i have both, and a jot and fulla 2. got my m3 yesterday, so these impressions are very early, with only 3 hours listening time, one of which was directly comparing vali 2 to m3, to see which will be my work amp. i'll spend this weekend doing more listening and will provide more detailed impressions later. but here are my initial impressions after 3 hours. chain is phone w/tidal hifi, modibit, m3/vali 2, t90. yes, i love my t90, treble and all.
first thought when listening for the first 20 mins was "refined". the older magni's had a slight glare in the treble, and a touch of shouty-ness, if you will. that's not present in the m3. despite the more refined highs, its still a very detailed amp. it's very transparent, very neutral. i started to think warm, but honestly, i dont think it is. it's just refined and mostly colorless. nothing stood out to me, other than my headphones and the music. that's a win, for me.
running splitters from modi to the m3 and vali 2 (with eh gold pin tube), i volume matched them to 80db and swapped back and forth. they're very close overall. what i found though is the vali is a touch warmer. there was more thickness to the notes, more body. more liquid, if you will. treble sounded slightly rounded off, less extended. the t90 is bright, and the vali 2 softens it's presentation noticeably. it has a noticeable sound signature. honestly, i find it boring overall. with the stock tube, eh gold pin, and genelex gold lion, it just sounded too smooth, too even toned. nothing stood out, other than it's smooth and slightly warm.
going to the m3, the first thing i noticed was....nothing. all my other amps have a tonal character that i recognize immediately. not so with the m3. i think that's due to only 3 hours ear time, so this WILL change as i learn the amp more. but it just sounded good, and i just couldnt shake that feeling of "nothing". that the amp was very very transparent. but like i said, that's going to change over time as i get used to it, i'm sure. but it's just clean sounding. clean, clear, and neutral. i cant say it's bright, i cant say it's dark. i honestly cant say much other than it sounds really good. i prefer it to the vali for sure. why? it lacks the vali's smooth and slightly rounded presentation. it's more detailed and honest to the headphones and music. to put it into a headphone analogy, it's like the hd600 vs the hd650. i find the 600 the more honest and neutral set.
some other observations - again, compared to older magni's, the treble is much better. less glare, less etching. i found the older magni's to start sounding harsh past 3000k. not so with the m3, it's cleaner.
after 15 mins going back and forth with the jot, i thought it sounded very similar in it's clarity, just not as energetic. the jot sounds a bit spastic for whatever reason. more extension at the top and bottom, though i wouldnt say more detail. it's just a more dynamic sounding amp. not dramatically so though. they're more alike than i expected. the m3 just sounds more composed, more even. the jot is more exuberant. sorry for the non-technical terms, i'm not good at descriptions. given the short amount of time though, the only real thing i kept noticing was the jot's extra dynamics. it was just a slightly brighter, harder hitting amp. it's "fun", the m3 more natural.
only about 5 mins on the fulla 2, and to be honest, it made me appreciate the fulla even more than i already do. the fulla is harsher, less detailed, hazier, but not by such a degree as i'd have expected. it's still amazing sounding for the price. and has plenty of power for my t90, ether c, and other more efficient headphones. but the fulla 2 does sound more raw and rough around the edges compared to the modibit/m3. it's leaner, less dynamic, and much harsher at from 6k on. to these ears, the fulla gets annoying with bright music and bright headphones. i dont like my beyers on it much. the ether c does fine, it's smooth sounding. but my favorite headphones for the fulla 2 are my darker ones, like my nightowl, nad hp50, or b&o h6 gen 2. those sound really good as they brighten up a bit with the fulla. i havent tried them on the m3 yet, only the t90.
so overall, i'm quite impressed with the m3. i think if you want transparency, it's far superior to the vali 2. the vali adds flavor to the sound. if that's your goal, it's the better option. if you want an amp that just gets out of the way, i find the m3 to be the best of my current bunch. i have a grace m9xx at work with the vali, and i'll bring it home to compare to the m3. i find the grace to be quite transparent as well. i'm curious how it will compare to the m3. i'll try using the grace dac with the m3 doing amp duties. then i'll compare the grace as a dac/amp, to the modibit/m3 combo. i will say this, i hate the modibit/vali 2 combo for some reason! it's too soft, too smooth. maybe a different tube is needed. but i think its just my growing preference for lean clarity.
take all this with a major grain of salt as i ONLY LISTED FOR 3 HOURS. my impressions are initial and will change. i have the m3 here at work today with the grace doing dac duties, and my t70 work phones (told you i like lean clear sounds). after 2 hours of listening, i'm liking this combo alot! there's no character to it, other than being "characterless" so far. i like that. how you like the m3 will depend on what you want from it.
hope this helps. for anyone considering the m3, just get it. it's cheap, sounds great, and is so flexible in it's usage. you can run ANYTHING from it. and because it's mostly transparent, your choice of headphone will be the real deciding factor regarding how your system will sound.
more impressions after the weekend.
