[johnzz4]

I went and auditioned the Simaudio 430 HAD and left buying a network streamer instead. In my opinion the 430 has nothing on the M11. Also noticed from the required driver that the 430 uses the Amanero USB input. Finally, no i2s in and no balanced pre-out didn't help its case either. Sound wise, I find the M11 a hair more dynamic and transparent, it was very close though. Quite the value we have in the M11.

 

[pervysage]

I went and auditioned the Simaudio 430 HAD and left buying a network streamer instead. In my opinion the 430 has nothing on the M11. Also noticed from the required driver that the 430 uses the Amanero USB input. Finally, no i2s in and no balanced pre-out didn't help its case either. Sound wise, I find the M11 a hair more dynamic and transparent, it was very close though. Quite the value we have in the M11.

 
That is the one great thing about Audio-gd. They are quite underrated and you get a whole lot of value for your money. Just popping off the hood and looking at the internals of the M11 impresses me every time. I'm thinking that purchasing a similarly spec'd U.S. built piece of hardware would cost at least a thousand or couple thousand dollars more.

 

[Khragon]

pervysage, which balanced cable are you using with your Utopia?

 

[pervysage]

  pervysage, which balanced cable are you using with your Utopia?

 
So far I have tried the stock cable (reterminated with balanced XLR) and 2 different Norne Audio cables, the Eternus (pure silver) and Draug 2 (copper).
 
The Eternus is really nice in that it is really resolving and microdetailed but it can make the Utopia a bit bright.
 
Draug 2 sounds good as well, really widens the soundstage a fair bit but I find it is a bit too laid back and takes away that Utopia magic.
 
So all in all, the stock cable is probably the best so far in terms of a balanced sound without any glaring weaknesses.
 
I'm about to pull the trigger on the Danacable Lazuli Reference, which is an expensive cable but has been getting some really good praise on the forums lately. Hopefully that cable will end my search.

 

[Khragon]

Geez that's too bad, I was hoping Draug 2 would work, was going to get my HEK cable re-terminate for Utopia.

Can you elaborate a bit more on the laid back comment. Dynamic suffers?

*Update*
Ordered a Draug 2C based on Norne advertisement, hoping the additional treble gain will help with the laid back "problem". I still plan to re-terminate my existing Draug 2 to Utopia for comparison.

 

[ph58]

Update done with my NOS 11 ! Greater micro detailed sound , enhanced dynamics , and  better sounstage ! In one word SUBLIME !

 

[Steven Dorfman]

Is there anyone that can help me upgrade my Master 11 to the NOS firmware? I own the blaster and the additional part sent from Audio G-D but am not technical enough to complete the upgrade. I am in Miami Beach Florida.

 

[d4nim4l]

I ordered my first Audio-GD device, a NFB-10SE, five years ago almost to the day.  Ever since I have been oogling their higher end PCM1704 products, and I am very happy to have a NOS11 arriving shortly from Kingwa!

 

[ph58]

  I ordered my first Audio-GD device, a NFB-10SE, five years ago almost to the day.  Ever since I have been oogling their higher end PCM1704 products, and I am very happy to have a NOS11 arriving shortly from Kingwa!

Congrats and welcome to the club , the NOS 11 is a great Dac Amp Preamp !  Cheers !

 

[d4nim4l]

NOS 11 just arrived today.  Listening cold (literally the case was quite cold to the touch after unboxing) I am blown away.  The additional detail retrieval, separation of the different elements of songs, and the richness and texture of the sound is amazing.  I am excited to see how much improvement there might be in the first few hundred hours, and after the unit warms up for a while.

 

[patrikh]

Yea it needs some warm-up, the dac side in particular. Can't explain why but it sounds superb when it's hot, and I mean hot... the thing gets hot like a pan.

 

[LancerFIN]

I swapped the MCU for active version two months ago. I am glad to say I haven't experienced any volume glitches since.

 

[Khragon]

Thinking of selling my M11 soon, let me know if anyone interested.  It will come with NOS11 kit, including 1st release firmware.  Upgraded to active MCU as well.

 

[d4nim4l]

No other single change in audio gear has sucked me into my listening chair like this NOS 11.  I know its kind of cliche here on HF, but I truly am re-discovering my music collection.
 
I am quickly bitten by the "get the last 10% performance out of this thing" bug.
 
If I was going to spend ~$500 to make an improvement to my source/transport (high end gaming PC w/ corsair ax1500i -> Belkin gold USB -> Nos 11), are there opinions about best bang for the buck?
 
It seems like people are replacing USB altogether with aoip (Rednet, etc.) or PCIExpress cards (lynx, pink faun), or trying to improve their USB transport, which seems to fall into two categories: digital to digital converter (singxer, mutec, and many others) or something to improve the signal quality (uptone regen, intona isolator)
 
I have spent the past few weeks reading the entirety of the Master 11 thread, and many threads related to source/transport.  There was great enthusiastic discussion in this thread, but the source/transport threads have left me scratching my head.  I don't have the money or time to try many different options, and I have really enjoyed reading about bimmer100 and other's journey through many of these devices.  So, I'd love to hear thoughts at my price point.

 

[johnzz4]

No other single change in audio gear has sucked me into my listening chair like this NOS 11.  I know its kind of cliche here on HF, but I truly am re-discovering my music collection.

I am quickly bitten by the "get the last 10% performance out of this thing" bug.

If I was going to spend ~$500 to make an improvement to my source/transport (high end gaming PC w/ corsair ax1500i -> Belkin gold USB -> Nos 11), are there opinions about best bang for the buck?

It seems like people are replacing USB altogether with aoip (Rednet, etc.) or PCIExpress cards (lynx, pink faun), or trying to improve their USB transport, which seems to fall into two categories: digital to digital converter (singxer, mutec, and many others) or something to improve the signal quality (uptone regen, intona isolator)

I have spent the past few weeks reading the entirety of the Master 11 thread, and many threads related to source/transport.  There was great enthusiastic discussion in this thread, but the source/transport threads have left me scratching my head.  I don't have the money or time to try many different options, and I have really enjoyed reading about bimmer100 and other's journey through many of these devices.  So, I'd love to hear thoughts at my price point.

The Singxer via i2s is one of the largest upgrades I've done. Logic would tell you that you should disable PLL (jumper on) due to the extremely low jitter, but always found the treble a bit etched. Since the new firmware update, enabling PLL (jumper off) with the Singxer has been amazing. Highs are smooth as silk and the bass is well defined and deep. My end-game for the foreseeable future...

Tidal > Auralic Aries > Singxer SU-1 (i2s) > M11 (stock config) > LCD-4

I've never heard anything better at the local meets I've been to.

I'll be selling the ifi iUSBpower, the iUSB3.0 and the intona USB isolator. Though they make distinct differences in sound, I don't feel they are as natural sounding as straight out of the Aries. I get no listening fatigue now. YMMV with different sources and personal preference.

Singxer would be my first stop after the M11.

Oh, and bimmer sells them through his company Kitsune Hifi. He usually has stock in the US too. Not affiliated, just where I got mine.