amey01
Well-known member
Order it online maybe? You might even get it cheaper.
M-dac
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Order it online maybe? You might even get it cheaper.
Bernard
Well-known member
Tim, there is a "Planet of Sound" store here in Ottawa. If you send me the money I can get you one, check it out to verify if all's well (I'll even break it in for you), then ship it to you :devil:
roberto
Well-known member
Yes, Planet of Sound do represents Audiolab. I got mine from them. Nice guys. Ask for Michael. Great service too. Good to know that you are near Bernard.
To Mitt: You can do this purchase blind folder. It truly is a great product. I know that out there are many good DACs, but to my ears and the price, this is the one that I liked most. I did trust my ears! Happy listening.
To Mitt: You can do this purchase blind folder. It truly is a great product. I know that out there are many good DACs, but to my ears and the price, this is the one that I liked most. I did trust my ears! Happy listening.
projectormovielover
Well-known member
In post #20 I already posted a link to the planet of sound. There is an interesting demo program to try at home
MiTT
Super User
I should have known you would look after me buddy! The money is on it's way...
Seriously, someday when you don't have anything else going on you should go give it a listen and let me know what you think.
amey01
Well-known member
So are you guys able to get M-DACs yet, or is it still a closely guarded secret of the Commonwealth nations?
Bernard
Well-known member
Will do Tim.
jmstpierre
Well-known member
Hi amey,
M glad you r enjoying the m dac. I am also in the market for a very competent dac. Like you I was considering the naim dac, and though it was great, I the for the money one could get better.I think it s slightly outdated. I was hoping for a new naim dac with the CES show, but all that was announced was a small uniti version of a dac. Also, the dealer here in Brisbane is a bit of a arrogant old man, and definitely will not buy anything from him or naim for that reason.
There are actually two dacs that m interested in, the audio lab m dac and the new nad m51. will try to audition those two side by side, not real easy to do here in Brisbane, may have to travel a bit south I reckon.
Martin Logan are having a massive discount on their speaker this month, it s that good that I decided to trade in the theos and get the montis, but because it s still a lot more money than the theos it means that I will have to reduce the price point of the dac, so hopefully the m dac will be a winner and save some dollars there.
Regards
M glad you r enjoying the m dac. I am also in the market for a very competent dac. Like you I was considering the naim dac, and though it was great, I the for the money one could get better.I think it s slightly outdated. I was hoping for a new naim dac with the CES show, but all that was announced was a small uniti version of a dac. Also, the dealer here in Brisbane is a bit of a arrogant old man, and definitely will not buy anything from him or naim for that reason.
There are actually two dacs that m interested in, the audio lab m dac and the new nad m51. will try to audition those two side by side, not real easy to do here in Brisbane, may have to travel a bit south I reckon.
Martin Logan are having a massive discount on their speaker this month, it s that good that I decided to trade in the theos and get the montis, but because it s still a lot more money than the theos it means that I will have to reduce the price point of the dac, so hopefully the m dac will be a winner and save some dollars there.
Regards
amey01
Well-known member
Are you talking about Caxton? I've never had a problem with him. Anwyay, I got my M-DAC from Simply Hifi.
Let me know what you think of the M-DAC, and whether you decide to go with it or the NAD. I've heard both and I'm pretty confident you'll go for the Audiolab. I don't really even think it is a contest.
Still - I wouldn't mind hearing the Naim V1. Have you heard any initial reports?
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jmstpierre
Well-known member
Hi Amey
Indeed I was talking about Caxton audio. I wanted to auditioned a few Naim products Nd advised him that was only auditioning at this stage and wanted to compare to Cyrus audio, but he told me , quite rudely that he was fed up of people coming in his shop to listen and not buy anything. It was you come in and listen and buy or nothing. I went with cyrus audio,
I did listen to the m51 at living sound in the valley, and thought it was a bit cold, or clinical to be honest. That s just my opinion only of course. The system consisted of a m51, electrocompaniet Pre amp and a pair of memo amp thru Sonus faber supposedly $30,000 speakers. It did not blow me away.once again this is only my opinion.
I will look up where to audition the m-dac in Brisbane and go soon to audition.
Like I said I will be upgrading to the montis due to the fantastic promo going on this month and as such will have to reduce the amount of money I was going to spend on the source,dac and amp.
I am hoping the m dac will be great, and so far I will probably end up with the mdac,a wired for sound Pre and power amp at this stage. I think the value of w4s is outstanding for the price.
As for the new naim dac, it was really disappointed that they only brought out a unity type dac as I was hoping for a monster dac form naim as they ndac is getting on and really thought they d go all out.
I probably would not be able to afford it now that I am upgrading to montis.
Regards
Indeed I was talking about Caxton audio. I wanted to auditioned a few Naim products Nd advised him that was only auditioning at this stage and wanted to compare to Cyrus audio, but he told me , quite rudely that he was fed up of people coming in his shop to listen and not buy anything. It was you come in and listen and buy or nothing. I went with cyrus audio,
I did listen to the m51 at living sound in the valley, and thought it was a bit cold, or clinical to be honest. That s just my opinion only of course. The system consisted of a m51, electrocompaniet Pre amp and a pair of memo amp thru Sonus faber supposedly $30,000 speakers. It did not blow me away.once again this is only my opinion.
I will look up where to audition the m-dac in Brisbane and go soon to audition.
Like I said I will be upgrading to the montis due to the fantastic promo going on this month and as such will have to reduce the amount of money I was going to spend on the source,dac and amp.
I am hoping the m dac will be great, and so far I will probably end up with the mdac,a wired for sound Pre and power amp at this stage. I think the value of w4s is outstanding for the price.
As for the new naim dac, it was really disappointed that they only brought out a unity type dac as I was hoping for a monster dac form naim as they ndac is getting on and really thought they d go all out.
I probably would not be able to afford it now that I am upgrading to montis.
Regards
javedbk
New member
I have the same setup as roberto...have been for about a year... the M DAC connected with Mac mini through a Musical Fidelity v192 USB to COAXIAL SPDIF converter... wonderful results..!
amey01
Well-known member
How do you find the Musical Fidelity compared to the direct USB in?
roberto
Well-known member
Hola chicos. Can you tell me which digital filter at the M-DAC are you using most of the time? Also, are you using USB direct to the DAC or are you using a USB to Coax converter? I am getting as Javedbk great results. I am using AIFF format, and also have some 320 MP3 ( I can not believe that I am enjoying MP3 that much)... Am I getting deaf? Cymbals are clear, stage is huge, of course, when I play my Bel Canto CD2 transport through the M-DAC coax 1, the sound is better, but not that good that I thought it was, I am using the DAC M as a preamplifier, stereo only, and I can not be happier. This is a wonderful device. Happy listening!
Bernard
Well-known member
No, you are not getting deaf, muchacho. You no longer listen to analog, so you've lost your frame of reference! :devil:
amey01
Well-known member
I'm not using any converters. Just S/PDIF direct from the Squeezebox (COAX). I use Minimum Phase filter most of the time, but I'm happy with it all the time actually. I do enjoy Optimal Transient DD for piano especially. And I have D3E turned on, full suppression.
I'm running fixed output and not using it as a preamp. I have analogue sources too, so the analogue preamp is necessary. I have not, however, experimented with it as a preamp. I should.
You?
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roberto
Well-known member
You are too much Bernard!...hahahahahahaha. Well, when I was the other day at my workshop, I decided to see what an oscilloscope will show me with a multi test tone record that I have. Let me tell you how disappointed I was with analogue gear, because having three of the best turn-tables, the Linn Sondek LP-12, the Oracle Delphi VII MK II, and the Golmund Studio with the T-3 tone-arm, the test was very bad. A lot of lateral distortion, and tons of grain. The 10KHz tone was passed best with the Linn, but horrible. Using the cd test record by Sony, it has several test tones at different levels, even at -70dB, the signal was through the M-DAC sharp and clean!
Now, with music is other story. The sound of my LP records still have magic. Yes, the minor flaws that I find, are mentally avoid, and their sound is quite good, even with the surface noise. Changing from one to the other is not an easy task, and also, you could blow your sub if you have the volume knob at your normal listening position. The transient that generates when the needle touches the groove, boy!, I forgot how dynamic and powerful was that!. I notice now, that I can hear more distortion from my LPs than my other source. But still, are fun to play.
Now, I can not avoid the digital flaws mentally. They are part of the music, but I am getting less problems with digital than analogue. Perhaps you are saying right now, that I am crazy, and I would say, you might be sure. But I can assure you that this M-DAC has a lot magic too. Because I am using the Ulink from Bel Canto, to convert the USB to Coax, it is also, a galvanic filter!. You can not imagine how clean, and there is no digital noise. The cymbals are projected more life-like with this DAC. Also, MP3 320 is enjoyable. Not for critical listening, but sure sounds great!. No Bernard, I am not going back to LPs. I have to move forwards, the the step is digital my friend!. And digital is just starting, it is like a big baby, but new things are coming out each day for good. Have a good one! Happy listening!
Now, with music is other story. The sound of my LP records still have magic. Yes, the minor flaws that I find, are mentally avoid, and their sound is quite good, even with the surface noise. Changing from one to the other is not an easy task, and also, you could blow your sub if you have the volume knob at your normal listening position. The transient that generates when the needle touches the groove, boy!, I forgot how dynamic and powerful was that!. I notice now, that I can hear more distortion from my LPs than my other source. But still, are fun to play.
Now, I can not avoid the digital flaws mentally. They are part of the music, but I am getting less problems with digital than analogue. Perhaps you are saying right now, that I am crazy, and I would say, you might be sure. But I can assure you that this M-DAC has a lot magic too. Because I am using the Ulink from Bel Canto, to convert the USB to Coax, it is also, a galvanic filter!. You can not imagine how clean, and there is no digital noise. The cymbals are projected more life-like with this DAC. Also, MP3 320 is enjoyable. Not for critical listening, but sure sounds great!. No Bernard, I am not going back to LPs. I have to move forwards, the the step is digital my friend!. And digital is just starting, it is like a big baby, but new things are coming out each day for good. Have a good one! Happy listening!
roberto
Well-known member
Hola Amey01. When I am listening to solo a instrument, like guitar or piano, I use mostly the filter " Optimal Spectrum " and for MP3 "absolute phase". For jazz combo group, I use optimal transient XD or DD. I use the same D3E full suppression. We like almost the same things!. I really like this unit as I do with ML. I think it is a great product, with a lot of little toys where you can play with. Absolute phase is a must for MP3. Now, I have it plugged back to my preamp, and the volume level is at 0dB. The strings are silky and well detailed. The piano is very good, the guitar and trumpet too. The clarinet is very sweet and fun. A lot of all this, has to be with the quality of the recording. I do like a lot what I am listening. Still, I do not like too many instruments at the same time...but this due to poor recordings. Enjoy it as I am with mine, my dear friend! Happy listening!
MiTT
Super User
Well, based on the reviews on line as well as the opinions of Adam and Roberto here (both of whom I respect tremendously), I went out on a limb and ordered the Audiolab M-DAC from Planet of Sound up in Canada since there are no distributors here in the US of A. I've also downloaded a trial copy of Channel D's Pure Music so that I can play some Hi-Rez files. I'm looking forward to exploring this new aspect of my system and will post my thoughts here once I have had the opportunity to get everything set up and appropriately burned in. I'm not sure what I'll end up doing with my old Dodson Audio DA-217 DAC. The reason I'm getting the M-DAC is because the Dodson doesn't have a USB input, nor does it do Hi-Rez (24-96 & up). What it does have that very few other DAC's include, is the Pacific Microsonics HDCD decoder which I use when I spin HDCD encoded disc's such as those from Reference Records among others. Time will tell, although I must admit, I rarely end up spinning physical media these days - other than vinyl.
amey01
Well-known member
Let us know how you go Tim. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Personally, I haven't experimented with the USB input, but many people get great results with it. I say this because javedbk (above) says he is using a S/PDIF converter, but he has not elaborated. Let us know how you go with the USB side of things too.
roberto
Well-known member
Hola Tim... how are the CLSs? It is great to know that you did get this beautiful sounding M-DAC. I am going to say something again about it: quality has no regret! Please, tell us your finding Tim!!! I am sure that you will be as happy as Adam and me with the sound quality of this device. Please, the unit needs at least 50 hours to brake-in. Do not do any serious comparisons until at least this time had passed through the unit with music. Play violin, cello, bass, cymbals, drums, guitar, piano, voices, wind instruments, organ, percussion instruments, vives. The last album of Paul McCartney, kisses Live, singing old songs, with Diana Krall (piano and vocals) , John Pizarelli (guitar) Anthony Wilson (guitar), John Clayton (Bass) Mike Mainieri (vives) to name a few great musicians in this recording, the sound quality is awesome. Happy listening!
