[pataburd]

Apart that i really dislike AKM's treble, which Is far far worse than Sabre Chips.
It shuts down different times when i use on the phone via USB but even on TV, also SU-9 and Gustard X16 but this time i have to plug in several times to make It work. And if Qobuz or Tidal load a Song for too much and play again, It disconnect and i Need to plug different times.
What's the problem i have by 1-2 years?? It makes me use Bluetooth sometimes which sound worse.

What in particular do you dislike about the M400's treble?
Sorry to hear that you are having problems with your unit.
Is your M400 still under warranty? Is it possible to get a replacement?

 

[Viper Necklampy]

What in particular do you dislike about the M400's treble?
Sorry to hear that you are having problems with your unit.
Is your M400 still under warranty? Is it possible to get a replacement?

SU-9 treble other than more pronounced, was more bity was more snappy, more detailed and zingy. Akm can't match Sabre treble by any way and i experience at least with Topping E30 and SMSL M400, It Is relaxing and very great controller bass for sure, as i really love detailed treble i think i Will go SU-10 soon, or maybe trying the Cirrus Topping D70 Pro Octo as my portable Cirrus Is good on treble..

I don't know where resides the cable i got, as It happened with different dacs, but this time Is more annoying as i should replug USB many times to make It work, i have tried 2 USB cables.

 

[pataburd]

Agreed, in terms of the typical snap and vividness of ESS treble, although it seems that the customary understanding of the ESS, AKM or R2R default sound(s) is changing from one design to another, i.e. with each taking on more mutual similarities.

Sounds like the SU-9 (or10) might suit you better than the M400 (or D400EX). I have adjusted to the M400's treble, but I am also getting older and my listening preferences have changed. But the more time I spend with the M400, the more I enjoy this DAC.

Replacing the USB cable might alleviate at least some of your ongoing problems with the M400.

 

[]eep]

SU-9 treble other than more pronounced, was more bity was more snappy, more detailed and zingy. Akm can't match Sabre treble by any way and i experience at least with Topping E30 and SMSL M400, It Is relaxing and very great controller bass for sure, as i really love detailed treble i think i Will go SU-10 soon, or maybe trying the Cirrus Topping D70 Pro Octo as my portable Cirrus Is good on treble..

I don't know where resides the cable i got, as It happened with different dacs, but this time Is more annoying as i should replug USB many times to make It work, i have tried 2 USB cables.

Now I understand what you mean. You like a super detailed presentation. But that doesn't make the ESS better.

There is a distinction between detail and resolution. If you compare it to a telescope you can see a lot of detail with a big telescope. Lots of light coming in. But it's the exact curvature and polishing that defines the definition. So if you focus on a planet you can detect it well in low light but it's a bit blurry. If you look at it with a smaller but well polished lens it may be darker but it's less blurry and you can see sharper. So it's ultimately resolution you need, not an avalanche of 'detail'.

You can also compare it to a photo. You can photoshop a not so great picture and enhance the details and the colors. Edges can be pronounced with 'sharpen edges' (light to dark becomes light to white to black to dark). This makes a photo look artificial. Not natural.

The same goes for DAC's. I found out one day after years of modifying a tube dac and trying a cheap R2R DAC when I walked in to our local gothic church from the 10th century. There was a classical summer concert with just a few players. That was an epiphany. The was no amplification. It was purely acoustical. Real life live music. And I could not pinpoint every instrument or singer. But this was real. No artificial sparkle or highlights. And this was exactly how my cheap vintage Philips chip R2R sounds. The tubed sigma delta dac has a lot more 'detail' but it's artificial.
After looking further into it I found out it has to do with timing an phase of R2R and (non) oversampling. Oversampling, which is absolutely necessary for sigma delta (which is inherently noisy) creates pre-ringing. That's like echo reversed in time.Very un-natural. Post ringing is no problem and our brain interprets that as resonance or echo.

I've heard a lot of uninformed parroting that R2R DAC's sound 'rolled off' of have less detail. But this is absolutely not true. There is no artificial detail. No detail enhancement. However the resolution is higher (depending how 'polished' the resistor values are). One more huge benefit is that R2R doesn't need an elaborate I/V stage ( usually opamps). This results in better timing, better 3D staging and ambient soundstage.

However, there is still a lot of development in sigma delta DAC's. The engineers are aware of this too and are looking for ways to mimick the behaviour of expensive ladder networks with easy to make cheaper IC's.
That is why ESS sound different from AKM and Rohm chips that have less 'detail' but more resolution.

And the big caveat is: it's all about implementation. There's a lot more important things than just the dac chip.