@DACLadder
Is it possible for you to do a worded comparison for M7 vs Ygg? I think many of us here are very interested in your opinion.
Bass {M7 has prominent bass/ mid-bass that is looser than the Yggy's. The Yggy's bass is very tight but perceived less so especially when new. It took several hundred hours for the Yggy's bass to mature and get really deep enough to enjoy. By weight there is less of it than the M7. I get best bass with the M7 with low jitter sources}
Mids {Definite mid-range presence with the M7 where the Yggy is flat. I like this bloom as my whole system is tuned around 2.5 yrs of M7 use. There is nice weight/ harmonic content to acoustic/electric guitars, cellos, etc with the M7. The M7 has nice big balls}
Treble (The Yggy's highs are extremely nice but took many 100s hrs to mellow out. But again neutral in a good way. No sibilance on vocals unless on the source material. The M7s highs can be thicker but airy on top like on cymbal crashes/ decay which I like but it is coloration perhaps}
Voices {The Yggy is very neutral with low sibilance artifacts. Tolerant to recorded sibilance in a way but very revealing on bad recordings. I really like the M7 vocals when driven with the OR5's HDMI I2S port but occasionally a splash of sibilance energy that seems excessive. Sometimes voices are recessed in the M7 but they are very believable otherwise. My main complaint of the Yggy is there is a small perceived grain on vocals with some recordings. Could be just myself or my system. Seems to be getting better with more run time}
Transients {The Yggy shines on transients and took some time to get used to the abundance. The M7 is tamer but not by a huge amount. The M7 is very dynamic and gives plenty of attack - just not as much as the Yggy. I have no problem with the M7 in this area}
Details {The Yggy has a more detail and less congestion on complicated passages. You can hear into the mix with good clarity. With a low jitter source the M7 is good enough for me and gives me plenty of believable detail. I can hear analog tape hiss on the Yggy where I don't always on the Master 7 is one example. But there is a lot going on with the M7 as well in a warm, open, spacious way.}
Soundstage and Imaging {The M7 throws a wider sound stage but the Yggy is deeper and probably more precise. I believe this has something to do with better low level detail in the Yggy or more resolution maybe. I like the M7 wide soundstage for rock.}
Neutrality {The Master 7 is billed as a neutral DAC but has its own sound character (prominent mids/bass for example). And I like its mild coloration in my system. The Yggy is very flat and I did not like that when it was new as it was also lean sounding. Give it time to blossom but is still very neutral.}
Textures {Yggy is neutral but tons of resolution and detail if the recording has it. The M7 colors the sound slightly but adds some nice spice to recordings. I really like electric guitars with the M7. They are full and rich where the Yggy has a leaner presentation on the 6-strings. Thicker vocals on the M7 which can be nice as well.}
Energy (The Yggy is a Porshe where the M7 is a muscle car. The Yggy can start and stop on a dime while the M7 is slower to react but not by a great amount. Again HDMI I2S will bring out the best in the Master 7 in this area. The M7 though has plenty of believable energy and dynamics. Just not as much as the Yggy. When new it took many weeks to get use to the hyper detail and dynamics from the Yggy. But after 500+ hrs it has smoothed out and sounds very good/ believable}
you can reference the above comparators from this review:
http://headmania.org/2015/06/28/theta-dspro-basic-oldie-but-goldie-dac/
