[TheClarifier]

I am looking at picking up a Musical Fidelity DAC. After a lot of research I still can't discern which would provide better sound as a DAC between the M1 DAC and the M1 S DAC. I understand the S DAC has a built in preamp and headphone amp but those are irrelevant to me as I will be passing this on to a tube pre-amp / headphone amp stage before the main amplifier. What's important to me is choosing the one that would provide the best DAC measurements. When I look between them the M1 DAC has THD(+ noise): <0.0025% 10Hz to 20 kHz and Frequency Response: +0, –1dB, 5Hz to 100 kHz while the M1 S DAC has THD(+ noise): <0.0012% 10Hz to 20 kHz and Frequency Response: +0, –3dB, 2Hz to 90 kHz. To me it seems the M1 S DAC would have less noise and while not having as much of a range on the highs could go lower on the bass side (as measured). The S DAC also has bluetooth and is $100 less than the M1 DAC and I think (I may be wrong) that it was released more recently so I am looking at it more closely. With that extra stuff in there however I want to make sure I wouldn't be sacrificing anything on the DAC side which is ultimately all I really care about. What do you think? Thanks!

 

[musicbuff]

I haven't heard the M1 DAC but I just bought the M1SDAC and this will be day 8 of burn-in.  Through speakers (Monitor Audio RX6's) it's very detailed and sounds very good.  Bass is tight and accurate, mids and highs are wonderful.  The headphone amp I'm not loving.  There's some sibilance I'm hoping will melt away with more burn-in.  Solo female and male voices and instruments are wonderful, but background singers exhibit sibilance which really sours the headphone experience.  When I compare my older Sony 5-disc CD player's headphone jack to the MF M1SDAC's headphone amp I can't hear any difference.  They both make my headphones sound way better than when connected straight to my computer.  My can's are Sennheiser HD 650's.  So I'd say go with just the DAC and pass on the headphone amp.  If the sibilance doesn't get better I'll probably return the DAC and look for something different.  Whathifi has a pretty good rating system.  Check out this link.
 
http://www.whathifi.com/musical-fidelity/m1-dac/review

 

[jacyeo]

Hi
Can share your setup details ? What is the amp u are connecting DAC to ?
Have a good day ahead !


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[musicbuff]

My Musical Fidelity M1SDAC is connected to a vintage Yamaha amplifier (which was manufactured totally analog back in the 80's) by RCA out and an older Sony 5 disc CD changer by optical in and of course my laptop is connected through USB.  With this combination I can really tell which CD's were produced well and which ones are mediocre.
 
When I listen to music through my Dell computer+MF M1SDAC+Yamaha+speakers most of my music sounds superb.  But when listening to CD's through the Sony CD player+MF M1sDAC headphone Amp+Sennheiser headphones amp I hear lots of sibilance and lack of bass even on CD's that were well produced. 
 
Just to be sure I played a CD of "Out of the Gray" on my CD player listening through the headphone amp on the Musical Fidelity and was less than impressed.  I then placed the same CD directly in my Dell laptop's CD drive (not hooked up to the DAC) and was amazed at how much better it sounded through the same headphones.  I may as well not have a headphone amp on the Musical Fidelity M1SDAC.  I sure don't feel It's worth it. 
 
If I could play my computer directly into my amp, I wonder how good (or bad) it would sound without the DAC at all.  But since my Yamaha amp has only analog RCA inputs and my laptop only has USB or SPDIF output there's no way to connect them and test that theory.

 

[peelwonder]

Hello, I have the M1 DAC and much only use it as a DAC as I find the pre-amp section to be a little on the thin side. Just my opinion though.

 

[Flinx]

Hi. I just read your post.  I bought the M1 SDAC about a month ago and I like it very much.  Did you end up keeping yours?

 

[musicbuff]

Hello Flinx,
Just now reading your post.  No I didn't keep my M1SDAC.  I traded it in and got the Sennheiser HDVA 600 headphone amp at a very attractive reduced price after buying the Sennheiser HD800 headphones.  I listen to the headphones through balanced cable and wow is that combination amazing!  The M1SDAC was great for listening to speakers but like I said earlier I didn't enjoy the headphone amp part of it.  I'm glad to hear you're really enjoying your purchase.. 

 

[Flinx]

Thanks for the reply.  I use it mainly for speakers----I use headphones for the office and the bus. I actually came close to buying new speakers, but opted for the M1 SDAC and a couple of M1 PWR amps by way of a package deal from Music Direct.  Until that point, I thought speakers played the largest role in a system, but this setup gave me the impression of also having new speakers.  Now I think I'm fighting room acoustics----I've got a weird resonance (I don't know what else to call it) in the 130 - 170 hz range, as far as I can tell.  I can reproduce it with another set of speakers and it seems to be in some electric bass notes.  l looked up the frequencies produced by a bass and then played around with an EQ and could lessen the effect with the 170 hz slider.  I listen in a nearfield setup on my desk and it's in my bedroom.  I am not even going to ask my wife about bass traps.  :  ).  
 
If you're curious, do you have the album, Close to the Edge, by Yes?    To hear what I'm talking about, skip ahead to about 3:25 of Siberian Khatru and listen to the bass guitar.  There is an extended note around 3:27 to 3:30, depending on the version you have.  Does the note sound like a normal bass guitar note or distorted somehow?  I asked a friend of mine who listens to Audioengine A2s and he could hear the same as me.  He thanked me profusely for pointing out an irritating sound he'd never hear before, so beware.   I listened for the same note on a pair of Senn HD 598s through the SDAC and I just heard clean bass.  The album is available on Spotify (I think) and Tidal  (for sure) if you use one of those services.