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I agree with Pariah comments. You really need to evaluate equipment over a period of time in your own system, How many times have I been to a high end dealer and heard great systems and we hear it differently with our own gear. I did not notice much changes with the matrix with burn in. I do notice huge changes with headphones as I did with the D7000. Tomorrow I get the T1 and I also am getting the tube amp to compare it both with the Matrix and the Little Dot. I noticed when I opened the MK11 it was set for high impedence so I am now listening to the D7000 on the 10 Gain setting and they sound very nice. The MK11 does not have the deep bass or soundstage of the Matrix but does sound very good driving both the 701 and D7000 at this setting. If you ever wanted to tone down the bass and soften the highs the little Dot does it well.
Yea, my impressions of gear always change over time (the first couple of weeks), then settle down to a consistent SS after I really get to know it.
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Just out of curiosity, for those who are running the M-Stage out of a laptop/computer, what DAC are you guys using with it?
Check my sig, a DAC Magic.
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This is gonna be tough to answer on account of the fact that I got the M-stage the same time as the 702s and also the fact that I never had a dedicated amp prior, but it's miles ahead of the D10 alone as I tried that myself; instrument separation was clearly better and the highs were tamed as well in comparison to the D10. It will also be hard for me to reference it to anything else 'cept the D10 and all I can say so far is thank gawd I got the M-stage, else I'd be crying with the highs with the D10; I'd rather shoot myself, put it that way
I was a little worried having to hit 12 - 1 o'clock cos' I usually listen to the music at 12 - 1 assuming I've got the gain set right
I have both the 1 pushed up so I think that would be the same as your setting?
Haha, well sounds like you like it so that's good!
I wouldn't be too concerned with your lack of equipment to compare, imo if something doesn't sound good you know it whether or not you have other better gear to compare it to or not. Thus, with my first headphone amp, the X-Head, although it was an improvement over various headphone outs I had, I knew something was off and it needed improvement. The same with the much better EF-1; that is a good amp, but something was off. I got a tube I liked and that much improved things, but I always thought it was a bit muffled or murky for my tastes, and especially lacking in power for my 702's. Well now I know I was right after getting the Matrix! (But I still new it before).
So yes, having different gear to compare can make it easier to tell what gear is lacking in individual gear, and you might not have realized how much it was otherwise, but I think that if one has lesser quality gear or simply gear they don't like the SS of, they will be able to tell even before they get other gear to compare it too.
For the 10db setting you need both 1's DOWN, with both 2's UP. Didn't your amp come with a sticker that shows that on the bottom? I stay at around 10 and 11, 12 if I'm really listening loud, but not often. It depends on the material.
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I am using them with the Tesla T1 and all Ican say fast,detailed and very transparent. The Matrix is a great match for the T1.
Great, yet another scale up the Matrix isn't lacking with!
I'm continuing to love this amp more and more the more (and different) material I throw at it. It's so fast, quick, punchy, snappy, crisp, clear, detailed, open, and neutral/revealing/transparent that it sounds great with anything I throw at it. The bass is a joy to listen to especially, very articulate, tight, taut, and not over done.
These descriptions also sound like they could apply to the 702's, and that's correct as this amp gets out of the way of cans and lets them sound simply how they sound. I did hook up my Grado 225i's briefly and found them overly bright and harsh with this amp. Now I know why some can't stand the highs of the 225i's; my EF-1 was covering them up more. So unless I also keep my EF-1 my 225i's are going to go as they just won't work with this amp imo. But I do need to listen more to that setup before I totally conclude anything.
Speaking of highs, I don't know what I was talking about before, the Matrix's highs are not harsh. I have been throwing on very bright/fatiguing (yet well recorded) albums (like Rush's Power Windows I'm listening to right now and Queensyrche's Empire) expecting to cringe/wince as soon as I hear the first track or at least easily tire of the album long before it's over, and yet I have not been, even at a pretty good volume. I also did not with my EF-1 and 702's, but the EF-1's lack of power and speed caused these exciting/fast paced albums to sound sluggish, weak.
I will say that I am noticing more sibilance in the vocals (with "s" words) than I did before. But that's it and it's not distracting and I think just a product of the vocals being clearer and more prominent in the mix with the 702's than before.
More later, especially when I get around to comparing/contrasting the Matrix with the EF-1.
