N8ii vs M2.....
Sat having my morning coffee with M2 on day two and thought I'd post some thoughts....
Quite a difference between these two and I 100% expected N8ii to still hold the crown for me. Had it since launch and nothings come close to knocking it off its perch until now. For reference, that includes M9, 300 MAX, LP6 Gold and the highly revered LP6Ti 7Th AE. How wrong I was...
Physically M2 is far more pocket friendly. Smooth rounded edges, not nearly as fat as N8ii and a lot cooler to touch. Both 4.4mm and 3.5mm ports are back to the usual on top position. As much as N8ii bottom port irked me when it came out, for listening whilst DAP is laid down, the bottom port is actually quite nice on N8ii, now I appreciate it!
Finish is superb and gold looks the mutts nuts although it'll be covered by a case tomorrow. Side buttons are excellent. When using them they feel precise, no wobble, both vol+ and play/pause have a raised nipple so you can find them easily without looking. I also particularly like the physical lock button on the other side, makes it easy to unlock the side buttons when it's in your pocket.
One thing that surprised me is weight. M2 is a heavy brick for its size, feels heavier than N8ii in hand, I'll need to go check the specs to confirm.
Despite not having the latest and greatest SOC, I've found zero issues with UI. I've disabled a few apps / services I don't require and it's been silky smooth. Maybe not quite as sharp as N8ii but no complaints. Having come from N8 / LP6, it's still a gift of a UI. Screen is nice, touch sensitivity great, all menus are easy to get through, typical android. Sonys music app also gets a big thumbs up, really easy to navigate and can even sort music based on res! Want some DSD on, no problem, here's all the DSD in your library. Cool stuff. It was also lightnig quick importing 12k+ songs.
Sound....
The things that stand out straight away...
N8ii has better stage separation, not particularly width but it seems to create more space between everything. Haven't paid much attention to depth and height between them yet but I don't feel M2 is lacking at all.
N8ii has better layering to my which was notable on vocal harmony, it's got a little more separation (just like stage). Struggling to describe this one!
Bass is interesting. N8ii isn't lacking in this area at all but M2 has more body. When the kick drum hits, N8ii has a good "thwack", the higher FR part of the strike, M2 the same but its got more "thump" / body which makes it sound more natural and takes the emphasis off the "thwack". Maybe someone with a better ability than myself to put this into words could describe what's happening here better than I!
M2 has really nice body to bass up into mids, listening with Jewel, there's more meat on the bones than N8ii and this pushes right up to the toms. It's like the difference when adding BCD into the mix, with M2 you can feel more impact. Quite impressive and one of the things that's sold me on M2. Overall a little more rounded and more impact moving up to mids.
Mids are rich / lush, effortless. Maybe the star of the show here, especially with Jewel. Nothing I've heard will come close to Red Halo on N8ii but the balance of M2 / Jewel is fantastic IMO. Acoustic guitar has just about the right note weight, warm tilt vs N8ii is noticable but doesn't tilt too far for my preference. Its still clean but with a nice touch of...flavour. Electric guitar doesn't have the same rawness of N8ii but still has nice crunch and great weight, more bodied than N8ii. Probably what you'd expect from Sony house sound.
Treble is quite different. M2 is more polite / relaxed whilst still having the sparkle we all crave. When A/B'ing them, M2 doesn't walk the thin line like N8ii can. When I changed Orph out for First Times seeking more treble, FT can at times cross that line with a bit of glare up top, with M2 that edge is gone. Hi-hat, ride, splash etc all sound utterly natural, lovely decay, texture.
Overall I think it's bass and percussion that have sealed the deal for me with M2. There's a slight boost to bass / touch of roundness (typical Sony) but it's still clean, full, textured, not the usual Sony lower end emphasis, theyve reigned it it. Drums sound absolutely fantastic.
This is the 1st "warm" DAP that's clicked with me. Rather than just saying warm, I'd say its reference with a warm tilt. It's the 1st warm dap that keeps the FR balanced, doesn't muddy any part, and keeps a totally natural sounding treble. From top bottom, it's clean and absolutely effortless.
There's no playing about with power, class, tubes etc. It's just sounds good right off the bat. What's really impressive is right now all of my SACD ISO's are converting to DSD so I'm sat here listening to Tidal rather than RB, and as I said to damz in PM, it sounds that good I could easily ditch my library and convert to being a streamer. That'll never happen as no online streaming service has all the masters I like but if they did, then I'd be signing up. DSEE on, little change to the phase setting and now have the best streaming I've heard to date tbh.
So yeah, loving it and now deservedly holds top spot for me now. RS8 will hopefully be on the way soon and from initial impressions, it looks like it'll be a tough fight. One to look forward to!
Crap at pictures so here's a zero effort one just because...
