[adias]

Why? And please check your link.

Because it is a classical single center conductor cable with connectors designed to maintain a close tolerance 75 Ohm.

Is the link OK now?

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Because it is a classical single center conductor cable with connectors designed to maintain a close tolerance 75 Ohm.

Is the link OK now?

FWIW, the link works fine for me. I don't own any blue jeans cable, but it seems like they're well liked by many in the hobby. Thanks for the rec!

 

[twigfarm]

Is the link OK now?

Yep! Thanks.

 

[adias]

deleted

 

[Hyde00]

Is the link OK now?

The link works fine for me.

Though my friend "borrowed" my DDC and cables but only returned the DDC.

So I guess I need to buy new cables now........ good timing!

 

[Silvestrus]

Thanks to everyone on this post. I just got my SMMB2 today. Great match for my system - Rotel A11 Tribute, MA Silver 100. At least, one step above DS DACs that I had a chance to audition in my system.

 

[Silvestrus]

What's the best practice? Leave it on all the time or turn it off when not listening? Thanks.

 

[adias]

What's the best practice? Leave it on all the time or turn it off when not listening? Thanks.

I think it's best to leave it on 24/7. I do but it's your decision.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

What's the best practice? Leave it on all the time or turn it off when not listening? Thanks.

I agree with adias. You're gonna want to leave it on because you get the best performance from Multibit and R2R DACs once the resistor ladders have reached temperature stasis. For the MMB2 it tends to take about 15 to 30 minutes to my ears so I just leave mine on 24/7. It draws very little power anyways.

BTW, I'm happy you're enjoying your new MMB2. They're great DACs.

 

[Jagamov]

Hey everyone. New to this thread.

I want to start off by saying I’m a bit of a DAC skeptic. As in, I felt they all sounded similar enough, that it didn’t mater much. Multibit, DS, whatever…

I bought into the hype and ordered a MMB2 the day they became available. Before that, I was using a Modi 3 and an Asgard 3, as my main set up. I have Focal Elex and HD6XX headphones. I tried many times to hear the difference, but could not. I was a bit disappointed.

Fast forward my journey to acquiring an RME ADI DAC FS. Now there was a difference. The RME just sounded better to me in all ways. Plus the EQ really woke up the 6XX’s.

But a new problem seemed to arise. While I liked the RME better, the Asgard 3 drove my 6XX’s better. The Focals can be driven by anything, so those weren’t the focus.

Recently I acquired a Violectric V222. It has taken both of my headphones to the next level and coupled with the RME it’s likely an endgame setup. I even spent some time with the MMB2 hooked to the V222 but concluded it was lacking bass and clarity.

Now here is where I need some insight.

Now that I’m used to the V222/RME combo, I decided to try the MMB2 one more time before I sell it. Now something has changed.

I found that on SOME music, the MMB2 presents a bit more layers (do I have that right?). I spent quite a bit of time going back and forth.
Vocals seem to be a bit more recessed on the MMB2. I’d say the width between the RME and MMB2 are the same, but the depth is what became more obvious. The RME puts everything right up front, whereas the MMB2 seems to give more separation and balance to the sound. (Note: All EQ was disabled during my test.)

Another thing I noticed was that vocals seemed smoother and less grainy. Overall, it just sounded a bit more pleasant. Most of the listening was done using my Focal Elex‘s as they are more resolving. But the 6XX had similar results.

Now other music, like EDM and such, I much preferred the RME. But I’ll admit I didn’t do much comparison with that type of music. I was listening to a lot of vocals to confirm what I thought I was hearing.

So for now, I’m a 2 DAC guy. The V222 makes that easy with its 2 inputs.

Thoughts on my conclusions?

 

[artur9]

...

Thoughts on my conclusions?

Nice post!

One thing to consider is that the multibit DACs need a bit of stabilization time to reach their peak from on; in addition to the dozens of hours of "burn in" time. Have you been listening to the MMB "cold", say before warming it up for an hour? (being generous there).

Other than that, if you're happy with 2 DACs, sounds like you get the best of both worlds. You may have reached the stage of the game where "taste" comes into play instead of just trying to find what sounds "right."

 

[adias]

Hey everyone. New to this thread.

I want to start off by saying I’m a bit of a DAC skeptic. As in, I felt they all sounded similar enough, that it didn’t mater much. Multibit, DS, whatever…

I bought into the hype and ordered a MMB2 the day they became available. Before that, I was using a Modi 3 and an Asgard 3, as my main set up. I have Focal Elex and HD6XX headphones. I tried many times to hear the difference, but could not. I was a bit disappointed.

Fast forward my journey to acquiring an RME ADI DAC FS. Now there was a difference. The RME just sounded better to me in all ways. Plus the EQ really woke up the 6XX’s.

But a new problem seemed to arise. While I liked the RME better, the Asgard 3 drove my 6XX’s better. The Focals can be driven by anything, so those weren’t the focus.

Recently I acquired a Violectric V222. It has taken both of my headphones to the next level and coupled with the RME it’s likely an endgame setup. I even spent some time with the MMB2 hooked to the V222 but concluded it was lacking bass and clarity.

Now here is where I need some insight.

Now that I’m used to the V222/RME combo, I decided to try the MMB2 one more time before I sell it. Now something has changed.

I found that on SOME music, the MMB2 presents a bit more layers (do I have that right?). I spent quite a bit of time going back and forth.
Vocals seem to be a bit more recessed on the MMB2. I’d say the width between the RME and MMB2 are the same, but the depth is what became more obvious. The RME puts everything right up front, whereas the MMB2 seems to give more separation and balance to the sound. (Note: All EQ was disabled during my test.)

Another thing I noticed was that vocals seemed smoother and less grainy. Overall, it just sounded a bit more pleasant. Most of the listening was done using my Focal Elex‘s as they are more resolving. But the 6XX had similar results.

Now other music, like EDM and such, I much preferred the RME. But I’ll admit I didn’t do much comparison with that type of music. I was listening to a lot of vocals to confirm what I thought I was hearing.

So for now, I’m a 2 DAC guy. The V222 makes that easy with its 2 inputs.

Thoughts on my conclusions?

Everyone hears differently. The MMB2 is a great DAC.

You seem to prefer heavy bass so something sounded different when you switched. Contacts perhaps? Try to clean all contacts with a good contact cleaner.

@artur9 is correct. Warm up time is essential, and days not hours.

 

[Hyde00]

While I liked the RME better, the Asgard 3 drove my 6XX’s better.

When I read this I was like........ why don't you just feed RCA out from RME into Asgard 3, best of both worlds lol.

Recently I acquired a Violectric V222. It has taken both of my headphones to the next level and coupled with the RME it’s likely an endgame setup.

lol ok at least you're using the V222 with RME now, nice!

I found that on SOME music, the MMB2 presents a bit more layers (do I have that right?). I spent quite a bit of time going back and forth.
Vocals seem to be a bit more recessed on the MMB2. I’d say the width between the RME and MMB2 are the same, but the depth is what became more obvious.

Yeah this is normal I think, I also find some DAC do better at certain genre while other DAC excel at others, and it also depending on recording too.

It's a complicated hobby........ lol.

But definitely Multibit / R2R generally is better at doing forward depth than Delta Sigma. Where I find Delta Sigma seem to be wide left/right most of the time.

So for now, I’m a 2 DAC guy.

I'm 2 amp guy, can't pick a winner lol.

Thoughts on my conclusions?

Agreed!

It's like trying to figure out if sandwich is better or hamburger is better. There are times where I want sandwich and there are times where I want burger.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Hey everyone. New to this thread.

I want to start off by saying I’m a bit of a DAC skeptic. As in, I felt they all sounded similar enough, that it didn’t mater much. Multibit, DS, whatever…

I bought into the hype and ordered a MMB2 the day they became available. Before that, I was using a Modi 3 and an Asgard 3, as my main set up. I have Focal Elex and HD6XX headphones. I tried many times to hear the difference, but could not. I was a bit disappointed.

Fast forward my journey to acquiring an RME ADI DAC FS. Now there was a difference. The RME just sounded better to me in all ways. Plus the EQ really woke up the 6XX’s.

But a new problem seemed to arise. While I liked the RME better, the Asgard 3 drove my 6XX’s better. The Focals can be driven by anything, so those weren’t the focus.

Recently I acquired a Violectric V222. It has taken both of my headphones to the next level and coupled with the RME it’s likely an endgame setup. I even spent some time with the MMB2 hooked to the V222 but concluded it was lacking bass and clarity.

Now here is where I need some insight.

Now that I’m used to the V222/RME combo, I decided to try the MMB2 one more time before I sell it. Now something has changed.

I found that on SOME music, the MMB2 presents a bit more layers (do I have that right?). I spent quite a bit of time going back and forth.
Vocals seem to be a bit more recessed on the MMB2. I’d say the width between the RME and MMB2 are the same, but the depth is what became more obvious. The RME puts everything right up front, whereas the MMB2 seems to give more separation and balance to the sound. (Note: All EQ was disabled during my test.)

Another thing I noticed was that vocals seemed smoother and less grainy. Overall, it just sounded a bit more pleasant. Most of the listening was done using my Focal Elex‘s as they are more resolving. But the 6XX had similar results.

Now other music, like EDM and such, I much preferred the RME. But I’ll admit I didn’t do much comparison with that type of music. I was listening to a lot of vocals to confirm what I thought I was hearing.

So for now, I’m a 2 DAC guy. The V222 makes that easy with its 2 inputs.

Thoughts on my conclusions?

That all sounds totally reasonable to me. I have both the RME (AKM Version) and the MMB2, as well. I think I hear a few more differences, but I hear the basics of what you mentioned regarding layering, depth, and placement. As others have said, we all hear differently.

When it comes to deciding between the two, my personal philosophy has always been to keep gear that I like for different situations as long as I'm enjoying/using the gear and can afford to not sell or return it. I love having options to mix and match in different signal chains for different situations. With that in mind, my advice would be to keep using both and if, later on, you find yourself always going with one over the other and not using one of the DACs then make the call to resell. Unless you have some need to sell like finances, lack of space, etcetera, then there's no need to rush one out the door.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I find it fascinating to see how other people perceive similar experiences to my own. Last, but not least, happy listening!

 

[Jagamov]

Nice post!

One thing to consider is that the multibit DACs need a bit of stabilization time to reach their peak from on; in addition to the dozens of hours of "burn in" time. Have you been listening to the MMB "cold", say before warming it up for an hour? (being generous there).

Thanks! It‘s been powered up the whole weekend.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I find it fascinating to see how other people perceive similar experiences to my own. Last, but not least, happy listening!

Thanks! It’s also very interesting to me. I”ll tell you also, shutting off the EQ was interesting too. I think there are times when EQ does correct some issues, but at the same time I found the MMB2 sound to be more pleasant than the EQ’ed sound from the RME. Especially on the Elex. Ears are funny things.

So next big question. Is the BF 2/64 a good step up? I will never pay Yggy prices for my headphone setup.

Also, testing headphones in my town is impossible. Any thoughts on the next step in headphones? I love both my Elex and HD6XX for different reasons. I tried a HiFiMan Arya in NYC on a recent trip and was not impressed. What‘s in the 1-1.5k or less range that would be a good step up?

Thanks everyone.