[Youth]

  i have the master 9.i use it with my lcd-x for audio mastering and critical listening sessions.
in a month i should receive a brand new HE-9 so i'll be able to make a comparison.

 
Sweet! 

 

[Hardtrancing]

I would like to know how the Master 9 stacks up against the Burson Conductor V2, as I'm torn about which of these to go for. I did find a quote from Hifi59 in this thread describing the differences, but it would be nice to know if there is consensus about his description.

If anybody can compare it to the NFB-15 or Soloist SL MKII, that would be helpful too. As I have had a Soloist on loan for a 2 week period and am familiar with its sound, and I currently own a NFB-15.
 
Thanks in advance.
 
Quote:

I compared the Master 9 to the new Burson CV2 8.2w amp. Using the excellent dac built into my Sony ZX2 Dap, I listen to both amps for about 1 hour. Streaming Tidal Hifi. I had a very hard time telling them apart with several genres of music thrown at them. They both had great bass authority but I might say that the 9 has a wee bit more bass output and the Burson a touch more air on top. They both sounded grain free, dynamic and yet refined. They both powered my headphones easily. (Hifiman HE-1K, Audeze Hifiman 3f and LCD 4) .

 

[marhol]

  Anyone compared M9 and HE-9?

 

  i have the master 9.i use it with my lcd-x for audio mastering and critical listening sessions.
in a month i should receive a brand new HE-9 so i'll be able to make a comparison.

 
Is the HE-9 reliable, stable and still for sale ? I thought it was reported, some time ago, it had some stability issues and was discontinued... Have these issues been fixed yet... ?

 

[fradoca]

The first batch of HE-9 had problems.now everything has been solved and the amp is sold on regular basis

 

[marhol]

The first batch of HE-9 had problems.now everything has been solved and the amp is sold on regular basis

all right, thanks, looking forward to your impressions/comparison with Master 9.

 

[dan.gheorghe]

Regarding M9 vs Conductor V2. If you look closely, the SNR of Conductor V2 isn't much of an improvement over the original conductor. It stands around ~ 90+dB which is considerably lower than the 130 db SNR from m9's specs. 
 
Don't get me wrong, I owned Conductor and it was a good amp, but in terms of cleanliness, transparency, details, it was no match for Master 9. Conductor was however a little more energetic than Master 9 that sounds a little more relaxed (but it is also very dac dependent, so I would state that this is a transparency related side effect).

 

[Hardtrancing]

 
Regarding M9 vs Conductor V2. If you look closely, the SNR of Conductor V2 isn't much of an improvement over the original conductor. It stands around ~ 90+dB which is considerably lower than the 130 db SNR from m9's specs. 
 
Don't get me wrong, I owned Conductor and it was a good amp, but in terms of cleanliness, transparency, details, it was no match for Master 9. Conductor was however a little more energetic than Master 9 that sounds a little more relaxed (but it is also very dac dependent, so I would state that this is a transparency related side effect).

 
Thank you for your input.
I do prefer energetic, however the transperacy of the M9 sounds intriguing as well.
How are the bass in terms of quantity and impact in your opinion?

I am currently looking at an offer on a M9 which is very tempting. Which is why I am interested in what I would miss from the CV2, if I go with the M9.

 

[negura]

   
Thank you for your input.
I do prefer energetic, however the transperacy of the M9 sounds intriguing as well.
How are the bass in terms of quantity and impact in your opinion?

I am currently looking at an offer on a M9 which is very tempting. Which is why I am interested in what I would miss from the CV2, if I go with the M9.

 
What headphones are you planning to use with this new amp?
 
The M9 is a great amplifier, but imo it pairs best with neutral/brighter headphones. I did not care very much for the combination of HE-9 and LCD-3, whereas HE-6s were quite enjoyable. The Soloist/Conductor is a great match with Audeze for example, but not so much with HD800s. This all imo, with my personal bias being towards rather more neutral sound, with a bit of warmth acceptable but not required. Obviously there will be other opinions depending on preferences so YMMV.

 

[Hardtrancing]

   
What headphones are you planning to use with this new amp?
 
The M9 is a great amplifier, but imo it pairs best with neutral/brighter headphones. I did not care very much for the combination of HE-9 and LCD-3, whereas HE-6s were quite enjoyable. The Soloist/Conductor is a great match with Audeze for example, but not so much with HD800s. This all imo, with my personal bias being towards rather more neutral sound, with a bit of warmth acceptable but not required. Obviously there will be other opinions depending on preferences so YMMV.

 
I will be using the Beyer DT1770 PRO's.

 

[negura]

In this case I suggest to spend less on amp and get a pair of HD6x0 at least. Mod the headphones and they scale immensely. If you need a good source too at least a Chord Mojo or Schiit Gumby and a cheaper amp. Jotunheim maybe.

 

[Hardtrancing]

In this case I suggest to spend less on amp and get a pair of HD6x0 at least. Mod the headphones and they scale immensely. If you need a good source too at least a Chord Mojo or Schiit Gumby and a cheaper amp. Jotunheim maybe.

 
I see what you mean about the M9 being an expensive amp for my headphones. But I don't see why I should replace my Beyers with Sennheisers?

 

[citraian]

I see what you mean about the M9 being an expensive amp for my headphones. But I don't see why I should replace my Beyers with Sennheisers?

I think what he's trying to say is that you can get more by buying a better amp, a better dac and better headphones than the ones you own currently of spending all the money on the M9.
The Senn part was just a suggestion based on his tastes.

 

[Hardtrancing]

I think what he's trying to say is that you can get more by buying a better amp, a better dac and better headphones than the ones you own currently of spending all the money on the M9.
The Senn part was just a suggestion based on his tastes.

 
The part I don't get is why the HD6x0 should be better than the DT1770. It sounds like a downgrade to me, since they are not in the same price range (I know price isn't everyting).

 

[negura]

Is using closed headphones a strict requirement?
 
 Price range isn't necessarily directly relevant to performance. And in this case the HD6x0 seriously outperform the DT1770 PRO imo, and obviously they have the advantage in sound quality of open headphones. The better the rig, the bigger the gap. Objectively the FR of DT1700 PRO is weird and they have high distortion too. If you like them that's great. I am just saying they will become a bottleneck for any of these very good amps and I would personally sort out headphones with priority in this case. There is plenty of choice for sound signature preferences, but with better performance. The HD600 and HD650 offer different signatures one more neutral one warmer, and they perform really well at this budget and beyond. It's not by accident they still are so popular around here after all this time.
 
Another thing to consider is how headphones are wired/terminated. The M9/HE-9 really are best used with XLR as it's a balanced design. You won't get the best performance out of the single ended jack. I don't know how the DR1770 are wired internally and if there's any hope of getting a balanced cable for them without complete rewiring.

 

[Hardtrancing]

  Is using closed headphones a strict requirement?
 
 Price range isn't necessarily directly relevant to performance. And in this case the HD6x0 seriously outperform the DT1770 PRO imo, and obviously they have the advantage in sound quality of open headphones. The better the rig, the bigger the gap. Objectively the FR of DT1700 PRO is weird and they have high distortion too. If you like them that's great. I am just saying they will become a bottleneck for any of these very good amps and I would personally sort out headphones with priority in this case. There is plenty of choice for sound signature preferences, but with better performance. The HD600 and HD650 offer different signatures one more neutral one warmer, and they perform really well at this budget and beyond. It's not by accident they still are so popular around here after all this time.
 
Another thing to consider is how headphones are wired/terminated. The M9/HE-9 really are best used with XLR as it's a balanced design. You won't get the best performance out of the single ended jack. I don't know how the DR1770 are wired internally and if there's any hope of getting a balanced cable for them without complete rewiring.

 
Closed have been working best for me, the open ones I have tried have been bass-shy, except for the DT990. But this is beside the point, I'm not intending on changing my current ones. I'm quite happy with them and I just want to push even more quality out of them. I have already heard that there is more to gain from them.

I am pretty sure I have seen someone in the DT1770 thread was experimenting with wiring them for balanced. I don't know how far he is with it though. But I'm not prepared to mod them just yet.

Maybe I could go with the Audio-gd C-2? They claim it's designed from the single-end part of the M9. Atleast I would not have to pay for balanced when I can't use it anyway.