[dcguy73]

I don't know if it's buyers remorse or not, but I'll come out and say it. (I'm new here so I don't have a rep to protect...lol.) I'm disappointed with the Grace m902.

The DAC is not as smooth and refined as I had hoped, and the USB input, while convenient, doesn't sound half as good as feeding the Grace with a digital signal from my Denon 2900.

It's a decent amp, but is it $1500 worth of decent? I'm struggling with that one.

 

[OneMalt]

Oh man, don't say that! The 901 is high on my "serious consideration" list.

 

[Bosch]

I do get a bit dubious about components that try do too many things and therefore have lots of signal paths inside the box. But as long as it performs up to its price point then I guess that's all you can hope for. Good on you for speaking up. How long has the unit burnt in for?

 

[EdipisReks]

it's a solid state amp, right? burn in doesn't effect solid state components (at least not in the way that is referred to by "burn in"). they either work properly or they don't.

 

[TrevorNetwork]

I auditioned the Grace 901, and felt that as a package it was a good deal. I have not yet heard the m902. It may be that the sound provided by the m902 is just not your bag. You may even be a valve guy. I find it odd that the USB input would not sound the same as the coax/optical input. Perhaps someone can chime in as to why that may be. Kmixer issues? Jitter issues?

 

[dcguy73]

I'd estimate that I've burned in the Grace for about 150 hours or so now. I usually leave it running overnight with various discs left on repeat. I'm pretty sure it's been broken in as much as it can. I just swapped out the stock powercord for an Harmonic Technology Pro AC 11, which seems to improve the blackness of the background.

Are other people running it direct to the wall outlet? I'm runing it through my PS Audio UPC-200. Haven't tried it direct.

I'm not saying it's a bad amp. It drives my Senn 650s really well. My modded ART DI/O sounds great through the Grace when using it as an amp.

I guess I'm most disappointed with the Grace's DAC section. I guess the words I'd use to charactize it most are "crisp" and "clean." The ART DI/O sounds warmer in comparison.

I'll be getting my Singlepower next week, so I'll be experimenting with using the Grace's DAC through its unbalanced outs. It may be at its best with tubes mixed in.

 

[GoRedwings19]

I call first dibs if you sell. Sorry, standard shotgun rules

 

[Tim D]

I got a new 901 for approx half price. I really like it however for all the fancy trimmings and high quality pot and all, I'd have to say my also 'bargain-priced' Mad Ear+ with even its default cheese pots is still immensely enjoyable and just plain fun to look, tweak, tuberoll, and listen to. I consider the 901's dac a nice bonus and does some good with the integrated digi out on my computer mobo. I don't think all the extra's the 902 has are things that are high priority for me(i.e. better dac, slowly adjusted digital volume knob, input usb, etc). In addition I like the simpler more uniform cosmetics of its littler brother and personally like the feel and response of the traditional analog stepped pot with gain option (i.e. if you aren't using super sensitive IEM's the range is perfect IMO).

I could easily live with just the MAD Ear+ amp and would if I decided on just one (for mainly cost reasons). And because I just happen to really like the MAD Ear+ and all its quirks. I've heard a good share of SS amps to know the 901 is still a great all-rounder in features, build, size, etc, but surprisingly enough the MAD Ear+ is an all-rounder as well, cept tubed.

 

[dcguy73]

Hold the phone! I think the issue may be with my PS Audio UPC-200 power conditioner. I have tried switching back and forth between the UPC and my Panamax 5300 and have determined that the UPC, while it completely blackens the background, is also compressing the sound somehow.

I am returning the UPC-200 and have ordered a BPT 3.5 power conditioner as a replacement, so please take my comments on the Grace m902's sound with a grain of salt. More observations to follow once I receive the BPT.

The Grace m902 may yet prevail . . .

 

[tiberian]

nice power conditioner there, congrats.

 

[GoRedwings19]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dc_guy Hold the phone! I think the issue may be with my PS Audio UPC-200 power conditioner. I have tried switching back and forth between the UPC and my Panamax 5300 and have determined that the UPC, while it completely blackens the background, is also compressing the sound somehow. I am returning the UPC-200 and have ordered a BPT 3.5 power conditioner as a replacement, so please take my comments on the Grace m902's sound with a grain of salt. More observations to follow once I receive the BPT. The Grace m902 may yet prevail . . .

Aw crap and I called first dibsy's as well

 

[norbert:lehmann]

Hi,

Quote:

Originally Posted by EdipisReks it's a solid state amp, right? burn in doesn't effect solid state components (at least not in the way that is referred to by "burn in"). they either work properly or they don't.

Sorry, according to my own experience I have to seriously disagree here. As an engineer I would love to switch on audio electronics and have the right sound right away. But in real live I feel that things are different.

Here are some of the effects of unsufficiently warmed up units

- hole in the middle of the soundstage
- harshness
- sound lacks pace, swing and dynamics

Just my 2 Cents

Cheers

Norbert

 

[gerG]

Oh great, another one of those pesky engineers!

Hi Norbert. Are you referring to "warm-up", where the components take some time to reach stable operating temperatures, or "burn-in", where components permanently change their characteristics with many hours of operation? I am very familiar with the first one, but do not understand the reasons for the latter.

DC Guy, sorry but no. I am very much in love with my Grace M902. It is outstanding as a preamp in my main system, and also does duty as a headphone amp most days of the week. I don't use a power conditioner, just heavy-duty power cords. I should mention that clarity and detail are what I am after. Trevor has a good point, there may be vacuum tubes in your future.

Tim, I agree on the volume control. I don't mind the wristwatch control on the 902, but I prefer the large finite steps on the 901. The 902 needs a larger knob and no click stops. That would allow smooth scrolls to the desired level at whatever speed you desire. The DP-U50 is very nice in this regard. otoh the design is meant for professionals, so I am guessing that they need something that stays put and can't be bumped by accident. otooh if you bump it it will go dead because it switched to the other outputs. Then again that can be locked out....
Dang, this design stuff is all kinds of madening fun.

Trevor, my experience with usb has been extremely varied. Even when I get the "real" bitstream out of the PC, there are various things that can go wrong. Timing is a big issue, although the 902 seems to take care of that if the stream is within the boundaries of the s-lock. I still get noises out of one PC that I am clueless about. It is a series of clicks that shows up periodically. The clicks actually march from one channel to the other!

I do wish that the 902 had a digital loop. I use a DEQ for various applications, and I would love to be able to take a usb (or better, a firewire) signal, loop it through the DEQ via toslink or AES3, and back into the 902. To be fair I am not sure of anything that has this feature yet (not even the 904) but as gear gets more digital it is an obvious need.


gerG

 

[Jahn]

have you tried bypassing all the filters and conditioners and just plugging that baby into the wall direct? believe it or not this is the way my Solo sounds its best. I just hope lightning doesn't strike and fry my amp, but that's a risk I'm willing to take (and i hear my PC1000 wouldn't stop lightning damage anyhow).

 

[Bosch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn have you tried bypassing all the filters and conditioners and just plugging that baby into the wall direct? believe it or not this is the way my Solo sounds its best. I just hope lightning doesn't strike and fry my amp, but that's a risk I'm willing to take (and i hear my PC1000 wouldn't stop lightning damage anyhow).

I have my Solo running off a Cawsey power filter and it sounds fine, very punchy and dynamic with lots of finesse too. I did switch between filtered and unfiltered not long after getting the amp, but I didn't notice any huge differences. Now that it's been run-in properly for one month, I might try another comparison.

How's it all going, dc_guy?