[frankrondaniel]

I normally use the USB connection so I can't speak for S/PDIF, but If your unit is on the newer firmware 1.3, I don't believe that you can do DoP us S/PDIF. According to their website:

m920 firmware v 1.3 disables decoding and playback of DSD over PCM 'DoP' received via the m920 AES3 and S/PDIF. For 'DoP' operation, install firmware version 1.2.

 

[johnjr]

Thanks for your reply. Guess I should read their website more closely. I must have the 1.3 firmware... and not sure it's worth the trouble to go back to a previous release? 
 
Was looking at the Ayre site below where they apparently think PCM is equal or superior to DSD. Benchmark chief engineer said this too somewhere. But I'm not really wanting to start this debate.
 
 http://www.ayre.com/insights_dsdvspcm.htm

 

[frankrondaniel]

  Thanks for your reply. Guess I should read their website more closely. I must have the 1.3 firmware... and not sure it's worth the trouble to go back to a previous release? 
 
Was looking at the Ayre site below where they apparently think PCM is equal or superior to DSD. Benchmark chief engineer said this too somewhere. But I'm not really wanting to start this debate.
 
 http://www.ayre.com/insights_dsdvspcm.htm

Lol - that probably is a dangerous argument to get into!

 

[AudioMan612]

I read that interview with John Siau of Benchmark, and if I remember correctly, Sony should've gone with more than 1-bit for DSD and the quality issues come in when converting DSD back into PCM.  It's been quite a while since I read it though, so I don't trust my memory too much.  I personally don't have any DSD files yet, so I can't compare.  I'm still trying to replace as many of my MP3's with FLAC's.

 

[ViperGeek]

I normally use the USB connection so I can't speak for S/PDIF, but If your unit is on the newer firmware 1.3, I don't believe that you can do DoP us S/PDIF. According to their website:

m920 firmware v 1.3 disables decoding and playback of DSD over PCM 'DoP' received via the m920 AES3 and S/PDIF. For 'DoP' operation, install firmware version 1.2.

 
This brings up a question I've had in the back of my head since purchase.  On Grace Digital's Support website:
 
http://www.gracedesign.com/support/support.htm
 
they have the m920 manual, Windows USB Audio Class 2 Driver, and v1.2 & v1.3 system firmware.  They also have the firmware update utility (DFU) for Mac, but I see nothing for Windows.  Is the firmware update software included in the Windows driver installer somewhere?
 
- Dave

 

[Caleb Roberts]

   
This brings up a question I've had in the back of my head since purchase.  On Grace Digital's Support website:
 
http://www.gracedesign.com/support/support.htm
 
they have the m920 manual, Windows USB Audio Class 2 Driver, and v1.2 & v1.3 system firmware.  They also have the firmware update utility (DFU) for Mac, but I see nothing for Windows.  Is the firmware update software included in the Windows driver installer somewhere?
 
- Dave

Hi Dave,
Have a look in your driver install directory for example:
C:\Program Files\XMOS\USBAudioStDriver_300D\xmosusbaudiost300D_dfuapp.exe

 

[ViperGeek]

  Hi Dave,
Have a look in your driver install directory for example:
C:\Program Files\XMOS\USBAudioStDriver_300D\xmosusbaudiost300D_dfuapp.exe

Bingo!  Thanks Caleb.  I never thought to start looking around the C:\Program Files folder for things to double-click.  Vendors tend to hate customers running .EXE's just to see what happens. 

 
- Dave

 

[ElCapitan]

I got my m920 today, set it up on my computer, installed the USB drivers and 1.2 firmware, and using U2 at 24-bit 192KHz. I don't see an option to set it to 32-bit 384KHz. Am I missing something?

 

[One and a half]

  I got my m920 today, set it up on my computer, installed the USB drivers and 1.2 firmware, and using U2 at 24-bit 192KHz. I don't see an option to set it to 32-bit 384KHz. Am I missing something?

To set the sample rate higher than the native rate of the file, the oversampling process is accomplished by your player software.
 
HQPlayer can be set to about anything, including 384kHz, Jriver can DSD to 256, m920 to DSD128.
 
Set the m920 to the U2 mode as is. The 192kHz LEDs most likely take their feed off the Windows setting in Control Panel for the DAC if there's no media player working. Once a music file plays, the m920 switches the sampling rate to the track, unless you set the player's software to go higher on a permanent basis. Delay times for different sample rates are set by the player, the m920 is responsive to 0.5s.
 
For DSD, set the player to DoP.

 

[ElCapitan]

  To set the sample rate higher than the native rate of the file, the oversampling process is accomplished by your player software.
 
HQPlayer can be set to about anything, including 384kHz, Jriver can DSD to 256, m920 to DSD128.
 
Set the m920 to the U2 mode as is. The 192kHz LEDs most likely take their feed off the Windows setting in Control Panel for the DAC if there's no media player working. Once a music file plays, the m920 switches the sampling rate to the track, unless you set the player's software to go higher on a permanent basis. Delay times for different sample rates are set by the player, the m920 is responsive to 0.5s.
 
For DSD, set the player to DoP.

Thanks, I've been reading back on previous threads, using Jriver right now, it's working great. Going to try HQPlayer to see if there's a difference.

 

[ViperGeek]

It's Saturday night (technically Sunday morning EDT) and I have another question about this fantastic silver box: FILTER DSD - DIGITAL FILTER RESPONSE
 
I've been listening to my MP3, FLAC, and DSD collection on and off all day and came upon the [Fd] (Filter DSD) option in the menus.  The values are: 47kHz, 50kHz, 60kHz, and 70kHz.  My question is, how can I tell which one to use?  By my mostly untrained ear, they sound the same, although I can tell something is changing.  I seem to like 50kHz for my DSD64 .dsf files, although I couldn't tell you why.  Assuming my hearing maxes out at 20kHz (probably closer to 17kHz after my 50th birthday), does any setting higher than ~44kHz really matter?
 
Thanks!
 
- Dave

 

[Michgelsen]

I would choose the lowest setting. The higher settings can even degrade the sound. Very high frequency information can lead to distortions in the frequencies below 20kHz, so it's better to filter out the ultrasonics. You can read this and try for yourself with the samples under 'Intermod Tests'.

 

[vksy]

  Hi vsky,
 
I'd like to offer our perspective: The rotary encoder in the m920 is the same part that we've used for over 10 years in the m902, m903, m904, m905, m906 and m802. Many of these products are used full-time in production environments. We've found this part to be the best choice because it is the most robust. We occasionally get m906 remote-controls in for service that need new encoders but these are 10 year old units from busy studios. Note that this is not a potentiometer. As Michgelsen points out, the digitally controlled attenuator provides channel matching that's impossible with a pot. Performance does not suffer from aging as with pots. There is some play in the encoder's shaft. We acknowledge that one may reasonably prefer less play in the shaft. You won't find a more reliable alternative. We take great care in selecting parts for user controls. A consistent complaint about the m902 was that the input select switch had too much play. When redesigned that product (m903 and now m920), we chose a better feeling switch. It is much more expensive and doesn't perform the function any better. But, we were able to improve the tactile experience without compromising performance.

We haven't previously received complaints about the feel of the rotary encoder, but we do identify that folks will have a different tolerance for this kind of thing. Rest assured this is a high quality part. We're really sorry you're not happy with the feel of the it, and if you believe yours is broken or unnecessarily sloppy we are happy to take a look at it and fix it under warranty if need be.
 
thanks, Caleb

 

After two months, the multifunction volume pot (rotary encoder) doesn't concern me anymore. Grace had the m905 and several m920's at CanJam 2015, and they all had that "wobbly" feel. Call it expectation bias, but it just really bothered me early on.
 
Speaking of the m905, it is slightly on the warm side of neutral compared to the m920 which is more analytical. If you're not a big Sabre fan, you probably might enjoy the m905 sound signature. The difference is small, but I did find it noticeable. My two thumbs up goes to the m905 and LCD-3 pairing. CanJam is obviously not the ideal place to audition hi-fi gear, but from what little time I spent listening to the m905, the dac/amp circuit is very well implemented.

 

[ViperGeek]

Has anyone successfully played a SACD on an OPPO BDP-103/105 via DSD over PCM (DoP) via the S/PDIF output to the m920?  I know the m920 firmware v1.3 disables DoP over S/PDIF, but before I downgrade my m920 to try it, I was curious if anyone on the forum has had success bitstreaming SACD from an OPPO Blu-ray Disc player to the m920 via S/PDIF, or if perhaps the OPPO doesn't feed SACD output to anything but the HDMI port.
 
Thanks!
 
- Dave

 

[ViperGeek]

  Has anyone successfully played a SACD on an OPPO BDP-103/105 via DSD over PCM (DoP) via the S/PDIF output to the m920?  I know the m920 firmware v1.3 disables DoP over S/PDIF, but before I downgrade my m920 to try it, I was curious if anyone on the forum has had success bitstreaming SACD from an OPPO Blu-ray Disc player to the m920 via S/PDIF, or if perhaps the OPPO doesn't feed SACD output to anything but the HDMI port.
 

Answered my own question:
 
http://www.oppodigital.com/KnowledgeBase.aspx?KBID=8  

 
Leaving this short-lived question here for future generations.
 
- Dave