Sybil
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2016
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'Crap'?! Why would you buy expensive 'crap' anyway? Have you done your 'homework' prior to purchasing? I haven't used my m920 in fixed DAC output mode, nor the headphone amplifier separately. But I can assure you neither can be described as 'crap'. The DAC implementation is excellent and Grace have a history of building quality headphone amplifiers. The headamp section in the m920 is capable enough, don't think I need more. With respect to the reviewer, I don't think the review at CA is the most adequate. Check out the few other reviews as well.
You speak as though I go out of my way to intentionally buy "expensive crap" when as a matter of fact that statement couldn't be further away from the truth. If by "homework" you mean reading this entire thread, all three Amazon reviews, all three Sweetwater reviews, and the "professional" review by Computer Audiophile and Headphone Guru then yep, I've done my homework.
And if we're honest here there isn't really much else to find online about the Grace Design M920.
When I embarked on this journey my only three criteria's were: (A) that the Amp and DAC be a single unit OR made by the same company if not; (B) that the Amp and DAC pairs well with the Sennheiser HD800/S, and; (C) that the entire solution be solid-state.
I've done more reading than I care for the three final solutions which I narrowed down to, which were: (1) the Grace Design M920; (B) the Sennheiser HDVD800, and; (C) the Violectric V200 and V800/V850. Of these three products, the Grace Design M920 had the least amount of information available online by quite a large margin compared to the Violectric and obviously the Sennheiser.
Schiit was originally my number one choice but they were eliminated as their solid-state LISST option for the Mjolnir 2 is currently facing a parts shortage and they informed me that they are unable to provide an ETA with respect to availability anymore.
Ultimately I decided on the Grace Design M920 for one reason and ONE reason only; which is that out of all three solutions I have narrowed down to, it was the only one which I could not find a single outright-negative feedback against.
Oh, and I've also read nothing but praise from anyone who has had the privilege of meeting the Grace brothers in person. Which is definitely very respectable and I do also believe that smaller and perhaps less well-known players should be given their fair chance.
Why do you believe that the review at CA is not the most adequate, however? I ask because just like how I believe that smaller and less well-known manufacturers be given the chance to shine, I also believe that any review should be taken into consideration, even by less well-known reviewers, as long as the reviewer has had nothing to lose when writing their review.
Two major problems I've always found when it comes to audio equipment reviews are that professional reviews are rarely bad, lest the reviewer in question gets blacklisted by a manufacturer and are no longer supplied with free candy. And when it comes to "user" or "community" reviews, there are many individuals who do not wish to admit that they committed to a bad purchase. Everyone likes to believe that they made they right choice and that they spent their money wisely. In that regards, I am neither. I pretty much purchased the M920 almost exclusively with spare change in my PayPal account which I had forgotten about.
Thus I have absolutely no interest in praising it who does not deserve praise. As a matter of fact, I consider my time more valuable and it really does annoy me a lot when I end up with equipment which doesn't perform to my liking as it means that I will have to go through the entire process of finding an alternate solution again.
I do not like upgrading my equipment. I am not an audiophile (despite me earning the title of "audiophile chick" amongst a number of friends solely because I'm the only one who spends more than a couple hundred dollars on my headphones). I merely enjoy listening to quality music and if I can have my Amp and DAC last me a decade then it shall.
Don't get me wrong however. The M920 is not a "bad" product. It's merely, thus far at least, an "okay" product. Does it need more time to shine? Maybe. Could it sound much better on a HD800S once my example finally arrives versus the HD650 I've borrowed for the interim period? Maybe again. For everything that I've read online however, I expected more than "okay."
And hence why I originally said that "I will definitely need two weeks before I can form a better opinion." The purpose of my original question was to allow me to evaluate what I could do to get the most out of the M920 if I find that it still doesn't perform to my liking towards the end of the month. That would allow me to start researching the matter further in the interim period.
Instead however everyone seems too focused and obsessed with my single mention of "crap" when I was merely serving a hypothetical scenario with an example solution to said scenario.
Anyhow, there's no point in continuing this discussion until month-end when I've delivered my final verdict.