Incognito73
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2009
- Posts
- 151
- Likes
- 19
A week ago I got the chance to own CMA600i and I'm quite impressed with this unit. Firstly, CMA600i is of very good quality maybe a bit darker/laid back then what would by my norm and in turn such sonic signature may introduce some detail retrieval in the process but nothing on the drastic scale. Quite enjoyable and non-fatiguing session with only slight (if any) trace of digital harshness. Very clean (neutral?) sound with astonishingly low distortion.I find bass rendering exceptional, quite open soundstage and balanced top end. It’s great match with my Elac FS407 speakers, especially rather picky ribbon tweeters. Headphone amp is quite good! and nicely matched with Ultrasone (don't have my HD600 with me atm and testing the balanced hp output is still in the queue). Surely, may need more dedicated sessions and A/B comparisons but I can’t fault anything sonically at first listen and that’s always a good sign.
Pre-amp quality is first rate! I've matched this with Hypex nCore NC400 and ICE 300ASC power amps with excellent results. It's dynamic, fully bodied and even low volume level listening is rewarding. Analogue volume tracking is quite good and already loud enough between 9-10 o'clock.
Now, some downfalls … pre-amp section is somewhat limited when control is considered. You can use only volume +/i and mute functions on the remote itself (for 600i) without switching inputs support (according to the remote manual in the box it seems that’s that). In addition, in order to switch between the optical and coax input there is another switch on the back! apart from the one in front to switch from USB to digital inputs. Now, as I’m using USB + Coax (streamer) + Optical (TV) at the same time I would have to manually switch each time on the DAC itself. If used as desktop no-problem but it’s far away from me. Also, when headphones are plugged in, balanced XLR outputs on the back are not muted! I would presume that they didn’t want to sacrifice sonic qualities (asynchronous operation), but I would have to switch off my power amps each time! I do have a slight feeling that it's probably designed more for desktop oriented user in mind ...in essence, pre-amp is excellent sonically but limited (control) functionality is somewhat of a let down at this price level. I wonder why they didn't implement remote soft switching.
I do like the design and that space grey finish very much! It's quote low profile/space saving design and with only 20cm of depth (height of front fascia is roughly 4.5cm).
Not much discussion around about CMA600i ... so it would be nice to hear from other owners too! It's interesting how would this fair against the Gustard A20H!
Pre-amp quality is first rate! I've matched this with Hypex nCore NC400 and ICE 300ASC power amps with excellent results. It's dynamic, fully bodied and even low volume level listening is rewarding. Analogue volume tracking is quite good and already loud enough between 9-10 o'clock.
Now, some downfalls … pre-amp section is somewhat limited when control is considered. You can use only volume +/i and mute functions on the remote itself (for 600i) without switching inputs support (according to the remote manual in the box it seems that’s that). In addition, in order to switch between the optical and coax input there is another switch on the back! apart from the one in front to switch from USB to digital inputs. Now, as I’m using USB + Coax (streamer) + Optical (TV) at the same time I would have to manually switch each time on the DAC itself. If used as desktop no-problem but it’s far away from me. Also, when headphones are plugged in, balanced XLR outputs on the back are not muted! I would presume that they didn’t want to sacrifice sonic qualities (asynchronous operation), but I would have to switch off my power amps each time! I do have a slight feeling that it's probably designed more for desktop oriented user in mind ...in essence, pre-amp is excellent sonically but limited (control) functionality is somewhat of a let down at this price level. I wonder why they didn't implement remote soft switching.
I do like the design and that space grey finish very much! It's quote low profile/space saving design and with only 20cm of depth (height of front fascia is roughly 4.5cm).
Not much discussion around about CMA600i ... so it would be nice to hear from other owners too! It's interesting how would this fair against the Gustard A20H!
