[citraian]

Audio-gd have said it themselves, the price difference is fairly big (1550 vs 2399) but the difference in sound quality is not as much.

There have been a few short first impressions about HE9 claiming it's a really rather amazing headphone amp can drive HE-6 much better than Ragnarok, but due to problems discussed earlier in this thread, there have been problems and the person (negura) decided to return it and is now on Ragnarok...

But trust me, there are people who go from an amp to amp, I'm really content with Master 9, I doubt it can get any better, at all... This is why I'm not changing it, it's my end game.

negura did return it but he doesn't have a Ragnarok. He has an EC 2A3

 

[negura]

   
Audio-gd have said it themselves, the price difference is fairly big (1550 vs 2399) but the difference in sound quality is not as much.
 
There have been a few short first impressions about HE9 claiming it's a really rather amazing headphone amp can drive HE-6 much better than Ragnarok, but due to problems discussed earlier in this thread, there have been problems and the person (negura) decided to return it and is now on Ragnarok...
 
But trust me, there are people who go from an amp to amp, I'm really content with Master 9, I doubt it can get any better, at all... This is why I'm not changing it, it's my end game.

 
I would have kept the the fireworks DAC slayer HE-9 version that I had, than choosing the Ragnarok. The former is a better amp and more engaging imo. But yes, my journey took me through a few other amps, until I landed what I have now.

 

[Topspin70]

Wondering anyone did a comparison with Auralic Taurus? Love to hear thoughts and opinions about how they differ esp through LCD3.

 

[Show]

  Has anyone tried the preamp output of Master 9? I was thinking of buying a pair of active speakers. I was wondering how good the preamp out can be.

 
Yes I have, yes I have indeed. They sound sublime. My M9 is a hard worker, clocks about 9 hours per day, however, it is pampered. It is juiced by a power regenerator, and lives in a dust-free, low humidity, temp controlled room. Does a great job with my headphones too...

 

[Articnoise]

Audio GD have a new combined DAC and headphone amplifier the Master 11.

 

http://www.audio-gd.com/Master/Master-11/M11EN.htm

 

[ardilla]

  Am i the only one here who finds the master 9 very lackluster or ball-less with the HD800 and LCD3. 

 
I find it the opposite with both...

 

[wmedrz]

  Audio GD have a new combined DAC and headphone amplifier the Master 11.

 

http://www.audio-gd.com/Master/Master-11/M11EN.htm

Built in newest DSP software, best sound quality PCM1704UK , balance class A headphone / preamp up to 9000mW @ 40 ohm (Class A ) and 16000mW @ 25 ohm (Max) output, 6 groups digital inputs and 3 groups analog inputs.
Do you still want to search something? 
 
So.... does it sound better than M7?
 
The newly designed DSP processor is soldered on the main board directly for best signal transfer and faster data processing and clocking, it brings the detail, transparency and dynamics  to another level   over all other audio-gd DACs.

 

[SodaBoy]

Well, the Master 7 has 4 DACs per channel while the Master 11 has 2 per channel. However they both achieve 20 bits resolution in SNR, with the same level of linearity in the audible FR range. From what I gather, the Master 11 might have a new DSP processor, with possibly new filters, this could offer a significant improvement.

 

[wmedrz]

New DSP and filter upgrades coming to M7 near you?

 

[SodaBoy]

To be honest though, Audio-GD is being pretty vague on the DSP part. I looked at the Master 7, and the wording is pretty much the same as the wording on the Master 11. I'm somewhat doubtful on whether the DSP has been upgraded over Master 7. Time to page Kingwa.
 
@Kingwa
 
On a second thought, I'm pretty sure now this is a slightly chopped down Master 7 with a Master 9 derived amp section, and the DSP section remains unchanged. Seems like a damn good deal to me though.

 

[Clemmaster]

Yeah, they upgraded the Ref-10.32 with the technical improvements the Master-7 brought to the Reference 7.1 (DSP soldered on the board directly, possibly new filters) and the amp section tuned a bit warmer (Master-9 vs Master 5/6/8).
 
It's a very good deal for people who consider the Master-7 and / or would need a DAC with an built-in preamp (e.g for powered monitors).

 

[evillamer]

looks like the master 11 dsp is still the same as master 7 dsp(this is basing on the measurements found on agd site and the bandpass specs & etc). 

 

[xxxfbsxxx]

  Built in newest DSP software, best sound quality PCM1704UK , balance class A headphone / preamp up to 9000mW @ 40 ohm (Class A ) and 16000mW @ 25 ohm (Max) output, 6 groups digital inputs and 3 groups analog inputs.
Do you still want to search something? 
 
So.... does it sound better than M7?
 
The newly designed DSP processor is soldered on the main board directly for best signal transfer and faster data processing and clocking, it brings the detail, transparency and dynamics  to another level   over all other audio-gd DACs.

i believe it uses the same dsp module found in m7 since you can see the description:
 
DSP-1 processor:
             DAC Master 11 has built in DSP-1 processor, which is a Two-channel Digital Interpolation Filter and data in-phase processor for digital audio. This Device offers advanced features for high-performance digital signal processing (DSP) applications up to 250-MHz. Data and Master-clock in-phase processing are without jitters. So DAC Master 11 can offer a clear and focused soundstage, apart from accurate and neutral reproduction of the recorded disc/music.The DSP-1(V5) digital processor can supports NOS, 2X, 4X and 8X oversampling customers setting, and keep the timing more steady.
 
the dsp1-v5 is the latest version which can be found on ref 7.1, m7, ref10.32,ref5, sa1.32 and recently introduced dac19anv

 

[Show]

M11 is a lite version of the M7 and the headphone output of the m9. Still a great deal for those who cannot afford a m7 and only uses headphones.

 

[i019791]

M11 is a lite version of the M7 and the headphone output of the m9. Still a great deal for those who cannot afford a m7 and only uses headphones.

If a good deal for headphones, why not a good dac+preamp deal for speakers ?,