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MDAC first listen (part IV)

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quad2fan said:
My Silver MDAC arrived this morning - huzzahhh! MANY thanks to Ducatiman! Not quite sure where I stand (if anywhere!) in regards to the guarantee as I've purchased this from him, even though it's a brand new and sealed unit from Sevenoaks Hi-Fi.

Hope I won't have any problems with the software suddenly disappearing - the unit is extremely cold, so I'll let it get up to room temperature before turning it on for the first time.

Certainly looks far nicer in the 'flesh' then the pictures I've seen so far! Very nice indeed :)

- John
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Hi John

It must be at room temp by now!

Interested to hear your first impressions.
 
finesensations said:
Hi John

It must be at room temp by now!

Interested to hear your first impressions.
Click to expand...

Wayyy too early to tell yet - DACs always (to me anyway) seem to take a few hours to hit their stride. What I will say is that it all worked first time, and I had no problems at all setting it up with my Mac, using iTunes via the Bitperfect software add-on. Sounds very clean and clear, expansive. I can tell there's going to be a formidable bass presence there too once it's finished coming on song (or my ears have :p). JohnW did mention the organic caps take some time to hit their stride, so that's probably the reason why. Briefly tried the filter settings, but couldn't hear much difference. I'll give them a proper work out over the weekend, trying with headphones too. At some point I need to wire up some cables so I can run the MDAC directly into my pair of rebuilt Quad IIs.

Initial impressions are promising. Impressed with the build quality too which looks far better than I expected from the photos. Nice and hefty and feels very solid. My only complaint visually, is that I wish they'd machined in the Audiolab logo like they have on the CDQ. That would really have set it off nicely. Still that would have increased the price further.

- John
 
John, it requires a good 24 hours solid to come on song, those organic caps take a long time to sort themselves out.
 
quad2fan said:
Wayyy too early to tell yet - DACs always (to me anyway) seem to take a few hours to hit their stride. What I will say is that it all worked first time, and I had no problems at all setting it up with my Mac, using iTunes via the Bitperfect software add-on. Sounds very clean and clear, expansive. I can tell there's going to be a formidable bass presence there too once it's finished coming on song (or my ears have :p). JohnW did mention the organic caps take some time to hit their stride, so that's probably the reason why. Briefly tried the filter settings, but couldn't hear much difference. I'll give them a proper work out over the weekend, trying with headphones too. At some point I need to wire up some cables so I can run the MDAC directly into my pair of rebuilt Quad IIs.

Initial impressions are promising. Impressed with the build quality too which looks far better than I expected from the photos. Nice and hefty and feels very solid. My only complaint visually, is that I wish they'd machined in the Audiolab logo like they have on the CDQ. That would really have set it off nicely. Still that would have increased the price further.

- John
Click to expand...

Thanks for that.

There's an 'M-DAC Filters' thread which you may find worth reading.

Look forward to your update(s).
 
sq225917 said:
John, it requires a good 24 hours solid to come on song, those organic caps take a long time to sort themselves out.
Click to expand...

It's getting there - it has developed some 'punch' behind the sound now, or 'body' might be a better word. It was sounding a little lifeless for the first hour or so. Burn-in is a fascinating process - unlike many I don't go in for day/night differences in cabling or other items of hi-fi 'foo' but I have heard components subtly changing over a period of time many times now. Diffucult to measure... how does one measure for 'involvement' improving in the music?! Haha! 'tis a funny old game! Anyways it's getting there - looking forward to a long session with it this evening with some headphones. I will say this - it's a keeper ;)
 
finesensations said:
Thanks for that.

There's an 'M-DAC Filters' thread which you may find worth reading.

Look forward to your update(s).
Click to expand...

Yes had a read of that - I'm sticking with Optimal XD at the moment so I can get a handle on JohnWs preferred setting. Then I'll start playing about with it.
 
Right just finished hooking up my Beresford Speaker Switch so I can do an A/B between my Anthem MRX 300 with ARC (powered by internal amps) and the M-DAC (in pre-amp mode) powered by my Sony 55ES Power amp

Am I right in saying that both the MRX and the M-DAC will be level matched if they both display the same db value?
 
strocky said:
Am I right in saying that both the MRX and the M-DAC will be level matched if they both display the same db value?
Click to expand...
no

dB is a ratio for the individual device, not an absolute value between 2 pieces of kit

The ratio is possibly related to the maximum output level of the device, but not necessarily
 
JohnW said:
The pending software release will indicate incomplete USB transmission packets IF this is the issue with your Apple.
Click to expand...

John,

For obvious reasons I haven't used USB in quite a while now. However, on checking earlier today I noticed that the M-Dac USB indicator swings wildly. It will often drop as low as 20% and occasionally lower. I also notice that it will do this whether the music is playing or not.


Not sure if this is significant or not but thought it worth mentioning.

The Mac mini is running OS X Lion 10.7.3 and has 4GB of ram installed
 
Suggestion for a future firmware revision: John would it be possible to have the option of adjusting the range of the peak level meter? Many modern CDs seem to be mastered with top volume levels in mind - that awful trend for brickwalling. Got some CDs where the meters barely move at all - they're that bad. It would be nice to be able to 'zoom in' as it were. I'm not a massive fan of flashing lights and all that, but there is something about the peak meters which brings the experience alive a little more than the usual featureless box. Would be nice to get a greater range of them for certain recordings. Possibly a 20-0db and 30-0db option in the settings.

Have settled on the OT DD filter, and am loving the sound I'm getting from it this evening :)

- John
 
quad2fan said:
My Silver MDAC arrived this morning - huzzahhh! MANY thanks to Ducatiman! Not quite sure where I stand (if anywhere!) in regards to the guarantee as I've purchased this from him, even though it's a brand new and sealed unit from Sevenoaks Hi-Fi.

Hope I won't have any problems with the software suddenly disappearing - the unit is extremely cold, so I'll let it get up to room temperature before turning it on for the first time.

Certainly looks far nicer in the 'flesh' then the pictures I've seen so far! Very nice indeed :)

- John
Click to expand...

Glad your pleased with the Mdac John
 
JTC said:
Has anyone received an MDAC from the latest shipment (to the UK) yet? I'm beginning to get impatient as my dealer has had my money since early December and I'm starting to get a bit hacked off by the total lack of information about delivery dates.

Secondly, if I decide to cancel the order and get a refund, is there anything in the same price-bracket that can match the MDAC for audio quality, functionality, including balanced pre-outs and quality headphone output?
Click to expand...

Hi JTC,

Spoke with IAG UK this morning, the next batch of MDAC's are to be shipped to dealers from Monday,

John
 
Does this mean they are leaving Shenzhen Monday, or arriving at dealers in the UK Monday? If the former, any idea how long they'll take to hit UK shores?
 
Leprish said:
John,

For obvious reasons I haven't used USB in quite a while now. However, on checking earlier today I noticed that the M-Dac USB indicator swings wildly. It will often drop as low as 20% and occasionally lower. I also notice that it will do this whether the music is playing or not.


Not sure if this is significant or not but thought it worth mentioning.

The Mac mini is running OS X Lion 10.7.3 and has 4GB of ram installed
Click to expand...

This is significant and in line with what we believe is happening that is USB host (computer) occasionally sending truncated packets of data which will inevitably send the buffer level down until the async feedback mechanism pushes it back to 50%. Unfortunately the M-DAC is on a receiving side here and cannot do bugger all about what the computer throws at it - and what it's throwing is broken packets in violation of USB Audio specification.

Dominik
 
VSS said:
JohnW,

A question regarding the Power On/Of:

Going through manual it appears that Power On/Of is not controlled via remote. If so, is leaving MDAC always on a good idea? If I would like to switch it remotely, what are my options? I switch my sub using "sensor" power bar that senses when my amp is on or of and switches power accordingly for plugged in devices. Obviously plugged in devices have to be left on for this to work. Would this work?​

Regards,
VSS
Click to expand...

I am afraid I did not get much input on the above question. Again, JohnW, anybody,...?!?

Regards,
VSS
 
Hello all

I just got M-Dac at Singapore and i have few queries that needed your help

1. How to enable the OLED to display track info ..etc ?

I have connected the M-DAC via USB cable with Macbook playing iTune. not showing .
I have connected the M-DAC via Cambridge Audio ID100 with iPod classic . not showing too.

does switching off the pre-amp of M-DAC enable this ?
i have read some user able to use the remote to control the iTunes track and I am not able to do so ..

2 how does D3E does ? and any option to switch it off ?

3 how long does it takes to run in the M-Dac to reach optimize result ? how do you run in . do I just turn on the power or I need to run music thru' it to do so ?

Thanks
Raymond Lim
 
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