[Stuff Jones]

  My short review: http://www.head-fi.org/products/aune-m2-32bit-dsd-portable-music-player/reviews/15118

 
Thanks for this. Does anyone know what the theoretical sound quality advantages are of "top teflon PCB substrate"? What about femto clocks? 

 

[nmatheis]

specKtre: M2 should suit your sound preferences better IMHO. I love the N5, but it's a more "fun" sound.

Stuff Jones: Not sure about the technicalities of either, but the people I know who've heard both M2 and M2Pro or Esther and Esther Pro (both have femto clocks) have said they're noticeably better. They indicated somewhere in the 25-50% better range, so how much of a difference you'd hear will obviously vary depending on many factors.

 

[specKtre]

Thanks a lot @nmatheis. If I'll get no chance to listen N5 with my own ears i'll stick with M2. Sadly I can't afford myself a Pro version, which as you say sounds even better

 

[nmatheis]

And I'm gathering from Mim and drblue that the M2s sound even better yet :blink:

 

[Mimouille]

And I'm gathering from Mim and drblue that the M2s sound even better yet :blink:

Well I have no clue about that...

 

[nmatheis]

And I'm gathering from Mim and drblue that the M2s sound even better yet :blink:

Well I have no clue about that...

Nope. I didn't mean to infer that you've compared them, Mim.

However I've heard M2 and know a couple people who have heard both M2 and M2Pro. Both people said M2Pro was a noticeable difference over M2 but not an earth shattering difference.

So then you get M2s and make a nice comparison to some TOTL DAPs. I've heard a couple TOTL DAPs (AK380 briefly and PAW Gold for a couple weeks) and the difference my buddies are describing between M2 and M2Pro would not, in my mind, place M2Pro at TOTL level.

This is all inference, though, and of course should be taken with a grain or two of salt. I hope to hear M2Pro and PAW Gold at the same point early this year and will let people know what I think then.

Does that clear things up?

 

[Mimouille]

Nope. I didn't mean to infer that you've compared them, Mim.

However I've heard M2 and know a couple people who have heard both M2 and M2Pro. Both people said M2Pro was a noticeable difference over M2 but not an earth shattering difference.

So then you get M2s and make a nice comparison to some TOTL DAPs. I've heard a couple TOTL DAPs (AK380 briefly and PAW Gold for a couple weeks) and the difference my buddies are describing between M2 and M2Pro would not, in my mind, place M2Pro at TOTL level.

This is all inference, though, and of course should be taken with a grain or two of salt. I hope to hear M2Pro and PAW Gold at the same point early this year and will let people know what I think then.

Does that clear things up?

Sure, I was not accusing of anything. As to comparison to TOTL, the Aune M2S compares well with the AK240, but the AK240 is not as good as Mojo or Paw Gold, not even close. So I still prefer Paw Gold and Mojo over M2S, but not by much. And it still makes the M2S an excellent performer. And AK DAPs are humongously overpriced.

 

[nmatheis]

Absolutely no offense taken, Mim.

Perhaps I misunderstood what you were conveying then. For some reason I thought you were saying M2s compared quite favorably with PAW Gold, which would be quite an accomplishment. Perhaps M2Pro and M2s are closer than I'm thinking.

 

[Mimouille]

Absolutely no offense taken, Mim.

Perhaps I misunderstood what you were conveying then. For some reason I thought you were saying M2s compared quite favorably with PAW Gold, which would be quite an accomplishment. Perhaps M2Pro and M2s are closer than I'm thinking.

M2S does compare favorably with the Lotoo PAW Gold, in the sense that it is not far from it, but at a third of the price.

 

[Stuff Jones]

And I'm gathering from Mim and drblue that the M2s sound even better yet

 
This review appears to find no difference, if google translate can be trusted:
 
 

 A simple version of Aune M2 I have not had a chance to listen to. But listening Aune M2 pro and Aune M2S, did not catch much of a difference: filling them identical, except Teflon base plate, and the differences in colors.

 
Incidently its this review that complains about sibilance and says Aune is addressing it (?). Again, counting on google translate.... 
 

With regard to high-frequency sibilance, the manufacturer promises to address this issue and released quickly, which will solve the problem. By the way, in the next firmware will also add choice of the Russian language, which is also important for some users. 

 
http://btest.ru/reviews/obzor_audiopleera_aune_m2s_est_aun_u_menya_goluboj_-_budet_muzyka_vechno_so_mnoj/

 

[nmatheis]

Well, I did just reply to Mim above and say it was all inferred from what I've heard from headfi buddies and read in Mim's review. I haven't actually heard all of them - just the M2.

Regarding the sibilance issue, I haven't actually heard anyone here complain about that and haven't had that issue myself. Any owners here experiencing that?

Honestly though, the M2 Aune sent me is pre-production (S/N 0001), and I'm not running into the issues some if these other guys are having. I'm wondering if there were any changes made between the one I've got and the final product.

 

[Bellyworshipper]

All in all, M2S was advertised as a custom-colored version with teflon-coated PCB. Other than that it seems to have no differences compared to Pro (circuitry and design are identical). It's just better looking and sounding the same
As I understand, femto clock is another proprietary technology by MSB, which is neither worse nor better than the other analogous ones (audio lens and many others). Implementation of this technology alone won't bring any palpable advantage, obviously. Lotoo Paw Gold (though it's not a desktop DAC and comparison is slightly inadequate but...), for instance, has a specified clock jitter of 5 picoseconds (typical), which in no way prevents it to be one (reportedly) of the best sounding DAPs. So all these multiple zeroes after the decimal point are mostly marketologists' hype...Again, the values specified by the vendor are often not that precise   

 

[Mimouille]

No sibilance at all.

 

[specKtre]

And if anyone needs the latest FW (1.22), let me know and I'll get it to you.

I do!
I bit a bullet and am getting my M2 in a day or two. So i'll be gratefull if you send me the 1.22 FW.

 

[nmatheis]

No sibilance at all.

Thanks for chiming in, Mim. This talk of sibilance doesn't match my experience.