[0rangutan]

Brave man! Lol. Finally someone coming forward about the filters! I can't tell the difference either!

Can't hear the difference here either.  Never have on any DAC where you can choose the filter.

 

[mysticstryk]

Has anyone paired this with an Alpha Dog?

 

[discombob]

Scored a used M9xx.  Unfortunately, I think it's just a bit too warm and mid-bassy for my Grado PS500e (which already has a mid-bass hump), making instrument separation more of a chore than the built-in sound card of my computer.  Should I trade for an amp that is more neutral in the treble or a "traditional" Grado that is more boosted in the treble?
 
The soundstage is also just a tad unnaturally wide without crossfeed, and then too boxed in at the edges with crossfeed enabled.  I wish they had split the difference here.  An amp/dac combo that actually allows a user to adjust frequency response and soundstage width would be perfect... even if it was done digitally, so long as measured distortion was still pretty low.
 
Hhhmmm, more neutral and slightly smaller stage then....... Modi / Magni 2 uber?

 

[fjrabon]

It's interesting to see the m9XX go from being considered a bit on the bright side to "warm and mid-bassy."
If you want brighter and less soundstage, the the O2/ODAC sounds right up your alley at a much cheaper price point to boot.

 

[discombob]

Unfortunately this is how the PS500e sounds with this amp, since it is already rolled off pretty strongly compared to other Grados.  It wasn't as warm before when I was using a Nuforce Icon because those tend to run a little bright and damping factor also probably played a role since the Nuforce was 10 ohms out (less bass presence and quality compared to the Grace, making highs louder by contrast).
 
The bass is awesome on the Grace though... tons of body and slam, but the treble extension ["politeness"] is somewhat problematic because I enjoy air and instrument separation up top.  That and we all hear differently and my hearing is only flat to about 14k in tests, so I might enjoy something with more linear extension above 12k.  For now I'm just shelf-cutting everything under 10k in EQ to balance this combo out because the M9xx also has plenty of gain to compensate.
 
Curious: anyone know exactly what frequency the filters begin to roll things off?  Unfortunately, I'm also unable to really differentiate between any of the filter modes.

 

[fjrabon]

Unfortunately this is how the PS500e sounds with this amp, since it is already rolled off pretty strongly compared to other Grados.  It wasn't as warm before when I was using a Nuforce Icon because those tend to run a little bright and damping factor also probably played a role since the Nuforce was 10 ohms out (less bass presence and quality compared to the Grace, making highs louder by contrast).

The bass is awesome on the Grace though... tons of body and slam, but the treble extension ["politeness"] is somewhat problematic because I enjoy air and instrument separation up top.  That and we all hear differently and my hearing is only flat to about 14k in tests, so I might enjoy something with more linear extension above 12k.  For now I'm just shelf-cutting everything under 10k in EQ to balance this combo out because the M9xx also has plenty of gain to compensate.

Curious: anyone know exactly what frequency the filters begin to roll things off?  Unfortunately, I'm also unable to really differentiate between any of the filter modes.

The filters don't roll off any frequencies. They're time domain impulse response filters, not frequency response filters.

 

[mysticstryk]

Would it be weird to "upgrade" to this from a modi/magni uber stack? I kinda dig the options and supposedly this pairs very well with planars.

 

[lvince95]

Would it be weird to "upgrade" to this from a modi/magni uber stack? I kinda dig the options and supposedly this pairs very well with planars.

Is portability or transportability something you need?
 
If the above applies, then it would not be weird.

 

[JakiChan]

Anyone using the m9xx as just a DAC with speakers?  I'm thinking about picking up my 2nd one for use with my home computer.

 

[ViperGeek]

  Anyone using the m9xx as just a DAC with speakers?  I'm thinking about picking up my 2nd one for use with my home computer.

 
I use mine primarily as a DAC/preamp to powered Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 speakers on my home/office PC system.  With the volume set to 50 it drives the speakers at "office volume" just fine, and by 70 I've got a night club.  It's black velvet quiet with zero noise from the questionable quality USB port on the ThinkPad.
 
- Dave

 

[mysticstryk]

Is portability or transportability something you need?

If the above applies, then it would not be weird.

I don't need to transport it, but the upgraded dac, crossfeed and dual headphone ports are nice.

Perhaps I would be better served with a bifrost/Asgard upgrade?

 

[NeoWilson]

I don't need to transport it, but the upgraded dac, crossfeed and dual headphone ports are nice.

Perhaps I would be better served with a bifrost/Asgard upgrade?

Hmm I wouldn't if I were you

 

[mysticstryk]

Hmm I wouldn't if I were you

Wouldn't get the m9xx or bifrost/asgard stack?

 

[NeoWilson]

Wouldn't get the m9xx or bifrost/asgard stack?

m9xx since you already have the uber stack

 

[lvince95]

Wouldn't get the m9xx or bifrost/asgard stack?

I wouldn't get both if I were you, but that's just me. The Asgard is pretty poor value at the moment. For instance, the Polaris is the same price, but has twice the power, 6 gain settings, smaller form factor, different output impedances to suit different headphones, bandwidth settings to tame the treble of headphones like beyer or leave it untouched, and also doesn't run as hot as an asgard which can toast bread. The upgrade in SQ was pretty obvious when I switched from Asgard to Polaris. I'm sure there are better amps out there for $250.
 
Honestly, I think the m9xx would be a sidegrade seeing as you don't need it's transportability. The upgraded DAC is said to be similar to the DS Bifrost, while others say it's more or less similar in SQ to a Modi. You can use software to get crossfeed, and the filters won't change the sound much I reckon (I may be wrong don't take my word for it). If those features are what you want, go for it. If not, save the money towards a more significant upgrade in the future.