[goobicii]

What is different between M8 and M9?

 

[lukeap69]

i think the shipping page only shows direct buyer, those who make purchase via dealer will not be on the list. I bought few pieces of agd via a dealer last time with direct ship from audio-gd warehouse and my name was not on the list
anw, can you please tell me a bit more about the amp part of m11? is it quite far from m9? as im planning to buy the m9 but the attractive price of m11 really bothers me T_T 
Thanks

I think this is the 1 million dollar question. How good is the amp of Master 11 compared to Master 9? In the same manner, how good is the DAC of M11 compared to Master 7?

 

[goobicii]

I think this is the 1 million dollar question. How good is the amp of Master 11 compared to Master 9? In the same manner, how good is the DAC of M11 compared to Master 7?

isnt the dac only 4 chips total like DAC19?

 

[xxxfbsxxx]

isnt the dac only 4 chips total like DAC19?

i think they are quite different since m11 applies balanced config while dac19 uses all 4 in single-end config

 

[lukeap69]

I thought DAC-19 has 2nos. PCM1704UK only? Where was it mentioned 4?

 

[LancerFIN]

isnt the dac only 4 chips total like DAC19?

DAC-19 uses only 2 chips.

 

[xxxfbsxxx]

I thought DAC-19 has 2nos. PCM1704UK only? Where was it mentioned 4?

ops sorry, was thinking about the sa1.32 dac, uses 4 chips but in different config and single end only, sound is also much different from master7 tune
thanks for correcting

 

[lukeap69]

ops sorry, was thinking about the sa1.32 dac, uses 4 chips but in different config and single end only, sound is also much different from master7 tune
thanks for correcting

It is also interesting to know how better the M11 is compared to DAC-19 and all indications from bimmer and the other head-fier with a long usernam, the M11 is worth it. I was saving for it but then LS50 came along...

 

[Solude]

Comes down to single ended or balanced.  The DAC19/C2 is the M11 single ended in two cases.  Both have advantages depending on what's important to you though that might make the extra money for the M11 worthwhile even for single ended use.

 

[bimmer100]

The m7//m9 are separates... So there is a connection of interconnects required to connect the amp and dac together. Generally the acss is used. Yet with the master11 the dac/amp portion is direct and there is no distance between. This is the most ideal setup! Sound quality is further improved. The amp section is basically the same and the dac is what varies the most. Yet many people say there isn't much difference and likely since it's an all in one unit with direct straight path to the amp... Sound is improved and makes up for the differences. The m7 having 8 pcm1704uk and m11 having 4 pcm1704uk.
The other guy on this thread who owns the m11 actually used to own the separates... M7/M9. He still thinks his m11 is better. maybe I'm misunderstanding him, but I'm pretty sure he made that clear to me. I would say the m11 is an absolute bargain at the price!
The advantage of the m7/m9 is that they are separate and can be paired with other models of amps or dacs etc.
However, the amp in the m11 is a beast and amazing! The dac in the m11 is also a beast! Also they are space saving since they are together. Together there is amazing synergy, analog sound and natural euphonic experience. You would be hard pressed to find a better setup. And would be spending a significant amount more for a very small percent gain. I would say the m11 really is world class, end game material. IMHO it's my end game setup.

 

[bimmer100]

Comes down to single ended or balanced.  The DAC19/C2 is the M11 single ended in two cases.  Both have advantages depending on what's important to you though that might make the extra money for the M11 worthwhile even for single ended use.

Dac19 (10th anniversary) has two pcm1704uk's
M11 has four pcm1704uks's
Having owned the dac19, and recently selling it.
The m11 is not like the dac19.
I thought I would get a minor change in sound quality. It was fairly notable in fact. The sound stage was significantly more opened up and details were also notably improved.
The dac19 was awesome, don't get me wrong. But I wouldn't say It's that close. Buying the m11 will assume you will be using it in balanced mode to receive the full benefit.
The dac19 is great for SE. But the m11 is a notable improvement when using Balanced.
Having owned the two, that's my opinion.

 

[Solude]

Dac19 (10th anniversary) has two pcm1704uk's
M11 has four pcm1704uks's

 
Actually they both have one 1704 per channel, the same power supply per channel, and the same analog section per channel.  What the M11 does is double up for the balanced side and can use a smaller transformer for the DAC portion since it doesn't need to power the analog side as well.  It's explained in the Summarize section of the three products.  Audio-GD is kind enough to include circuit diagrams.  Ignore them at your own peril.  I believe you had the 28 and not the C2 though which are different amps which might count for the difference when used single ended.
 
Top be clear, if you are going to run balanced... buy the M11.  Single ended the M11 still has some advantages and disadvantages to the DAC19/C2 combo and people should make their choice based on budget, real estate available and whether the functional differences are worth it to them.  I only use IEMs now and the rest of the time studio monitors so for me the M11's slower curve benefits the IEMs and the balanced out can feed the monitors.  So for me it's a win win.

 

[bimmer100]

   
Actually they both have one 1704 per channel, the same power supply per channel, and the same analog section per channel.  What the M11 does is double up for the balanced side and can use a smaller transformer for the DAC portion since it doesn't need to power the analog side as well.  It's explained in the Summarize section of the three products.  Audio-GD is kind enough to include circuit diagrams.  Ignore them at your own peril.  I believe you had the 28 and not the C2 though which are different amps which might count for the difference when used single ended.
 
Top be clear, if you are going to run balanced... buy the M11.  Single ended the M11 still has some advantages and disadvantages to the DAC19/C2 combo and people should make their choice based on budget, real estate available and whether the functional differences are worth it to them.  I only use IEMs now and the rest of the time studio monitors so for me the M11's slower curve benefits the IEMs and the balanced out can feed the monitors.  So for me it's a win win.

that's what I said. i'm talking about overall sound quality.
buying a M11, you would use balanced. not SE.
buying a DAC19, you would use SE. 
sure, compare the M11 in SE if you must, but what is the point of spending that money on a M11 and use it in SE?
 
otherwise, we agree on everything. It comes down to balanced or SE and the other reasons you also mentioned at the end of your comment.

 

[mojolo]

Dac19 (10th anniversary) has two pcm1704uk's
M11 has four pcm1704uks's
Having owned the dac19, and recently selling it.
The m11 is not like the dac19.
I thought I would get a minor change in sound quality. It was fairly notable in fact. The sound stage was significantly more opened up and details were also notably improved.
The dac19 was awesome, don't get me wrong. But I wouldn't say It's that close. Buying the m11 will assume you will be using it in balanced mode to receive the full benefit.
The dac19 is great for SE. But the m11 is a notable improvement when using Balanced.
Having owned the two, that's my opinion.

Thanks again for your impressions Bimmer. When comparing the DAC19 to the dac of the M11, were you able to isolate the DAC portion of the M11? Ie, run the M11 in pure DAC mode, balanced out to the same amp used with the Dac19? (or vice versa with both dacs driving the M11 amp)
 
Reason I ask is that I'd like to switch been running the M11 dac/amp to drive one pair of cans (balanced) and the M11 in pure dac mode to the Auralic Taurus (balanced as well) to drive another pair of cans.
 
I'm just wondering if the magic of the M11 is due to the direct connection between integrated amp/dac.

 

[mojolo]

   
Actually they both have one 1704 per channel, the same power supply per channel, and the same analog section per channel.  What the M11 does is double up for the balanced side and can use a smaller transformer for the DAC portion since it doesn't need to power the analog side as well.  It's explained in the Summarize section of the three products.  Audio-GD is kind enough to include circuit diagrams.  Ignore them at your own peril.  I believe you had the 28 and not the C2 though which are different amps which might count for the difference when used single ended.
 
Top be clear, if you are going to run balanced... buy the M11.  Single ended the M11 still has some advantages and disadvantages to the DAC19/C2 combo and people should make their choice based on budget, real estate available and whether the functional differences are worth it to them.  I only use IEMs now and the rest of the time studio monitors so for me the M11's slower curve benefits the IEMs and the balanced out can feed the monitors.  So for me it's a win win.

I couldn't find where it was stated that the M11 doubles up to 4x PCM1704UK only on the balanced side. Audio-gd website certainly doesn't make for light reading.
 
In the Output Buffer section of the M11, it implies that if you are outputting via either XLR or RCA you get the full benefit of the 4x DA chips though?
 

 Applies ACSS technology, even though maybe you only connect to XLR or RCA output, Master 11 will always operate in ACSS technology, and benefit from ACSS technology. Therefore, XLR and RCA output will also definitely bring about improvement in sound quality. Even through RCA output, the 4X PCM1704UK DA chips will perform fully.

 
Man I wish Kingwa would jump in right about now...