Questyle CMA Fifteen — Official Thread

[smirks_audio]

Yes, Sorry. I meant CMA 15. I thought it was the best place to ask, since that'd be a question for the people actually owning the desktop iteration (either the desktop CMA 15 or 18)... Anyway....

I have both a 320MAX Ti and the CMA18 Master and I’ve had both for a while.

The biggest jump is in the staging. The stage is significantly larger and notes have much more space to “breathe”, so to speak.

The resolution is mostly similar. If anything, the 320MAX Ti may sound more detail oriented. I have heard that the Questyle CMA line-up is more known for their amplification than their DAC stage, so maybe that’s why there isn’t a clear difference in resolution.

I’ve also tried amping the 320MAX with the CMA18 which was fun, and I may get a dedicated DAC in the future. The CMA18 Master is a flexible system which I appreciate. For me, it was a good entry into the desktop space.

 

[John0405]

I have both a 320MAX Ti and the CMA18 Master and I’ve had both for a while.

The biggest jump is in the staging. The stage is significantly larger and notes have much more space to “breathe”, so to speak.

The resolution is mostly similar. If anything, the 320MAX Ti may sound more detail oriented. I have heard that the Questyle CMA line-up is more known for their amplification than their DAC stage, so maybe that’s why there isn’t a clear difference in resolution.

I’ve also tried amping the 320MAX with the CMA18 which was fun, and I may get a dedicated DAC in the future. The CMA18 Master is a flexible system which I appreciate. For me, it was a good entry into the desktop space.

Thanks for your detailed answer. Very helpful indeed

 

[smirks_audio]

@Questyle I have a pair of 300 ohm headphones and I’m concerned about a possible impedance mismatch. What is the output impedance of the amp?

 

[Questyle]

@Questyle I have a pair of 300 ohm headphones and I’m concerned about a possible impedance mismatch. What is the output impedance of the amp?

Hi Smirk 24 --

Here are the headphone amplifier specs for the CMA Fifteen Master, taken directly from the latest promotional materials in July.

6.35 mm: 188 mW @ 300Ω
4.4 mm balanced / XLR 4-PIN balanced: 765 mW @ 300Ω
THD+N <0.0003% @ 300Ω

So I believe you should be fine with your headphones.

Cheers!
Mike

 

[devilboy]

Hi Smirk 24 --

Here are the headphone amplifier specs for the CMA Fifteen Master, taken directly from the latest promotional materials in July.

6.35 mm: 188 mW @ 300Ω
4.4 mm balanced / XLR 4-PIN balanced: 765 mW @ 300Ω
THD+N <0.0003% @ 300Ω

So I believe you should be fine with your headphones.

Cheers!
Mike

The Fifteen Was never made as a Master version.

 

[ardilla]

@Questyle I have a pair of 300 ohm headphones and I’m concerned about a possible impedance mismatch. What is the output impedance of the amp?

Why do you worry about the output impedance with high impedance headphones? The "1/8 rule" ....

 

[glassmonkey]

@Questyle I have a pair of 300 ohm headphones and I’m concerned about a possible impedance mismatch. What is the output impedance of the amp?

300 ohm means you won't have any problems with impedance. Where you have problems is when impedance gets low (like really low, sub 10 ohm impedance). Enjoy!

 

[JooLoo]

@Questyle If you use an external dac and rca into the cma fifteen could you then preamp out of the cma fifteen to an external amplifer in studio voltage? So it would look liek
external dac rca out > rca in cma fifteen > cma fifteen preamp out studio voltage > external amplifier

 

[AlexLeo]

Hey everyone!

My CMA Eighteen arrived last night! I'm currently burning it in with my new HD-800S and new HE-1000se, and I'll post a review in the dedicated thread a bit later.

Also, has anyone noticed any changes in its sound as it burns in?

Thanks!

 

[Shape77]

Yes, mine changed after the burn in

 

[devilboy]

Hey everyone!

My CMA Eighteen arrived last night! I'm currently burning it in with my new HD-800S and new HE-1000se, and I'll post a review in the dedicated thread a bit later. In the meantime, I wanted to ask CMA Fifteen owners: can I use it 24/7 without a break, or could that be harmful? I'd like to leave it running overnight to burn in my headphones.

Also, has anyone noticed any changes in its sound as it burns in?

Thanks!

My HEK SE was a bit too shrill with my Fifteen and Twelve Master. How you have some warmish cabling.

 

[AlexLeo]

My HEK SE was a bit too shrill with my Fifteen and Twelve Master. How you have some warmish cabling.

No, I only have the stock cables at the moment. I'm currently listening to them on the 18th Master using the balanced cable. The headphones have been playing for about 40-50 hours, I don't know if the sound will change in any way later on.

So far, this is the situation: if you listen at a comfortable volume, they don't sound bright. But if you turn up the volume and play, for example, rock music, they can start to sound harsh in the upper mids and become fatiguing.

The 18th Master seems to be very powerful, because I'm currently listening at this volume level (and in addition, I have to lower the volume in Audirvana on my MacBook Pro M2 by -13dB!). If I listen in 0 dB mode, then I can hardly turn the volume knob at all, it stays at the minimum possible position.

Do you have any experience with different cables for the HE1000se? If so, could you recommend any proven models?

I've attached two photos. The first one shows the volume when I reduce the power in Audirvana to -13dB, and the second one shows it at 0 dB.

1.

2.

 

[Shape77]

No, I only have the stock cables at the moment. I'm currently listening to them on the 18th Master using the balanced cable. The headphones have been playing for about 40-50 hours, I don't know if the sound will change in any way later on.

So far, this is the situation: if you listen at a comfortable volume, they don't sound bright. But if you turn up the volume and play, for example, rock music, they can start to sound harsh in the upper mids and become fatiguing.

The 18th Master seems to be very powerful, because I'm currently listening at this volume level (and in addition, I have to lower the volume in Audirvana on my MacBook Pro M2 by -13dB!). If I listen in 0 dB mode, then I can hardly turn the volume knob at all, it stays at the minimum possible position.

Do you have any experience with different cables for the HE1000se? If so, could you recommend any proven models?

I've attached two photos. The first one shows the volume when I reduce the power in Audirvana to -13dB, and the second one shows it at 0 dB.

1.


2.

You can use it also at low gain, there are 4 switches under the 18M

 

[devilboy]

No, I only have the stock cables at the moment. I'm currently listening to them on the 18th Master using the balanced cable. The headphones have been playing for about 40-50 hours, I don't know if the sound will change in any way later on.

So far, this is the situation: if you listen at a comfortable volume, they don't sound bright. But if you turn up the volume and play, for example, rock music, they can start to sound harsh in the upper mids and become fatiguing.

The 18th Master seems to be very powerful, because I'm currently listening at this volume level (and in addition, I have to lower the volume in Audirvana on my MacBook Pro M2 by -13dB!). If I listen in 0 dB mode, then I can hardly turn the volume knob at all, it stays at the minimum possible position.

Do you have any experience with different cables for the HE1000se? If so, could you recommend any proven models?

I've attached two photos. The first one shows the volume when I reduce the power in Audirvana to -13dB, and the second one shows it at 0 dB.

1.


2.

Gotcha.

I suppose you could stay away from silver. Just stay with continuous cast copper. All cableing will make a difference. Power cords, interconnects and headphone cable.

You can look at Artic Audio for headphone cable. I've had good success with his stuff. He's not the only player in town, I'm just saying you can investigate.

 

[AlexLeo]

You can use it also at low gain, there are 4 switches under the 18M

Thank you so much! I'm so glad I registered on this forum because, to my shame, I didn't realize there were gain switches on the bottom of the 18th. They were all in the "standard" position, I switched them to the "low level" position - and it's a completely different experience, it had a very positive effect on the sound.

I'll check how this affects the brightness, because it's more comfortable to listen now.

Gotcha.

I suppose you could stay away from silver. Just stay with continuous cast copper. All cableing will make a difference. Power cords, interconnects and headphone cable.

You can look at Artic Audio. I've had good success with his stuff.

Thank you so much for the recommendation, I'll start looking at copper cables and that brand you mentioned.