Questyle CMA600i Loaner Program @TTVJAudio.com

[DoctaCosmos]

Admittedly i've become lazy when it comes my audiophile hobby as of lately. Almost curious as to whether its a title i deserve anymore. However, i'm pretty self aware that if i wasn't such a picky person, i'd be more pleased with what i had and still be thriving in the community. Thanks to Todd's generosity through the loaner program i've been able to turn back time and jump back in where i left off which was diving into various music formats.
The Questyle CMA600I is an all in one package which is aimed to please the most demanding. It's got a super clean double single ended and balanced amp, balanced pre-out, 3 digital inputs and a remote. What's new here to me is that it's my first time running into DSD file playback. Morally id found it necessary to at least give it a shot and include my findings in the review i'd promised to write so after scouring the internet for an hour trying to find individual files to buy i found the cheapest thing the calm my nerves which was an Oppo DSD sampler pack for less than $10 with multiple DSD formats. Files downloaded, Jriver booted up and instruction manual explaining to me how i needed to set my options to DSD bitstream to yes and i was off listening to some typical "audiophile" music.

HD600 is a mid-tier can that isn't a do it all can. In fact, i pretty much only use it for classical. Its very neutral and the highs in particular are very appealing to me. Generally i use a clean tube amp and try not to alter its signature sound. Presentation of imaging is about the only thing that steers me from one tube to another with it. The CMA600I is a very clean amp that is 100% capable of fully driving this can to its full potential. Imo it's a perfect pairing. Throw some DSD files in and the imaging of this can really opens up. The first thing i noticed with the dsd files is that the hd600 had a sudden increase in height with vocals and controlled the depth fluctuation much better than i'd been use to. This control really allowed the headphone to flow the dynamics together which resulted in a more palpable solidity to the image.

It should be known that i'm a sucker for mid-tier cans that do one thing or a couple different things extremely well as opposed to a do everything mediocre can. My experience with the hd600 and the cma600i is a very positive one and if the hd600 where my only headphone i wouldn't even search any further. In general, one doesn't need to find a combo to pair it with that forces it's own sound onto the headphone although tube amps with the hd600 are quite nice. Same goes with other headphones i fancy. No altering what the headphone does by feeding it an amp with a signature sound. That's exactly what the cma600i brings to the table. DAC capability to playback music that is recorded well enough to really open up your system, clean no additive sound signature amplification and the power to bring to life to most full sized cans.

Id pretty much set my mind that i wasn't going to bother with a tube amp anymore so i recently sold it after hearing the hd600 driven to its full potential with the cma600i. Problem is, now i am kind of wanting a different sound and decided that i'd like to have something a little more resolving and at least semi closed. The CMA600i still in my radar but not until i figure out what headphone i'm going to end up with next. Who knows maybe i will like a little extra flavor and look else where and maybe i won't. One thing's for sure, i know what the questyle does and if it's the style im looking for in the future i'll know exactly where to look
Id like to say thanks again to TTVJ for the opportunity and look forward any future loaner programs available

 

[Monsterzero]

Anyone @Todd know where the 600i currently is?
I thought I was next in line after Zark,but he hasnt gotten it yet.

 

[DoctaCosmos]

I was told it was getting skipped because the next person in line had the mojo and poly so it was going to someone named Hugo in Miami. This came from an email from Todd. It was delivered on the 19th with signature.

 

[Monsterzero]

I was told it was getting skipped because the next person in line had the mojo and poly so it was going to someone named Hugo in Miami. This came from an email from Todd. It was delivered on the 19th with signature.

Right on...I was skipped because my Atticus was on the D.L. and back with Zach getting repaired.I now have it back in my grubby hands and waiting for the 600i
@Todd please dont skip me further if possible.

 

[DoctaCosmos]

Got to listen to a pair of Atticus last night and it reminded me of my eikon. Can tell they’re the same driver just with different tuning. Big monstrous planar like bass is fantastic. A little too off in the frequency response for me but I enjoyed it especially through the Hugo2 However I’ve put a complete stop on owning any big headphones like that. Just won’t do it anymore, I can’t dedicate the time. Only listen to music in bed now.

 

[Monsterzero]

Got to listen to a pair of Atticus last night and it reminded me of my eikon. Can tell they’re the same driver just with different tuning.

Actually the drivers arent the same.
Eikon is a biocellulose membrane and the Atticus is TPE (thermoplastic elastomer)

 

[DoctaCosmos]

That’s right. Forgot but they do share similarities such as the bass presentation and the overall quantity of sound

 

[xenithon]

Has anyone gotten to try the Atticus with the CMA600i and, if so, would you say it is a good pairing?

 

[Monsterzero]

Has anyone gotten to try the Atticus with the CMA600i and, if so, would you say it is a good pairing?

I am waiting for the loaner to arrive and that will be the first combo I try...I will post my review and let yall know.

 

[DoctaCosmos]

my friend has the Atticus and cma600i and is selling the cma now after getting his Hugo2. However now he’s also going to sell the Atticus because he likes the lcd3 with Hugo2 more.

 

[Monsterzero]

Questyle 600i is on its way to next destination.Photos and impressions coming shortly.

 

[Monsterzero]

I want to thank Todd for the chance to audition the Questyle 600i.Its a great chance for members to hear new gear and compare in their homes stuff that normally wouldnt happen.I wish more retailers offered these loaner programs.So again thanks to Todd!

About Me:

I do not consider myself to be an audiophile.Just a guy quite into music and wanting it to sound as good as possible.

Disclaimer:What youre about to read are my impressions of the Questyle 600i.Keep in mind as you read that im comparing head to head with an R2R DAC,which is what my ears are used to.If you do not understand the difference between a D/S and R2R DAC,essentially the R2R is typically warmer,more musical and less revealing.

I do not own any DSD files nor any balanced headphones,so I will not cover those aspects.All music was streamed from the internet or 16 and 24 bit lossless via MediaMonkey.




The first thing that struck me about the 600i was the form factor.It is much larger than I expected.I do have an entire section of my desktop dedicated to audio gear so for me it wasnt an issue.Members who are tight on space might want to keep that in mind when considering the 600i.

The Schiit Eitr,Audio GD R2R-11 and 600i from top to bottom

To do an honest and fair comparison to my R2R-11 I kept all the cables and gear involved intact.So I ran the 600i with a Pangea 14-A power cord and connected via a Schiit Eitr.

Since I had the Eitr in place set-up for the 600i was a simple matter of plug and play.No driver installation was needed. Once it was all connected I allowed it to warm up before doing any real listening.This is what I heard.

First off,the 600i bested the R2R-11 nearly across the board,which is to be expected given the price differences.The detail was improved.The sound stage was widened quite a bit,though I didnt hear much 3D improvement.The bass was where I heard the biggest difference.Impact hit with much more authority and the rumble was miles tighter & extended deeper than what im used to hearing.

Mids on the other hand I'd have to give to the R2R-11.They were warmer,more lifelike.

Running the 600i as a straight DAC into one of my vintage receivers,which in turn feeds my Focal Aria 905s or into my La Figaro 339 is where I enjoyed the 600i the most.The Focal 905s are warm speakers and the 600i was a very nice pairing.Imaging and staging,air and detail were greatly improved.

When running into my 339 OTL,the 600i provided a better sense of space and detail to most of my headphones.The combo of it and my vintage Beyer DT990 was particularly good.

Power wise the amp section of the 600i was good.The only time I felt it needed more power was driving my 600ohm,93db sensitivity AKG K240 sextetts.Other than that there was good power with a decent amount of headroom left over.

The only thing I did not like about the 600i is when I was using its internal amp.There was an obvious and noticeable glare to almost every headphone I threw at it.To reiterate I do not own any balanced headphones,so my impressions are only regarding single ended.YMMV.

DT990-Too bright
ATH AD2000-Unlistenable
AKG K240 sextetts-Dull,but thats to be expected from such power hungry headphones.
HD6xx-Glare.Bright.
ZMF Atticus-Massive glare.
I found this combo to be the most disappointing,but not necessarily unexpected.The Atticus has gained quite the reputation for being amp picky.A read through the Atticus thread one will find the wreckage of many an amp that has tried,and failed,to open the Atticus up and take it to the next level.So when I was less than impressed with this combo it wasnt a complete shock.On paper though a D/S DAC coupled with a warm headphone makes perfect sense,but it just didnt happen to my ears.

In all fairness to the 600i,I am mostly a tube guy.The only headphones I own that I run from solid state are my sextetts,via a vintage receiver and my ATH AD2000s which I run directly from the R2R-11,which is a great combination.
In addition as I mentioned prior,my ears are used to the warm,analog-like sound of R2R DACs,so my thoughts regarding the amp section might be slanted to a degree.

In closing I found the strengths of the 600i to be when It was running as a straight DAC and feeding warmer solid state and tube amps.Its pairing with the Focal Aria 905s was particularly strong.

If you have warm gear and amps and are looking to improve upon the staging,detail retrieval,sense of air,imaging and most dramatically to my ears,the bass,in impact,extension and tightness then I can vouch for the 600i as a step up in those areas vs. less costly R2R offerings.Further if you enjoy the D/S sound and appreciate detail retreival,wide staging and deep,impactful,tight bass this might be the DAC/amp for you.

Again thanks to Todd for the chance to hear the 600i and offer my opinions.

 

[SilverEars]

Received the CMA600i loaner.

 

[Blueshound24]

In closing I found the strengths of the 600i to be when It was running as a straight DAC and feeding warmer solid state and tube amps.

The only thing I did not like about the 600i is when I was using its internal amp.There was an obvious and noticeable glare to almost every headphone I threw at it.To reiterate I do not own any balanced headphones,so my impressions are only regarding single ended.

Wow, my impressions of the cma600i were completely opposite of yours. From my impressions with using my PS Audio Perfectwave II DAC instead of the built in DAC:

Blueshound24 said:
The first thing I noticed was it had good deep black background, slightly warm but yet still retaining excellent crisp detail and having good detail and crispness, it excelled at separation, micro detail, air and it is lively sounding even with it being slightly warm. Rim shots were clean with good solid bass whacks and thumps and had good texture with bass notes. Even being a solid state design it compared well in depth, width and sound stage with my tubed amps, and it seemed to drive my cans effortlessly. Coherent, flat response and transparency come to mind listening to the Questyle.

It compared better with my HP MkII than with the Lyr, with the latter not being quite as rich and refined as either. Vocals were warm and rich, but as said before still with good highs and detail. The HP8 excels at being clear and detailed for a tubed design and I think the CMA600i may have even been a little warmer than it is. It certainly had good flow to it as well, and in the sense of warmth and flow it maybe had just a touch more bass slam, but my ears may have been playing tricks on me.

And using the Questyle cma600i with its built in DAC in my system, to me it sounded a little bright and grainy.

This goes to show you everybody hears things differently...

 

[Monsterzero]

It might be that my normal DAC is an R2R model which is very warm sounding.