[willowbrook]

  I don't know if Im having a problem or not with my unit.
 
seems like my Macbook Pro sound card might actually be bypassing the external DAC itself, as the keyboard volume controls still work, which is the exact opposite of my Audioengine D1 which locks out keyboard controls. 
 
Is this just my paranoia going on or do I really have situation going on?

You have to be in exclusive mode like Wasapi or ASIO to fully bypass OS settings. You can get wasapi or asio plugins in foobar2k and it will bypass windows settings. Also make sure to check the allowance of giving full exclusive mode for SMSL M8 in sound settings.

 

[UNOE]

I don't know if Im having a problem or not with my unit.

seems like my Macbook Pro sound card might actually be bypassing the external DAC itself, as the keyboard volume controls still work, which is the exact opposite of my Audioengine D1 which locks out keyboard controls. 

Is this just my paranoia going on or do I really have situation going on?

It's a 32bit dac you have digital volume control. I believe in OSX of you set it to 24bit it will grey out the volume.

 

[DjBobby]

Anybody got M8 from the last Massdrop? I was not at home today when delivery came, so have to pick it up tomorrow. But I was shocked about the overblown import fees I have to pay, which are aprox. for a unit more than a double the cost. I don't know what did they declare as a value, Massdrop price or MSRP? Anyway, the fees I have to pay are much above of anything I ever payed in this range 

 

 

[hpamdr]

Normally the declared value should be written on the shipping label and the category of the item.
 
// Im leaving in the country of wine and chese and did had to pay import taxes a bunch of time.
 
Import taxes are defined by price and item category. If the declared value does not match what the officer think reasonable for such device he can evaluate a selling price (One made in the country of chocolate and watches can be a weiss DAC202 ). After you have VAT...
 
Normally you can claim for refund if you can argue an error was made. First you need to get value of the item (invoice is a base), you need to get the precice itrem category and the import taxe claculation schem for your country/region. If what you sum separating VAT and Import taxe, ask for refund... you just wil have to wait....

 

[DjBobby]

  Normally the declared value should be written on the shipping label and the category of the item.
 
// Im leaving in the country of wine and chese and did had to pay import taxes a bunch of time.
 
Import taxes are defined by price and item category. If the declared value does not match what the officer think reasonable for such device he can evaluate a selling price (One made in the country of chocolate and watches can be a weiss DAC202 ). After you have VAT...
 
Normally you can claim for refund if you can argue an error was made. First you need to get value of the item (invoice is a base), you need to get the precice itrem category and the import taxe claculation schem for your country/region. If what you sum separating VAT and Import taxe, ask for refund... you just wil have to wait....

Thanks for heads up. It's not a matter of not paying taxes and VAT, but the math behind which I don't understand 

If I buy anything on Amazon Germany, they automatically show all additional costs incl. import taxes and VAT, and charge me right on my ordering. If I choose just as a test, a piece of electronic on Amazon which is identically priced as M8 on Massdrop, Amazon shows me the taxes/VAT amount which is only 1/4 of what I have to pay tomorrow.
So to be clear, 2 products - same price, one coming from Amazon and one from Massdrop. The Massdrop one will be taxed 4 times more....
 
Regarding "// Im leaving in the country of wine and chese and did had to pay import taxes a bunch of time." Probably I wouldn't be so upset with higher vat and taxes if I would live in a country of best cheeses and best wines 

 
Santé 

 

 

[willowbrook]

 
Thanks for heads up. It's not a matter of not paying taxes and VAT, but the math behind which I don't understand 

If I buy anything on Amazon Germany, they automatically show all additional costs incl. import taxes and VAT, and charge me right on my ordering. If I choose just as a test, a piece of electronic on Amazon which is identically priced as M8 on Massdrop, Amazon shows me the taxes/VAT amount which is only 1/4 of what I have to pay tomorrow.
So to be clear, 2 products - same price, one coming from Amazon and one from Massdrop. The Massdrop one will be taxed 4 times more....
 
Regarding "// Im leaving in the country of wine and chese and did had to pay import taxes a bunch of time." Probably I wouldn't be so upset with higher vat and taxes if I would live in a country of best cheeses and best wines 

 
Santé 

 

Import fee/customs fee is dependent on country. Normally, it shouldn't exceed %20 of the item. It should have been declared as $149.99 and a lot of countries will just pass items under $200 or 150, especially from US. I think there might have been a miscalculation by your customs or Massdrop.

 

[bnsb]

Import fee/customs fee is dependent on country. Normally, it shouldn't exceed %20 of the item. It should have been declared as $149.99 and a lot of countries will just pass items under $200 or 150, especially from US. I think there might have been a miscalculation by your customs or Massdrop.

I was in tears when I paid 29.5 per cent plus fees when I got mine!

 

[willowbrook]

I was in tears when I paid 29.5 per cent plus fees when I got mine!

30%...damn. I hope you can consider import tax/customs fee when you order things overseas next time...

 

[fritobugger]

 
30%...damn. I hope you can consider import tax/customs fee when you order things overseas next time...

 
I think it is between 50% and 70% for items considered luxury goods here in Vietnam.

 

[DjBobby]

OK, picked up M8 today, and started burn in. The first impressions are, superb clarity and soundstage but less warmth and bass than Sanskrit 6th. M8 sounds like BMW with strongest engine, more technically impressive, and Sanskrit 6th more like Mercedes with leather and mahogany interior, or more analog. Will give a proper burn in for few days, and than make a longer version.

 

[emester]

So yeah it was definitely iTunes screwing around with my M8's performance, as I used another media player (Audirvana Plus) and the sound quality and overall performance was massively improved to the point where I'm actually floored.
 
Very annoying fiasco to deal with but I'm glad its no longer a problem for me.

 

[DjBobby]

Should M8 show on the display the current resolution of the files played? Because mine shows constantly 384khz, regardless of which resolution is playing. So i guess it makes upsampling?

 

[Triplefun]

 
Should M8 show on the display the current resolution of the files played? Because mine shows constantly 384khz, regardless of which resolution is playing. So i guess it makes upsampling?

what are you using for the music source, and if a PC, what software?

 

[DjBobby]

 
what are you using for the music source, and if a PC, what software?

Swinsian on Macbook.

 

[wwmhf]

 
Should M8 show on the display the current resolution of the files played? Because mine shows constantly 384khz, regardless of which resolution is playing. So i guess it makes upsampling?

 
Yes, it does. 
 
Maybe your music software is "secretly" upsampling the music files.