[screwdriver]

Who recommended the M51 to you again?  

some cool guy named purk knocked some sense into me ............

 

[NicoD6]

I had no such issues with my M51.

I read a review of the NuForce that described it as "very dynamic".

If that's your preference, was it wise to change to a very neutral dac?

I think that matching the HD800 with this dac was not a good idea for me since they are both very neutral and i don't wanna take the tube path for the amp. Right now, i am thinking about changing my whole setup so you guys might see the M51 in the FS thread soon. HD800 is already there.

 

[boatheelmusic]

I like neutral, but in your case you may wish to look at the Grace m903, or if you want DSD the Grace M920.

 

[purk]

  I think that matching the HD800 with this dac was not a good idea for me since they are both very neutral and i don't wanna take the tube path for the amp. Right now, i am thinking about changing my whole setup so you guys might see the M51 in the FS thread soon. HD800 is already there.

 
Have you upgrade your HD800 with a good cable or you may need a good amp for them?  I'm running HD800 balanced with the M51 and GS-X MKII and the combo produces spectacular sound.  I'm a big fan of the M51 and found it to be good enough source for my SR009 & BHSE.

 

[NicoD6]

   
Have you upgrade your HD800 with a good cable or you may need a good amp for them?  I'm running HD800 balanced with the M51 and GS-X MKII and the combo produces spectacular sound.  I'm a big fan of the M51 and found it to be good enough source for my SR009 & BHSE.

No, i did not upgrade the cable. As for the amp, i tried the Questyle CMA800R, which is considered one of the best SS amp for the HD800 and i was REALLY impressed. With this system, there was no flaw IMO (the M51 was not even weak in the chain, which is impressive) excepting that it was still a little too cold sounding for my taste. This is not the only reason i want to sell my system though. I am only 21 and it bothers me to own such high end gear, so i intend to downgrade to the HE-560 with a simple DAC/amp combo unit.

 

[boatheelmusic]

Seriously, the Emotiva DC1 or Dangerous Music Source dac/preamps are great dacs at great prices.

 

[bdmarion]

Has anyone tried the iFi iUSB with the M51?  I'm wondering if it's worth the $200 to add one between my desktop PC and the M51.

 

[ellevoid]

  No, i did not upgrade the cable. As for the amp, i tried the Questyle CMA800R, which is considered one of the best SS amp for the HD800 and i was REALLY impressed. With this system, there was no flaw IMO (the M51 was not even weak in the chain, which is impressive) excepting that it was still a little too cold sounding for my taste. This is not the only reason i want to sell my system though. I am only 21 and it bothers me to own such high end gear, so i intend to downgrade to the HE-560 with a simple DAC/amp combo unit.

Have you try HDVA600 or HDVD800? For me I think they are the best SS amp for HD800. 
Highly recommended if you can find a cheap one (IMHO the retail price is way too high). 
 

  Has anyone tried the iFi iUSB with the M51?  I'm wondering if it's worth the $200 to add one between my desktop PC and the M51.

Do you mean iFi iUSBPower? If yes, I think you should go for iPurifier or upgrade your USB cable instead since iUSBPower is designed for DAC that use power from USB port and M51 is already have their own power supply.
 
Btw I use iUSBPower+Gemini cable with my NAD M51.

 

[bdmarion]

Originally Posted by ellevoid /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Do you mean iFi iUSBPower? If yes, I think you should go for iPurifier or upgrade your USB cable instead since iUSBPower is designed for DAC that use power from USB port and M51 is already have their own power supply.
 
Btw I use iUSBPower+Gemini cable with my NAD M51.

 
Thanks for the response, that helps...I have been trying to figure out if the M51 uses USB power.  I even called NAD and didn't get a real direct answer to that question.  Out of curiosity, how do you know this to be the case?
 
So, you've got the iUSB Power and the Gemini on your M51 but recommend going with just the iPurifier instead?  I just want to make sure I'm understanding what you're saying...
 
Do you think the iPurifier and the Gemini would be beneficial enough to make it worth the money?  FYI, I'm going to be using the M51 with the WA5 and HD800's (and Beyerdynamic T5P's)...
 
Thanks again.

 

[ellevoid]

   
Thanks for the response, that helps...I have been trying to figure out if the M51 uses USB power.  I even called NAD and didn't get a real direct answer to that question.  Out of curiosity, how do you know this to be the case?
 
So, you've got the iUSB Power and the Gemini on your M51 but recommend going with just the iPurifier instead?  I just want to make sure I'm understanding what you're saying...
 
Do you think the iPurifier and the Gemini would be beneficial enough to make it worth the money?  FYI, I'm going to be using the M51 with the WA5 and HD800's (and Beyerdynamic T5P's)...
 
Thanks again.

 
I mean, if you are going to buy iUSB Power, you should buy Gemini cable as well.
Otherwise go for iFi Mercury or other higher grade usb cable + iPurifier instead.
 
From iFi Audio website, the best setup would be PC -> (iFi Mercury usb cable + iUSB Power + Gemini cable + iPurifier) -> DAC. 
)

 

[Vargtass]

I flashed my firmware a couple of weeks ago and I've noticed that my DAC shuts itself off after idling for a while. Couldn't find any info about it in the firmware read-me. It never shuts off except for when it's idle without input / music playing, so I'm assuming it's a new feature - I just never read anything about it before I suddenly noticed it. 
 
In other news, I just love my M51 still. Newest firmware, I might even be detecting a slightly bump in detail compared to the extremely old firmware I ran previously (1.36 I think). 

 

[screwdriver]

  I flashed my firmware a couple of weeks ago and I've noticed that my DAC shuts itself off after idling for a while. Couldn't find any info about it in the firmware read-me. It never shuts off except for when it's idle without input / music playing, so I'm assuming it's a new feature - I just never read anything about it before I suddenly noticed it. 
 
In other news, I just love my M51 still. Newest firmware, I might even be detecting a slightly bump in detail compared to the extremely old firmware I ran previously (1.36 I think). 

so u are at 1.43 firmware now?

 

[Sanlitun]

  Has anyone tried the iFi iUSB with the M51?  I'm wondering if it's worth the $200 to add one between my desktop PC and the M51.

 
In my case I went with the Audiophilleo 2. It's more expensive but you are isolating your M51 from the PC power and gaining a better sounding USB interface all in one.
 
If you spend $200+ on the iFi iUSB you are still left with the same onboard XMOS and you may find the improvements to be negligible. 

 

[Vargtass]

  so u are at 1.43 firmware now?

 
I'm at 1.43 yessir. I'm uncertain why people don't like it. I feel it's better than what I previously had (as said, a very old build, quite possibly the first one that shipped with the DAC seing as I bought it not long after release) but it's a step up for me. Using it paired with a Schiit Mjolnir mainly on my LCD-3's but also my HD-800's. 

 

[screwdriver]

   
In my case I went with the Audiophilleo 2. It's more expensive but you are isolating your M51 from the PC power and gaining a better sounding USB interface all in one.
 
If you spend $200+ on the iFi iUSB you are still left with the same onboard XMOS and you may find the improvements to be negligible. 

i have a question.
in this case - instead of buying an audiophelleo2 and power for about $1000 , would it be comparable just to buy a oppo 105 and use its ability where u connect  a portable hard drive and play music - it can be connected by coax or toslink i believe . then u also gaing with the oppo disc playing abilities sacd/cd/dvda and bluray