[fjrabon]

  I absolutely love this little device, so glad I pulled the trigger on it. I bought extra cables and power supplies so that I have easy plug and play at home, work, and my bag. It makes me so happy that I never give a second thought anymore as to whether my DAC/Amp is messing with my source material or the inherent qualities of my headphones, or whether I have the "optimal" amp for a particular headphone/style of music. No more tinkering with the DAC/Amp of my kit, I get to simply enjoy my music... So essential.

Finding the Grace reminds me of when I found my favorite camera lens: Versatile enough to use under any condition, and I never have second thoughts about reproduction quality. For me, this device contributes holistically to the experience. I find it invaluable that the m9xx removes my desire to juggle a bunch of gear and lets me focus on whats important. <3

yeah, after getting over how good it sounds, and how well it works, and how nice it looks on my desk, and how solidly its built, that is my lasting impression: *I just can't believe that this is all I need*.  Coming of age when bigger was almost always better in headphone audio it's weird to look at this thing and realize it's on par not just with more expensive systems, but systems that take up half my desk.  

 

[Psalmanazar]

  Hi Psalmanazar,
 
To get foobar to play in UAC1 mode with the m9xx under WASAPI, you'll need to set the bit resolution to 32. 
To install the XMOS UAC2 driver, you'll need to set the m9xx to USB2 mode. Press and hold the volume knob to enter the menu, scroll to U1, then click on it to change it to U2. The m9xx will reboot itself into UAC2 mode and the driver should now install. 
-Alex

Thanks Alex! I'll try that the next time I have some time with the Grace M9xx.

 

[StolenToast]

  In case you're wondering, it's here: Grace Design x Massdrop m9XX – more mojo than Mojo. I hope to link it with a few simple RMAA measurements tomorrow or the next day or ... whenever. It's obvious that the m9XX is a phenomenal performer, even under load. It's up there with the best unloaded, but falls in a few areas VS Mojo. In almost every metric, it bests The Element. 

Good review, man!  I thought it interesting you liked F2 and F4, as I specifically enjoy F1 and F3 for my music.  The m9xx gets compared to the Mojo in pretty much every review, and it's really making me want to get one. 
 
I found this m9xx even makes my JVC SZ2000 listenable, which is quite a feat.  The 2000 has really boomy and huge bass, but somehow the whole image comes through alright.  In general I've never heard such pronounced variance between my cans before comparing in the conveniently-duo m9xx.  There is a lot of truth to the idea that this DA lets headphones "be themselves" and lays out all their strengths and weaknesses with no excuses left.  It's amazing I haven't yet listened to my beloved sr325i in it yet.

 

[fjrabon]

  Good review, man!  I thought it interesting you liked F2 and F4, as I specifically enjoy F1 and F3 for my music.  The m9xx gets compared to the Mojo in pretty much every review, and it's really making me want to get one. 
 
I found this m9xx even makes my JVC SZ2000 listenable, which is quite a feat.  The 2000 has really boomy and huge bass, but somehow the whole image comes through alright.  In general I've never heard such pronounced variance between my cans before comparing in the conveniently-duo m9xx.  There is a lot of truth to the idea that this DA lets headphones "be themselves" and lays out all their strengths and weaknesses with no excuses left.  It's amazing I haven't yet listened to my beloved sr325i in it yet.

it's a very good amp for Grados.  

 

[Neotribal]

Good review, man!  I thought it interesting you liked F2 and F4, as I specifically enjoy F1 and F3 for my music.  The m9xx gets compared to the Mojo in pretty much every review, and it's really making me want to get one. 

I found this m9xx even makes my JVC SZ2000 listenable, which is quite a feat.  The 2000 has really boomy and huge bass, but somehow the whole image comes through alright.  In general I've never heard such pronounced variance between my cans before comparing in the conveniently-duo m9xx.  There is a lot of truth to the idea that this DA lets headphones "be themselves" and lays out all their strengths and weaknesses with no excuses left.  It's amazing I haven't yet listened to my beloved sr325i in it yet.

To be fair, the sz2000 is what you reach for if you want huge bass

 

[EinZweiDrei]

if i were to set at my m9xx from the rca out at 90volume to a dedicated desktop amp would i still use high power or low power.

 

[fjrabon]

if i were to set at my m9xx from the rca out at 90volume to a dedicated desktop amp would i still use high power or low power.

Doesn't matter.

 

[olek]

How well does this drive a 600ohms dt880 and how well does it pair with it.

I have dt880/600 and in my opinion m9xx drives them fine. I have seen some other people say that O2 can drive them well too and seriously disagree with that opinion - O2 is pretty good for other, lower impedance cans, but it absolutely peters out with DT880/600. And m9xx does not lose it steam with those cans. Still, DT880 shine their best with Bottlehead Crack/Speedball, and m9xx and Gustard H10 are not quite at the same level.
 
Now that I have spent couple weeks with m9xx (and got better interconnects for H10), I would like to do some corrections to my previous statements, and bring some dissonance to universal praise

 
m9xx sounds great with all my headphones, but Gustard H10 is still edging it out with its sheer driving power; I guess size still matters

; that can be especially felt with HE-400i. Do not get me wrong, they sound great out of m9xx and it is very good amp for them, but H10 (with AD797 opamps) is managing to dig a bit deeper, and to bring a bit more details out of them. Happened only after I threw fairly expensive interconnects in the mix - before that happened, m9xx was winning hands down.
 
I also feel a bit like a hypocrite now saying that m9xx is great (it IS!), when I have not really listened to it for last couple days. A stray neglected and abused 40-years-old Braun PS-600 turntable wandered into my hands (Dieter Rams design, who-hoo!), and I can not stop listening to it through H10 and 400i. As good as m9xx DAC is, it still can not compare to pure analog pickup - paint me surprised. BTW - quick comparison of DACMini and m9xx side by side (as DACs) gave me impression that they are about the same, but comparing each of them separately to turntable (one chain being phono-amp through ADC, loopback device on computer and then DAC, and other chain is phono-amp directly to heaphone amplifier) hints at DACMini being a tiny bit closer to analog sound than m9xx, whatever that means.

 

[shigzeo]

  I have dt880/600 and in my opinion m9xx drives them fine. I have seen some other people say that O2 can drive them well too and seriously disagree with that opinion - O2 is pretty good for other, lower impedance cans, but it absolutely peters out with DT880/600. And m9xx does not lose it steam with those cans. Still, DT880 shine their best with Bottlehead Crack/Speedball, and m9xx and Gustard H10 are not quite at the same level.
 
Now that I have spent couple weeks with m9xx (and got better interconnects for H10), I would like to do some corrections to my previous statements, and bring some dissonance to universal praise

 
m9xx sounds great with all my headphones, but Gustard H10 is still edging it out with its sheer driving power; I guess size still matters

; that can be especially felt with HE-400i. Do not get me wrong, they sound great out of m9xx and it is very good amp for them, but H10 (with AD797 opamps) is managing to dig a bit deeper, and to bring a bit more details out of them. Happened only after I threw fairly expensive interconnects in the mix - before that happened, m9xx was winning hands down.
 
I also feel a bit like a hypocrite now saying that m9xx is great (it IS!), when I have not really listened to it for last couple days. A stray neglected and abused 40-years-old Braun PS-600 turntable wandered into my hands (Dieter Rams design, who-hoo!), and I can not stop listening to it through H10 and 400i. As good as m9xx DAC is, it still can not compare to pure analog pickup - paint me surprised. BTW - quick comparison of DACMini and m9xx side by side (as DACs) gave me impression that they are about the same, but comparing each of them separately to turntable (one chain being phono-amp through ADC, loopback device on computer and then DAC, and other chain is phono-amp directly to heaphone amplifier) hints at DACMini being a tiny bit closer to analog sound than m9xx, whatever that means.

I don't see what you mean by 'power' and 'more details', as if the two somehow coincide. Especially concerning your final paragraph where the m9XX 'still can not compare to pure analog pickup'. 
 
What you are describing are your personal preferences, not actual metrics. It's 100% like me saying my Leica M240 picks up more details than a Nikon D750, which is patently false. I may prefer using the Leica (and do), but it simply can't compare even at base ISO, in any measurable benchmark. It's great that you prefer a thing over another thing, but correlating that preference to absolutes is both poor form, and incorrect. 
 
It is possible that the Gustard pushes out more voltage to the HE-400i. It is possible that at the same high voltage levels it spits maintains higher current. But it is also possible that the converse is true. Without testing that, everything you've said is conjecture and nothing more than he said she said. 

 

[shigzeo]

 
it's a very good amp for Grados.  

Indeed, it is.

 

[olek]

You are absolutely right, @shigzeo, what I post is absolutely MY subjective opinion and personal preference and nobody's else!

 
To make it worse, it is my opinion as of NOW, and it can (and will) change in the future.
 
As for 'power' and 'detail' contradiction... I do not know how H10 gets better level of detail out of 400i, and I frankly do not care about it. All I care for is that I do hear a difference in detail (and then assume that it is because bigger amp with better power supply is capable of driving headphones better). Somebody else might not hear it. Does that make it not exist? Not for me, not for now!
 
Back to m9xx - given its size / ergonomics, it is truly excellent device. And I like its amp section much more than DACmini's (another subjective preference devoid of any metrics).
 
I just do not fancy calling something 'perfection' because such thing does not exist (should I preface that it is again - just my opinion?). And that is what my post was attempting to convey. If I did not succeed at that, please accept my apologies.

 

[Trojita]

So are the numbers on the front always on when the device is plugged in? Just wondering because this could be a problem buying it and putting it in my bedroom. Those Blue-white spectrum lights are awful to fall asleep with. Would be a different case maybe if it was orange or red.

 

[159650]

So are the numbers on the front always on when the device is plugged in? Just wondering because this could be a problem buying it and putting it in my bedroom. Those Blue-white spectrum lights are awful to fall asleep with. Would be a different case maybe if it was orange or red.

You can dim the display. It will turn off when not in use except the dot at the end. I have it in my room and it's always on. Zero issues.

 

[StolenToast]

To be fair, the sz2000 is what you reach for if you want huge bass

That's what they are, what they do well and the entire reason I own them.  Though I will say the TH-X00 is seriously giving that nano-carbon a run for its money...

 

[EinZweiDrei]

is there a reason to use usb1(m9xx) over usb2(xmos) or vice versa?