Grace Design m902

[Jimna]

http://www.gracedesign.com/products/m902/m902.htm

just wondering if anyone has heard this gear for their own ears? i own the Lunatec V3 and absolutely love it for field recording. A few other tapers i know have the m901 and 902 in playback systems and rave over them, but im suspect of bias since the taping community adores the V3 and other mic pres they offer. tapers more than audiophiles are the worst brand band-wagoners ive ever seen.

they were the preamp of choice at the grammys this last week which has some chatter about them on the web, but no one seems to say much about the reference series so i figured i would ask. tonepub, have you heard anything about these? i actually toured their facility here in boulder a while back and they had a beautiful playback setup using the m901, the 902's predecessor which sounded terrific. this unit has the potential to be a gem, but as always proof is in the putting. if it sounds as good as the V3 it could very well be a perfect front end choice for an good 2 channel system.

 

[User211]

Heard the Grace nearly a year ago with the gear pictured, for a short period only, with some classical music. Bags of resolution here - really detailed. I wouldn't personally go for this setup, though. Especially considering the price.

That's just based on what I heard - more exposure could possibly lead to a different conclusion. What I heard just left me a bit "cold". I'd crave for a bit more warmth to the sound, and use a tube based headphone amp, I think. Like I do at the moment, in fact, with AKG702s.

 

[Jimna]

thanks for the feedback. so it was used exclusively as an headphone amp? the fellas i know are using it as a front end to their systems. one guy has a tube amp behind it, the other is a SS amp. i imagine there are better options as a headphone rig for sure. its right at the price range of the new Benchmark DAC-1HDR which got one of TONEAudio's Exceptional Value Awards for 2010. i would love to hear a head to head comp of the 2.

 

[User211]

Yup - as a headphone amp only.

There were 3 new components I had never heard there. The Nagra, the Grace AND the HD800s. I wouldn't like to say, therefore, how good the Grace is. It's a bit limited for inputs, that's for sure.

I'm actually using a dastardly cheap chi-fi tube headphone amp as tube preamp as well for a cheapie second system. I'm really pleased with it. More info here: http://www.hifiwigwam.com/view_topic.php?id=51085&forum_id=7

Oh - and be nice to Rich - he's OK(ish) really.