Musical Fidelity M1 DAC-A - HotDeal.

[anm]

did we do a comparison between coax, optical and usb inputs?

 

[nmurthyk]

Hi,

Sorry for chipping in late. I liked the highs of M1 Dac & rDac.
Audio GD is very good in Bass but we haven't tried all of its features so cannot conclude.
I felt DacMagic & Beresford similar except the sound stage. DacMagic sound stage is good.
Audio GD & M1 are neck-to-neck when considering the price differences (8k+) + choice of tweaking.

However I liked the smooth highs of M1 Dac ( no doubt about it).

Thanks,
Murthy

 

[ravi_d]

...
Ravi, can you post the link for Audio GD? Thanks.
...

Hi Sajjad,

This is the link to Audio-GD Website

NFB-5 is the model I have.

Their English is not that great. You have to bear with them.

 

[msagar]

Can you please post your experience(s) COST vs PERFORMANCE.


Oppo 93 (internal), USD $500
MF M1, USD $700
Arcam Rdac, USD $500
Gatorized Beresford Caimen, USD $260
CA Dacmagic, USD $400
Audio GD DAC (Chinese brand), USD $350

 

[heliumflight]

Any idea where Musical Fidelity M1 DAC is made in?

 

[ravi_d]

Any idea where Musical Fidelity M1 DAC is made in?

All Musical Fidelity products are made in China I think. The Musical Fidelity registered office is at the end of my street where I used to live in North West London. I'm sure there is not much of an activity there.

 

[Divakar7]

Musical Fidelity products are made in Taiwan. The top of the line (KW) were made in England, not sure if that's still the case.

 

[BLASTO]

Any idea where Musical Fidelity M1 DAC is made in?

Why is the info needed anyways?

 

[BLASTO]

Can you please post your experience(s) COST vs PERFORMANCE.


Oppo 93 (internal), USD $500
MF M1, USD $700
Arcam Rdac, USD $500
Gatorized Beresford Caimen, USD $260
CA Dacmagic, USD $400
Audio GD DAC (Chinese brand), USD $350

Hey Msagar, Where were you last weekend? You should have joined..

Best Cost vs performance is IMO Audio GD DAC. I checked the website and there is only DAC without preamp also. That could be cheaper?

Also why have you mentioned US prices?
In India, M1 is not 10k costlier than rDAC or 15k costlier than Dacmagic. If it was indeed that way, then they perform to their price levels I would say.

 

[ravi_d]

Unless there are analogue inputs there won't be much price difference between a standalone dac and dac with pre-amp/volume control.

The NFB-5 has better specs than even Rega DAC. For those looking for a standalone DAC the NFB-17 has better R core transformer, better power supply specs than NFB-5 and should offer considerably better performance. Both the models offer excellent value for money.

Starting this month all dac's are available with Asynchronous USB input with 24bit 192 kHz support.

All the Audio-GD products are tested and burn-in for 100 hours before shipping. Even after all that its slightly risky shipping the item back and forth in case of any issues.

 

[BLASTO]

Unless there are analogue inputs there won't be much price difference between a standalone dac and dac with pre-amp/volume control.

The NFB-5 has better specs than even Rega DAC. For those looking for a standalone DAC the NFB-17 has better R core transformer, better power supply specs than NFB-5 and should offer considerably better performance. Both the models offer excellent value for money.

Starting this month all dac's are available with Asynchronous USB input with 24bit 192 kHz support.

All the Audio-GD products are tested and burn-in for 100 hours before shipping. Even after all that its slightly risky shipping the item back and forth in case of any issues.

Do you have any recommendation on thier amps?
A brief browze did not find any integrates and Iam confused with their language.

 

[anm]

did we do a comparison between coax, optical and usb inputs?

sorry for repeating this again - but did you compare UB vs coax/ optical for M1? What was the transport?

 

[BLASTO]

sorry for repeating this again - but did you compare UB vs coax/ optical for M1? What was the transport?

http://www.hifivision.com/hot-deals/25211-musical-fidelity-m1-dac-hotdeal-10.html#post359594

 

[anm]

Could be only devided with M1 vs Audio GD.
Other ordering is still same.




Source is oppo 93 and Music PC.
Optical and Coaxial difference is tested and is insignificant.

Music - Eagles, Pink floyd, Celine Dion, Telugu/Bollywood songs.

But how do coax and USB compare?

What music PC is used? What are the music related optimizations done to the PC? Is coax output from sound card of music pc taken?
Why I am asking is - the async usb is supposed to be the killer feature at this price. My own experience with USB input was not great - but maybe I have not used right drivers, or the CDP in comparison was VERY good.
Just need to hear your thoughts on USB of this DAC.

 

[anm]

I have started thinking that async USB is not worth the hype for home stereo. IF you have to use a system, use a desktop with juli@ card. It is useful only if you want to use a laptop, as there isn't an option of a digital out, except USB.

 

[BLASTO]

@Anm,
The only person who tested out USB is divakar.
He too IMO only 'tested' it. Not sure if he uses it daily.
For me personally, it is just a 'good to have'. Highly doubt if I would use it.

 

[BLASTO]

Why I am asking is - the async usb is supposed to be the killer feature at this price. My own experience with USB input was not great - but maybe I have not used right drivers, or the CDP in comparison was VERY good.

Which CDP?
As for coaxial, I tested it against Musical Fidelity A1008 CDP.

A1008 CDP -> Analog input 1 of A5.5 amp -> Thiel CS1.6
A1008 CDP -> M1 DAC Coax [--] M1 DAC Coax analog out -> Analog input 2 of A5.5 amp -> Thiel CS1.6

In both the above scenarios, the difference was insignificant if any.
The Switch was just analog 1: analog 2 in A5.5 for same songs.

 

[msagar]

Blasto:

Hey Msagar, Where were you last weekend? You should have joined.. Best Cost vs performance is IMO Audio GD DAC. I checked the website and there is only DAC without preamp also. That could be cheaper?

Chinese are doing a great job. I will be there next time. Thank you.

 

[Divakar7]

@anm Asynch USB is a killer feature to have. Lot of folks in the west, including myself, use laptops as source instead of a PC. I use it for playing music I have recorded above 16 bits and or above 44.1khz. So my laptop and CDP aren't interchangeable, they each need a specific requirement and play an unique role in the chain. So I havent bothered to find out which one is theoretically better. The differences are so minute among digital interconnects that is better to let your own ears judge than take the word of someone else.

With that caveat out of the way, I think the digital coax is better than the optical toslink in the M1 DAC and the integrated DAC in the A1008. The guys from Straightwire I have corresponded with also believe the digital coax to be better than optical. Yes, yes I have read about optical being impervious to electrical/RF interference and less attenuation over longer runs (who runs 20+meter interconnects at home??). But in the end you have to trust your ears

 

[Divakar7]

From an aesthetic perspective, I can't visualize a PC as part of my living room setup