I’ll try! I find with the different Plenues I’ve tried there is a sibling similarity between them all. Actually before getting the M2 I bought a P2 mk II, and ended up returning it. I know, it’s supposed to be one the highest in the line up, but just didn’t do it for me, it seemed quite colored with a soft bass impact. The M2, D2 and V have probably been my favorites so far, and R is very good too.
I’ve just been doing some AB comparisons between the M2 and single ended of the D2, without JetEffects and with fast filter settings on both. They’re both rated as 2 Vrms so I set them both to headphone mode and the same volume of 72, with B&W P7s to test. I didn’t measure the volume output but they sounded the same volume to my ears.
The M2 has a slightly analogue/warm tilt to the sound. Not much, but the D2 is maybe more straight and neutral with a little touch of color in the M2 tone. I think both have the same bass range and reach as deep, but the weight or emphasis of the bass sound isn’t as low on the M2. As if the M2 has more weight around 200 Hz say (purely pulling that number out of my head) compared to a more linear or 100 Hz emphasis on the D2 (again using the number just for an example, I haven’t tried to locate the actual frequency). The D2 does seem to have more distinct presentation of bass notes, where it’s easier to make out multiple lower notes played simultaneously (bass layering). The M2 does have good strong bass though - better than the P2 mk II to my ears!
The D2 is a bit brighter in the treble and upper mids. Actually I had noticed on the V it could be prone to sibilance, so pulled out a few tracks with prominent “s”s to test the D2 since it’s got the same DAC, and they do jump out of the mix more with the D2 than the M2. But it seems improved on the D2 compared to what I remember on the V.
The D2 soundstage has good left/right presentation, but interestingly I hear the M2 as feeling like there’s more depth in the sound, with the D2 a bit flatter.
Start up is much faster on M2, and the screen is better of course, here’s them both set to 4 brightness, better color, depth and resolution on the M2, probably not that visible on the pics but is in person:
More UI pics:
The M2 has a menu item for gapless (remove silence) which the D2 doesn’t, wonder if that relates to gapless stutter on the D2:
All in all they’re both good, not sure which I like better! I need more time to compare the balanced on the D2 though - the only headphones I’ve got with balanced wiring/cables at the moment are Shure SRH1540s, which I’d boxed up for sale. I tried the balanced out briefly yesterday with them before boxing them up.
