[conquerator2]

  Sorry for the late post I just noticed this. I sold my M Stage since I have the Auralic Taurus so no photo. The white dot (circle) printed on the top is the indication of the notch. Just use that for your reference.

Solved.

 

[Chodi]

  Well, it is definitely not the volume knob...
Thing started to smell really bad.
Putting it in the other way seems to work normally.
Though I won't test until later to see if the damage has been done.
 
So much for not opening yours up to check and letting me know... 

 
 
Unless, it was a fake... but I used the link you provided.

Sorry to hear. I had already sold mine so it was impossible for me to open and check. Anyway, if you reversed it and it is playing music it is working and you should be fine. If you ordered it from the folks in Thailand on ebay it was certainly not a fake. I used mine for a long time and enjoyed it but when I upgraded to the Taurus it was no contest. I sold the M Stage the next day.

 

[conquerator2]

restored.
 
Replaced with new resistors:
 

 

[Chodi]

  The good news is that it is working normally so far.
The R1 and R4 components seemed to have burned out though but that's about the excess of the damage...
Recommendations?
Keep using it or not?
 

 
EDIT: As long as it works flawlessly, I'll keep using it. Since there are about 30 of these R thingies, two probably don't mean much.
Plus I like the sound :]

Those two resistors probably have not failed or you would not be getting normal if any sound. You might want to have those two resistors changed at some point. They are  common resistors. If you don't want to do it any tech can change them in a few minutes. I would advise changing them out as they might work for ever or they might fail. 

 

[conquerator2]

Those two resistors probably have not failed or you would not be getting normal if any sound. You might want to have those two resistors changed at some point. They are  common resistors. If you don't want to do it any tech can change them in a few minutes. I would advise changing them out as they might work for ever or they might fail. 

solved.

 

[conquerator2]

solved and fixed.

 

[Chris J]

The good news is that it is working normally so far.

The R1 and R4 components seemed to have burned out though but that's about the excess of the damage...

Recommendations?

Keep using it or not?



EDIT: As long as it works flawlessly, I'll keep using it. Since there are about 30 of these R thingies, two probably don't mean much.

Plus I like the sound :]

 


Can you take a photo with a wider angle?
Hard to tell where these resistors are on the circuit board.
If the feedback resistors were to open up, you could destroy your headphones

 

[conquerator2]

fixed.

 

[GaToMaLaCo]

This is a pic from my M-Stage from 2012, seems they in Matrix had a different set of resistors back then, 
 
 

 

[Chodi]

  On the matter of the op-amp, I think it's great. It shaves off a bit of sibilance and sounds a bit more spacious than the LM4562. It is still burning-in though.
I'll have the two half-burnt resistors changed, a friend of mine knows this stuff.

Good idea change them soon to avoid problems. If your friend is not handy with a soldering iron then any tech shop that does repair could do it as it is a simple repair.

 

[Chris J]

  This is a pic from my M-Stage from 2012, seems they in Matrix had a different set of resistors back then, 
 
 

 
They changed the board layout.

 

[conquerator2]

The cool thing about the Mstage is that each Op-amp does offer a slight different tonality:
Stock Opa - neutral
LT1364 - bright 
LM4562 - neutral - bright
LME49710HA - neutral - warm
 
So they do cater to different headphones, which is nice.
 
In order of preference now - 49710HA > LM4562 > Stock > LT1364 [subject to change]
 
Very versatile little amp :]

 

[tdockweiler]

  The cool thing about the Mstage is that each Op-amp does offer a slight different tonality:
Stock Opa - neutral
LT1364 - bright 
LM4562 - neutral - bright
LME49710HA - neutral - warm
 
So they do cater to different headphones, which is nice.
 
In order of preference now - 49710HA > LM4562 > Stock > LT1364 [subject to change]
 
Very versatile little amp :]

 
Somehow I'm a fan of the OPA2134. There has not been an amp with that where I haven't liked it. E9 is the "worse", but still good (for the money).
The M-Stage, Headroom Micro Amp, iFI iCAN and E9 all use the 2134.
Some say it's slow, laid back or dark, but I don't think so at all.
 
I tried the OPA2227 and it seems a little warmer, but yet has a wider soundstage(!).
 
I put the LM4562 in my O2 and it was a fail with the stock Q701, but when modded it sounds great.
LM4562 with a DT-990 would totally ruin my ears I think.

 

[musicman7]

Hi, i just got a matrix m-stage to run my new fostex th-600's. I was hoping that someone could point me in the direction of the right dac to use. I have been looking and i have seen recommendations for the music streamer 2. I was wondering how this would compare to the matrix m-stage dac. I was also wondering if it is a bad thing to have a DAC run off of the power supply from my laptop through the usb compared to its own power supply. Lastly would something like the Nuforce icon hdp or the Audio GD 11.32 be a better option sound wise.
 
Thanks,
Zach

 

[elwappo99]

  Hi, i just got a matrix m-stage to run my new fostex th-600's. I was hoping that someone could point me in the direction of the right dac to use. I have been looking and i have seen recommendations for the music streamer 2. I was wondering how this would compare to the matrix m-stage dac. I was also wondering if it is a bad thing to have a DAC run off of the power supply from my laptop through the usb compared to its own power supply. Lastly would something like the Nuforce icon hdp or the Audio GD 11.32 be a better option sound wise.
 
Thanks,
Zach

 
Congrats Zach,
 
I purchased my M-stage by a member who thought it was a great match for the Denon D7000, and I agree (D7000 is identical to the TH-600, give or take a bit). 
 
You won't necessarily find anyone giving a "perfect" match in terms of a DAC. You can match headphones and amps for synergy, but not as often amps/DACs matching. I'd search for a good quality unit that gets good reviews. Usually you want your DAC to sound as neutral as possible, which is why many DACs sound very similar, just with varying levels of performance (details, soundstage, imaging, etc).
 
In terms of power, usually DACs that only run off of USB power don't sound as good. I think one of the bigger factors in DACs is the quality of the power. In that case, the power is coming from a USB port, which can really vary performance. I'm always a fan of Audio-GD dacs and think they sound great, but I also have to admit there are a lot of other really good DACs out in the market.