SU-1 ==> Oppo Sonica DAC & Gumby ==> Hattor mini passive preamp ==> Liquid Platinum & DSHA-3F. The Hattor has 2 balanced & 1 SE input, and 2 balanced outputs.

I added the Master 11, I2S from SU-1 to Input 5 -- no problem as I started listening to my HE-6se. Then I thought, how about comparing my DACs to the Master 11 internal DAC? Moved one preamp output to Input 7 (from the LP balanced in). Still no problem.

But then, I tried comparing:

SU-1 ==> Gumby ==> Hattor ==> DSHA-3F
to
SU-1 ==> Master 11 (I2S into IN-5)

and when I switched the input on the Master 11 to IN-5, no sound out of the DSHA-3F. If I unplug the output from the Hattor into IN-7, then sound comes out of the other amp (doesn't matter if it's the DSHA or the LP). But if the Hattor is plugged into IN-7, and the Master 11 is using another input, switched to an input with nothing connected, or even turned off, then nothing from the other amp. Also, if only one channel is plugged in, the other channel works normally.

Note that this behavior is new. Both outputs from the Hattor are active no matter what if the LP & DSHA are both plugged in, even if I switch to the SE input on the LP -- DSHA has only one (balanced) input, or if one of the amps is off.

So what the heck is going on?

Wish there was a manual for the Master 11.

I'm reaching out to Hattor as well as asking here.

That seems to be by design, not sure if it can be disabled. http://www.audio-gd.com/Master/Master-11/M11EN_Use.htm

 

[LCMusicLover]

That seems to be by design, not sure if it can be disabled. http://www.audio-gd.com/Master/Master-11/M11EN_Use.htm

Thanks, I seem to have skipped right over that section. It doesn't really describe my case (I only have one analog input) but it certainly seems to apply. Makes me wonder if the preamp is cutting out, or if it's 'passing' the short circuit upstream to the DACs, and the DACs are (both) cutting out. Doesn't really matter I guess.