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MDAC first listen (part X)

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sam_cat said:
Totally agreed, and all it takes is a single led, doesnt need to be bright either.

Sam
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How did it go with your AMPs you where building? - I'm still fighting the MPAX design - the "Core" power-amp section is completed, currently designing the protection circuits and front-end input stages and DC Servo... gets complex when you need to consider all the situations...

John
 
finesensations said:
Hi John

Ok. Have you considered making the power switch a 'Lake West' feature/'trademark'?

Maybe a 'touch sensitive' switch would 'blend in' better.
Click to expand...

No, I'll be just happy once the I've had a chance to listen to the Amps!!! time is rapidly moving on....

For the silver units, we are trying a Grey switch - or maybe silver (if we can convince the vendor)...

Does not look so bad in real life...

John
 
JohnW said:
I'd be happy to loan you a MAMP so you can compare to your 840W when they are available :) ...

John
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Thank you John! That's very kind!

You rated the MAMP at 100W per channel and 200W in bridged mode. Are these figures with a 4 ohm load?

My speakers have a rather low efficiency (85,5 dB or 83 dB, 1W/1m) and are quite large (you may remember my 'not lacking bass' statement).

Michael
 
JohnW said:
How did it go with your AMPs you where building? - I'm still fighting the MPAX design - the "Core" power-amp section is completed, currently designing the protection circuits and front-end input stages and DC Servo... gets complex when you need to consider all the situations...

John
Click to expand...

Very well thanks, few glitches with the power latching circuit (was too sensitive to transients on the mains, turning a light on was causing it to click off) but thats all fixed now. Sounds superb

Its one very full case:





Sam
 
fusion5 said:
Thank you John! That's very kind!

You rated the MAMP at 100W per channel and 200W in bridged mode. Are these figures with a 4 ohm load?

My speakers have a rather low efficiency (85,5 dB or 83 dB, 1W/1m) and are quite large (you may remember my 'not lacking bass' statement).

Michael
Click to expand...

Hi Michael,

They are 8ohms power ratings - 4 ohms will be thermal limited (in the longterm) - but real usable power will be much higher... 4 ohms bridged your looking at 300W and more - again its going to be ultimately limited by thermal management... the PSU and output stage will be happy to provide these longer term "peaks"...

The MAMP has an internal MCU to help manage the thermal situation... the MDAC will indicate the thermal situation if things get too dicey... (Wild party's etc).

The MAMP will happily supply oodles of current - I'm designing it to drive my Martin Logan CLSIIz's and these get to 0.5 ohms in some places... the amplifier has 10 main output devices per channel.... its going to be a little power house...

John
 
sam_cat said:
Very well thanks, few glitches with the power latching circuit (was too sensitive to transients on the mains, turning a light on was causing it to click off) but thats all fixed now. Sounds superb

Its one very full case:





Sam
Click to expand...

Nice work, that's a BIG heatsink - wish we had a heatsink that size for the MAMP...

For the MAMP auto standby feature, I'm going to leave that to the MCU with its ADC's and let Dominik fight that battle :D
 
Cant wait to try an MAmp or two against my HackerNAPs. Will be an interesting head to head (especially as the HackerNAP has impressed me so much!)
Will loan/trial units be available?


JohnW said:
Nice work, that's a BIG heatsink - wish we had a heatsink that size for the MAMP...

For the MAMP auto standby feature, I'm going to leave that to the MCU with its ADC's and let Dominik fight that battle :D
Click to expand...

It barely gets above room temperature.. One side is used as a heatsink, the other isnt.. Holding hand on each side after extending listening at a loud level and you can feel a subtle difference in temperature.. Could probably have used the 10mm aluminium front panel as a heatsink...

Thanks,
Sam
 
sam_cat said:
Cant wait to try an MAmp or two against my HackerNAPs.. Will be an interesting head to head (especially as the HackerNAP has impressed me so much)
!
Will loan/trial units be available?

Thanks,
Sam
Click to expand...

Remember, never trust me with Timescales, Paperwork & Lady's in boots..!

Hoping around Christmas...

It should sound different to HackerNAP - for a start its ClassA Mosfet - well kind off ;)

John
 
The M-DAC in combination with the Class D Audio amp and Wharfedale Jade 1 gives a clear distinction in sound differences with regards to the different filter settings (REL T5 for Sub) the M-DAC makes the Class D Audio amp and Jade 1's really sing, very happy with the sound of the whole chain, will stick somewhat longer with it than I am used to with equipment :)
Eagerly waiting for the upgrade and HT pass possibility (have to plug unplug the XLR cables between the M-DAC and amp and the Marantz AV7005 and Amp 1 or 2 times a day :)

Greetz from Holland
 
JohnW said:
Hi Michael,

They are 8ohms power ratings - 4 ohms will be thermal limited (in the longterm) - but real usable power will be much higher... 4 ohms bridged your looking at 300W and more - again its going to be ultimately limited by thermal management... the PSU and output stage will be happy to provide these longer term "peaks"...

The MAMP has an internal MCU to help manage the thermal situation... the MDAC will indicate the thermal situation if things get too dicey... (Wild party's etc).

The MAMP will happily supply oodles of current - I'm designing it to drive my Martin Logan CLSIIz's and these get to 0.5 ohms in some places... the amplifier has 10 main output devices per channel.... its going to be a little power house...

John
Click to expand...

When you say 'the MDAC will indicate the thermal situation if things get too dicey..' did your really mean the MAMP?
 
JohnW said:
Hi Michael,

They are 8ohms power ratings - 4 ohms will be thermal limited (in the longterm) - but real usable power will be much higher... 4 ohms bridged your looking at 300W and more - again its going to be ultimately limited by thermal management... the PSU and output stage will be happy to provide these longer term "peaks"...

The MAMP has an internal MCU to help manage the thermal situation... the MDAC will indicate the thermal situation if things get too dicey... (Wild party's etc).

The MAMP will happily supply oodles of current - I'm designing it to drive my Martin Logan CLSIIz's and these get to 0.5 ohms in some places... the amplifier has 10 main output devices per channel.... its going to be a little power house...

John
Click to expand...

Hi John,

this sounds really good. I was a bit afraid that only two bridged MAMPs will be a suitable solution for my speakers. But now I'll have to compare bridged vs. bi-amping vs. single MAMP ... :cool:

JohnW said:
Remember, never trust me with Timescales, Paperwork & Lady's in boots..!
Click to expand...

So it's your problem with timescales vs. your desire to listen to your CLSIIz's properly amplified. ;)

Michael
 
Quick question: Is it ok to leave the MDAC on indefinitely? Or should I be switching it off every night?

Many thanks
David
 
JohnW said:
I cannot comment on other products - only the legal requirement as I understand it - as told to me by our safety engineers...

There also many device categorise and safety standards - again its down to fine details and interpretation...

sed appliances when they leave for an extend period of time - how would an owner know a unit was powered if there was no indication?

If nothing else, its just common sense...

John
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I totally agree.
It's extremely useful to know if the device is powerd or not, i will not buy a device that gives no indications....
 
JohnW said:
Yes loading of all filters (apart from Fast and slow) can take sometime.

You could always try loading back an earlier version of software and see if you can hear differences in the filters - but the fact its taking time to load the filters suggest that everything is working OK...

V0.90

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/86116171/mdac v0.90.exe

If you cannot, then I would suggest that a component in your audio system is limiting your system performance - what amplifier / Speakers are you using?

I have experienced systems in the past that "limit" the resolution to such a degree that its hard to tell differences which are blinding obvious in other systems - speakers are are common cause.

Oddly enough - I find QUAD ESL 63 (and later derivatives) to be guilty of this to a certain degree. They have a certain amount of resolution, but beyond a certain stage I find it hard to tell differences... I find the earlier ESL57 are much more revealing.

The Martin Logan CLSIIz I use are in a totally different class altogether...

John
Click to expand...

Yes. I have QUAD ESL 2805 and find it hard to tell differences. Having updated the rest of the kit to QUAD Elite preamp plus the monos, I find I've gone back from XD to DD, but the differences don't seem great.

- Richard.
 
fusion5 said:
I suspect my 840W to be the weakest link of the chain. Still having trouble to compare the filters. Need a pair of MAMPs to replace it. ;)

Regarding the power switch position:
I can't easily access the back panel of my equipment. On devices without remote switching capabilities (remote control, trigger input) I prefer front panel switches.
Click to expand...

+1

That was one reason why, when I bought my new QUAD Elite monos, I also bought the Elite pre-amp, so that I could connect them with Quadlink and use the remote standby feature.
 
Lokidtc99 said:
Quick question: Is it ok to leave the MDAC on indefinitely? Or should I be switching it off every night?

Many thanks
David
Click to expand...

The OLED has a finite lifespan, based on hours of use and brightness when used. The other parts should last forever, give or take a few weeks!
 
Hey guys good afternoon!
would purchasing a Squeezebox touch and connecting it to the coax M-dac be superior/inferior to connecting the Mdac to the laptop usb ?
Also, I'm using J river media center and I'm using DSP VST and it automatically changes the bitdepth to 24 bits, why is that?

Thanks alot
 
I'm currently using an M-DAC and a Rega Brio-R. Would I get any improvement do you think by changing the Rega to an audiolab power amp? What would you recommend?

I love the M-DAC sound, and so something to compliment would be good.
 
Sit on your hands and wait for the M-amp, then try it in your system to see how it sounds.
 
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