hey Jason, this was a great series with Mark. Thank you for going to such great efforts to produce this for us to enjoy. Your channel is quickly becoming the Best Audiophile Resource available.
I agree 100% that the important thing here is the Mighty Cat Chip and perhaps it will revolutionize the sector. Measurements are very important but they do not guarantee sound quality. They are very useful to verify that no errors have been made, but in the end it is the listening pleasure of listening to high quality recordings with high dynamics (DR > 12 dB) and PCM 24/96 FLAC 0 in a system that generates very low jitter when processing digital audio. The other fundamental part is to ensure the quality of the electrical power supply. - Greetings from Tarragona (Spain/EU) -
Congratulations Jason on the Daniel Hertz series of videos. A deep dive into significant contemporary audio innovation. It's easily one of the best investigations on hifi I have seen in a long while. Looking forward to you matching Maria and the Bacch to see whether they can 'sing' synergistically together. Three things I would love you to consider. 1: Please ask for the system with Marks modest speaker cable included. Love to see a comparison with speaker cable you consider higher end. 2:The question of cd's versus vynil. Given cd's better dynamic range and on the Maria system , considered to be akin to ananlouge ( or better). ......... well, what do you really think ??? 3: Tuneability. Either to the listeners' taste. Or to room characteristics. Ron from NRD recently reviewed the Maria M4 system. His review was a little luke warm regarding tuneability from the 'factory'. I feel it would have been helpful if he had sort clarification from Daniel Hertz on remote 'factory' adjustment of the Maria system before he published. Once again Jason superb content. Keep up the good work. Karl fom N.Z.
Thanks! As for your questions...I doubt I'll get any speaker cables from him. I already have 3 different set of speakers I can swap out (Viablue, BJC and Kirmuss) plus many others in storage. I probably won't add cables to the variables under review. CD doesn't always have better dynamic range than vinyl in terms of mastering, but yeah...the format is superior IMO assuming equal mastering. Saying something sounds "analog" is an insult in my book :) I didn't see that NRD review, but I heard about it from Mark, and he told me it had lots of errors. Obviously, that's just one side of the story and don't know what was erroneous. I didn't get into details with him, and it's not my business. That's between them on that particular product which I haven't even heard. He told me that access to the Mighty Cat software has been limited heretofore, but Mark said I will get access. Thus, I can't comment on what others did or didn't do with it, but I'll have my own first hand experience so that's ultimately what's more important. In general, I think they will work with you and your system behind the scenes to set things up if you aren't using their speakers, but I get the impression if you're using their speakers that further adjustments are discouraged and not manually accessible by the owner.
About function integration in one box... I just remember that in the late 90s and early 2000s Wadia made a few devices with DAC/Preamp/Pwr-Amp (and likely a sort of DSP too) all within the same box; I'm not 100% sure if that move was the reason why Wadia began declining and his market share diminished but today it's almost gone.
It wasn't the reason for their decline, but it was far ahead of it's time if it included the power amp (I don't recall that product). It still may be too far ahead of its time as I mentioned to Mark in the previous video. People want stuff they can brag about on IG and has a visual impact. Big amps and fancy cabling are still a huge factor in people's buying decisions.
Well it has a DAC, but yes it's integrated so you avoid separate chassis, power cords and cabling that can often diminish performance over something optimized already integrated. It's all in the implementation though. It's tough to generalize, but in the right hands, you gain synergy and a higher chance for optimal performance.
I got the impression that Mark Levinson's listening room was quite small for the size of the M1 speakers. Not that it is a bad thing but I could imagine many people using them in larger rooms and I wonder what effect that would have on the sound.
It is small, but you listen nearfield which means you're hearing more of the system and less of the room. Size of speakers is often mistaken for being "too big for a room" simply on visual metrics. As you mentioned, it's not necessarily a bad thing and as long as you can get past the aesthetics, it's about how the bass performs as well as general reflections regardless of the room size.
Hey Jason ! I enjoyed your video specially when you say about turntable (I don’t have it because I don’t like the noise that produced, but I have always in my mind to buy one ☝️ one day ) but I still thinking about it hahaha 😝
Hey man, I would really appreciate if you could tell me a couple of top notch hifi repair shops so I can get two voltage regulators upgraded in my Marantz DAC. Yeah I know it’s a crazy ask, but I can’t find anyone here in California willing to do it. Cheers.
New record day did a pretty decent review of the DH Maria 800/M4 system, this seemed to be adding a little 'something' to the original audio when comparing the original track and the live sound. I couldn't make up my mind if I liked it or not. True analogue diehards anre gonna hate that everything is digitised on the input so I guess as long as you go into it with your eyes (and ears) open you can make up your own mind. At the end of the day its a 'system' so keep that in mind.
There's no product for everyone, but none of those "true analog guys" figured out the MoFi scandal on their own 🤠 I don't know anything about the M4 and have only heard the Chiara and M1. There is a huge difference between those with the same electronics, but I'll be able to isolate the Maria alone in my system to get a better picture of anything audible from just that part of the equation.
@@AudiophileJunkie "one of those "true analog guys" figured out the MoFi scandal on their own " - Very True. Will be waiting for the Maria Amp analysis....!
Music clips and actual footage from Mark Levinson's home is in this video.
th-cam.com/video/JHYb4_munPo/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for the video, I don’t have anything to add, for me you covered all the bases which is why I enjoy your channel the most. 👌
I appreciate that!
hey Jason, this was a great series with Mark. Thank you for going to such great efforts to produce this for us to enjoy. Your channel is quickly becoming the Best Audiophile Resource available.
Thanks!
I am really looking forward to see/listen to the synergies between the Maria and the Bacch Adio. Great project and benefitial for your community!
You and me both!
I agree 100% that the important thing here is the Mighty Cat Chip and perhaps it will revolutionize the sector.
Measurements are very important but they do not guarantee sound quality. They are very useful to verify that no errors have been made, but in the end it is the listening pleasure of listening to high quality recordings with high dynamics (DR > 12 dB) and PCM 24/96 FLAC 0 in a system that generates very low jitter when processing digital audio. The other fundamental part is to ensure the quality of the electrical power supply.
- Greetings from Tarragona (Spain/EU) -
dr rating of 12 does not imply 12db. A dynamic range of 12db is pretty poor... take into account CD supports over 90db of dynamic range
Congratulations Jason on the Daniel Hertz series of videos. A deep dive into significant contemporary audio innovation. It's easily one of the best investigations on hifi I have seen in a long while.
Looking forward to you matching Maria and the Bacch to see whether they can 'sing' synergistically together.
Three things I would love you to consider.
1: Please ask for the system with Marks modest speaker cable included. Love to see a comparison with speaker cable you consider higher end.
2:The question of cd's versus vynil. Given cd's better dynamic range and on the Maria system , considered to be akin to ananlouge ( or better). ......... well, what do you really think ???
3: Tuneability. Either to the listeners' taste. Or to room characteristics. Ron from NRD recently reviewed the Maria M4 system. His review was a little luke warm regarding tuneability from the 'factory'. I feel it would have been helpful if he had sort clarification from Daniel Hertz on remote 'factory' adjustment of the Maria system before he published.
Once again Jason superb content. Keep up the good work.
Karl fom N.Z.
Thanks!
As for your questions...I doubt I'll get any speaker cables from him. I already have 3 different set of speakers I can swap out (Viablue, BJC and Kirmuss) plus many others in storage. I probably won't add cables to the variables under review.
CD doesn't always have better dynamic range than vinyl in terms of mastering, but yeah...the format is superior IMO assuming equal mastering. Saying something sounds "analog" is an insult in my book :)
I didn't see that NRD review, but I heard about it from Mark, and he told me it had lots of errors. Obviously, that's just one side of the story and don't know what was erroneous. I didn't get into details with him, and it's not my business. That's between them on that particular product which I haven't even heard.
He told me that access to the Mighty Cat software has been limited heretofore, but Mark said I will get access. Thus, I can't comment on what others did or didn't do with it, but I'll have my own first hand experience so that's ultimately what's more important. In general, I think they will work with you and your system behind the scenes to set things up if you aren't using their speakers, but I get the impression if you're using their speakers that further adjustments are discouraged and not manually accessible by the owner.
About function integration in one box... I just remember that in the late 90s and early 2000s Wadia made a few devices with DAC/Preamp/Pwr-Amp (and likely a sort of DSP too) all within the same box; I'm not 100% sure if that move was the reason why Wadia began declining and his market share diminished but today it's almost gone.
It wasn't the reason for their decline, but it was far ahead of it's time if it included the power amp (I don't recall that product). It still may be too far ahead of its time as I mentioned to Mark in the previous video. People want stuff they can brag about on IG and has a visual impact. Big amps and fancy cabling are still a huge factor in people's buying decisions.
Bello/Magnifico.😱✡️✡️✡️✡️✡️✡️
This eas very, very interesting, thank you. Like number 40 from me.
Best wishes from Scotland.
Jim🏴🙂
The most underrated quality of the Maria is the digital to analog conversion. Best DAC is no DAC
Well it has a DAC, but yes it's integrated so you avoid separate chassis, power cords and cabling that can often diminish performance over something optimized already integrated. It's all in the implementation though. It's tough to generalize, but in the right hands, you gain synergy and a higher chance for optimal performance.
@@AudiophileJunkie it's more than an integrated DAC, it's in the chip itself. Shortest DAC conversion ever
Yep...that's what I spend most of the video talking about what's innovative with Daniel Hertz...the mighty cat chip.
what about its healing properties?
It's all covered in this video
th-cam.com/video/kp2MmIqVjTA/w-d-xo.html
I got the impression that Mark Levinson's listening room was quite small for the size of the M1 speakers. Not that it is a bad thing but I could imagine many people using them in larger rooms and I wonder what effect that would have on the sound.
It is small, but you listen nearfield which means you're hearing more of the system and less of the room.
Size of speakers is often mistaken for being "too big for a room" simply on visual metrics. As you mentioned, it's not necessarily a bad thing and as long as you can get past the aesthetics, it's about how the bass performs as well as general reflections regardless of the room size.
Hey Jason ! I enjoyed your video specially when you say about turntable (I don’t have it because I don’t like the noise that produced, but I have always in my mind to buy one ☝️ one day ) but I still thinking about it hahaha 😝
Ha... Yes... ticks and pops equal a "remaster" to me...so just like Mark can't listen to PCM...I can't stand most vinyl 🤠
@@AudiophileJunkie that’s true !
Hey man, I would really appreciate if you could tell me a couple of top notch hifi repair shops so I can get two voltage regulators upgraded in my Marantz DAC.
Yeah I know it’s a crazy ask, but I can’t find anyone here in California willing to do it.
Cheers.
New record day did a pretty decent review of the DH Maria 800/M4 system, this seemed to be adding a little 'something' to the original audio when comparing the original track and the live sound. I couldn't make up my mind if I liked it or not. True analogue diehards anre gonna hate that everything is digitised on the input so I guess as long as you go into it with your eyes (and ears) open you can make up your own mind. At the end of the day its a 'system' so keep that in mind.
There's no product for everyone, but none of those "true analog guys" figured out the MoFi scandal on their own 🤠
I don't know anything about the M4 and have only heard the Chiara and M1. There is a huge difference between those with the same electronics, but I'll be able to isolate the Maria alone in my system to get a better picture of anything audible from just that part of the equation.
@@AudiophileJunkie "one of those "true analog guys" figured out the MoFi scandal on their own " - Very True. Will be waiting for the Maria Amp analysis....!