New Grace Design m920 DAC/amp with DSD decoding

[urbino]

   
I had them both at the same time briefly before I got rid of the HA-1.  No comparison.  m920 is superior in every way I can think of (including much smaller desk footprint).

 
Yeah, the smaller footprint is something I already like about the m920.  The HA-1 looks like a million bucks on your desk, but it really does eat a lot of space.  And I'm really not sure why.  

 

[AudioMan612]

You can find pictures of the insides of both units.  My guess is that the HA-1 has a class A fully balanced headphone amp which I believe is more powerful than what the m920 has, and has a larger power supply.

 

[urbino]

  You can find pictures of the insides of both units.  My guess is that the HA-1 has a class A fully balanced headphone amp which I believe is more powerful than what the m920 has, and has a larger power supply.

 
The highlighted part is definitely true.

 

[BobJS]

  You can find pictures of the insides of both units.  My guess is that the HA-1 has a class A fully balanced headphone amp which I believe is more powerful than what the m920 has, and has a larger power supply.

 
A perfect real-life example of how a balanced amp is not necessarily "better" than another single-ended one.

 

[supabayes]

I was very impressed with the HA-1 at Moot event headphones meet in Dec 2015. Really looking forward to my M920 from Massdrop! Just drop a M9xx on Massdrop for a portable!

 

[variable]

m9xx Is now on massdrop!
 
Is it truly the same quality as the m920? Just minus some of the inputs?

 

[ViperGeek]

  m9xx Is now on massdrop!
 
Is it truly the same quality as the m920? Just minus some of the inputs?

 
Hi variable.
 
Check out this thread, starting with: http://www.head-fi.org/t/709617/new-grace-design-m920-dac-amp-with-dsd-decoding/435#post_12233411
 
There's some good discussion about the differences.
 
- Dave

 

[AudioMan612]

   
A perfect real-life example of how a balanced amp is not necessarily "better" than another single-ended one.

Yeah, especially when talking headphones, where you don't usually have any long cable runs.  It just comes down to amp topology I think.

 

[variable]

While, I sort of doubt it, is there any chance that the computer that is connected to the m920 (or m9xx for that matter) is able to control the volume via the USB connection?

 

[ViperGeek]

  While, I sort of doubt it, is there any chance that the computer that is connected to the m920 (or m9xx for that matter) is able to control the volume via the USB connection?

 
No, not in the classic sense.  The Windows mixer (volume slider) has no effect.  Volume controls within applications (e.g. TIDAL) can still control the effective volume, but it's best to max out application volume controls for the purest sound into the DAC/amp.
 
- Dave

 

[trappedintime]

Hard for me to say the m920 is better than the HA-1 in EVERY regard. The m920 doesn't even have balanced outputs. I use my HA-1 with my balanced AKG K812's and my Parasound Halo A21 which has balanced inputs. 

If you're only looking for a desktop unit, maybe the m920 is an easy choice over the HA-1, but the HA-1 delivers the same inputs as the m920, but also true HT bypass, better USB connection, a real remote (not pairing an Apple remote), an iOS app, and IMO a better display and interface than the m920.
 
If your headphones are balanced or you're going to use the preamp capabilities (especially with a balanced amp), and this is going in your living room, the HA-1 is tough to beat and offers a number of features that the m920 simply doesn't. I think the SQ on the m920 wins out, but again, that depends on your chain. I find the fully balanced operation of my HA-1 end-to-end to be a game changer at the price point.

 

[ViperGeek]

  Hard for me to say the m920 is better than the HA-1 in EVERY regard. The m920 doesn't even have balanced outputs. I use my HA-1 with my balanced AKG K812's and my Parasound Halo A21 which has balanced inputs. 

 
Actually, it does:
 

 
Just not a balanced XLR headphone jack.
 
- Dave

 

[trappedintime]

   
Actually, it does:
 

 
Just not a balanced XLR headphone jack.
 
- Dave

Thanks for clarifying. I didn't realize it had the TRS output. Guess for the sake of space only the inputs got the XLR treatment.

 

[AudioMan612]

  Hard for me to say the m920 is better than the HA-1 in EVERY regard. The m920 doesn't even have balanced outputs. I use my HA-1 with my balanced AKG K812's and my Parasound Halo A21 which has balanced inputs. 

If you're only looking for a desktop unit, maybe the m920 is an easy choice over the HA-1, but the HA-1 delivers the same inputs as the m920, but also true HT bypass, better USB connection, a real remote (not pairing an Apple remote), an iOS app, and IMO a better display and interface than the m920.
 
If your headphones are balanced or you're going to use the preamp capabilities (especially with a balanced amp), and this is going in your living room, the HA-1 is tough to beat and offers a number of features that the m920 simply doesn't. I think the SQ on the m920 wins out, but again, that depends on your chain. I find the fully balanced operation of my HA-1 end-to-end to be a game changer at the price point.

In addition to what's been said, you can buy an optional remote (though it doesn't have power or source selection controls).  It's the same one that the m903 uses.  It weighs a ton.  The only thing worth complaining about on it is that it has an "exit setup" long-press command printed on it, which I guess is from the old m903, as it does nothing on the m920, but that's not a big deal.

The m920 has a true bypass on the unbalanced outputs (I do wish that they had one on the balanced outputs as well), but if you're comparing to a balanced setup, it will have less output, so using it as a HT bypass could be complicated unless the whole home theater setup is single-ended, or it could be as simple as setting the balanced volume to auto-set to unity gain when powering up the unit (so not a true bypass, but very close), or if your power amp has trim adjustments on it, use those.

One thing to keep in mind is that the HA-1 was designed with the audiophile market in-mind, while the m920 was designed with both the pro audio and audiophile markets in mind (and probably leaning a bit towards pro, since that's Grace Design's bread and butter, plus the product is marketed as a monitor controller), and the needs and features of both markets differ a bit.

 

[urbino]

Massdrop is shipping units from the latest buy.  W00t!