Click to view our Accessibility Statement or contact us with accessibility-related questions
trappedintime
87
Sep 29, 2015
I've had my eye on this, but I'm not sure it's for me, regardless of the price. With a power amp (have a Halo A21 coming), the preamp is always the week spot in the chain. I think I'd rather go DAC > Passive Pre > Power Amp. Perhaps this wouldn't muddy the chain, but I feel I could get a better dedicated DAC and sink less money on the passive preamp. Maybe I'm wrong though. Everything I've read makes me think this is a quality unit, but not at 2x the price for my office setup.
AudioMan612
218
Sep 29, 2015
trappedintimeI use the m920 as a standalone DAC, and occasionally as a headphone amp, and I've been very happy with it. I haven't had any complaints with the volume attenuator, and certainly not as a standalone DAC. A very good passive preamp would probably be better than the source selection and volume attenuation in the m920, but it's still very good. It is worth noting that the standalone DAC mode only works on the unbalanced outputs, should you decide to switch to a separate preamp later. If you want to use the balanced outputs, you could set the unit to always set the TRS output to unity gain when powering up. If you have a Halo A21 as an office amp, I think this would pair very nicely.
trappedintime
87
Sep 29, 2015
AudioMan612I should have specified that the A21 is going to be my living room amp, paired with Paradigm 9se MKii speakers, and I'm looking for a good solution for at home. At work I have a Sony UDA-1, which is just a poor man's version of this, minus the preamp capabilities. I'm sure it would be an upgrade over my Creative X7 DAC/amp at home, but I can use that as a good controller for multiple sources and run it into a passive preamp and upgrade with a standalone DAC that theoretically would have less circuitry and probably be a better fit in my chain.
Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer this over my UDA-1 in my office, but I got that $800 MSRP unit for $220 shipped and it also powers my bookshelf speakers so I don't always have to listen through my cans. I'd have to get a separate amp if I replaced it with this. So given the preamp capabilities, I'd be looking at the m920 to take my turntable, Apple TV optical connection and iMac USB and feed it into the A21. In this case I just wonder if I'm better off spending $800-$900 on a standalone DAC and another $500 on something like the Luminous Axiom II that strengthens my SQ a little more. The remote capabilitie of this unit do bring in the convenience factor.
AudioMan612
218
Sep 29, 2015
trappedintimeAh alright. Yeah that's tough for me to say without being able to compare. I can at least say that the DAC section, which is mainly what I use is top-notch.
trappedintime
87
Sep 30, 2015
AudioMan612What stand alone DACs would you say fall in the same category of performance? I realize everything has its own sound signature, but I'm curious what I might want to look at if not this. I am still on the fence, but this drop caught me and my wallet a little off guard, as often is the case on here.
AudioMan612
218
Sep 30, 2015
trappedintimeWell, the m920's chief rival is the Benchmark DAC2 HGC. The DAC chip in the m920 is the ESS 9018-2m (the 2m is the mobile version), so a DAC with a good implementation of the 9018 family of chips will probably be similar in performance. The NAD M51 is another DAC that's similar in price and performance that comes to mind. Here (http://www.stereophile.com/content/2015-recommended-components-fall-edition-digital-processors#RE6EZHGoQ3xVeTKU.97) is Stereophile's most current list of recommended DAC's. They used to have the m903 under class B, and the m920 is a noticeable step up, and had they reviewed it, it would probably be class A. Hopefully they get around to it eventually.
If you are looking for a standalone DAC, the Schiit Yggdrasil is one of the best DAC's I've heard to date. They also make a multibit upgrade for the Gungnir at a little over half the cost of the Yggdrasil that also sounds excellent and mostly as good as the more expensive Yggdrasil (I actually went to the product launch and heard it before it went public the next day).
Dimoroc
0
Jan 25, 2016
AudioMan612Hi, what exactly do you mean that DAC mode only works on unbalanced outputs? I'm looking for a dac only to drive two Genelec 8050's for pc listening purpouses. Any advice or alternatives? RME UCX, Benchmark dac2, Lynx Hilo or any others? Thanks
mohb
45
Jan 26, 2016
DimorocThere is a "Fixed DAC Output" mode that bypasses all additional processing and volume control. It is activated by opening up the unit and moving some jumpers. It only effects the Unbalanced Outputs. See page 17 in the manual.
CalebRoberts
56
Jan 26, 2016
mohbThis is referring to the option for bypassing the gain control - for full level output from the DAC. This might be used if you want to use the m920's DAC section as a source into another preamp or monitor controller - because you probably want a volume control somewhere in your system. This configuration bypasses the m920's gain control. I don't know what "additional procesing" mohb is referring to. But Dimroc, I think you probably want to use the m920 in the typical configuration with its gain control in line: PC -> m920 -> (balanced outputs) Genelecs. This is a typical configuration.
Dimoroc
0
Jan 26, 2016
CalebRobertsYes, I need a volume knob. What does it differ when using it as a DAC only, when not being able to control the volume, as it states it gives the purest possible signal?
Will there be a new drop for the m920 in the next three months?
mohb
45
Jan 26, 2016
CalebRobertsmono, mute, and balance. I suppose I implied digital processing, my bad. I'm not sure what other word to use at the moment.
CalebRoberts
56
Jan 30, 2016
mohbright - no digital processing. Balance and mute are just settings for the gain control. Mono and Crossfeed are connected via relays when enabled. Otherwise they are not in the signal path.
PRODUCTS YOU MAY LIKE
Trending Posts in Audiophile