Beschreibung
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M6x DAC - Overview
HI-FI NEWS 06/2022
HOME CINEMA CHOICE 08/2022
STEREO 08/2022
Our M6x DAC is a new milestone in the history of Musical Fidelity DACs. Its predecessor, the M6s DAC was one of the first to use the critically acclaimed ESS 32-bit HyperStream II DAC architecture. With the M6sR DAC, we continued to improve the firmware and added a few other quality of life improvements. DSD was now easier to use, we had full Roon Support and in- & outputs were updated to keep up with the fast moving digital audio landscape. And the other big thing: the M6sR DAC was now being made in the EU!
Technical Talk
With the M6x DAC we went even further. Building on our knowledge and experience with Sabre ESS chips, we upgraded them to the newer ES9038Q2M, and now use two of them in dual differential mode for a pristine dual mono design. The inclusion of a Time Domain Jitter Eliminator results in superb SNR and THD+N performance with unbelievablely detailed transient response. Other advances in the DAC section include upsampling and re-clocking.
Upsampling can independently be switched on or off. The 16-core XMOS and CPLD MAX II Altera processors ensure there is always enough headroom for these operations, the new digital filters and the MQA processing. The single ended RCA and balanced XLR outputs each have their own output buffer. Via the XLR plugs you can enjoy a fully-differential amplifier design enabling a fully balanced output. Both output stages deliver superior audio quality, exhibit very low noise, large output voltage swing and high current drive. The excellent gain bandwidth and very fast slew rate produce exceptionally low distortion.
Musical Fidelity for the Sake of Music
Therefore, musical purists who are simply looking to feel that hypnotic sensation of communication between listener and artist: they will find it here. Besides maximising sound performance, the deliberate decision against a big display with flashing colours allows you to experience the music and only the music. Unpack the M6x DAC, carefully cable it up, just leave it at its standard settings and feel the immediate musical integration: the whole sound is sweet and clear; the treble is completely grain free and extended. The bottom end sounds endless with tactile bass dynamics.
As you get reintroduced to your music library, you might, at some point, want to discover what else is possible and hear it from different stages. It is then, when the customizability and settings turn the M6x DAC into a powerful tool for experts, which elevates it into a league of its own. Explore the sound stage with upsampling or without, and see if you are drawn in deeper.
Choose between 7 different digital filters and a complete oversampling bypass, disabling those filters. Full MQA decoding is performed on the M6x DAC hardware. The USB Class 2.0 input takes PCM sample rates up to 768 kHz and 32 bit. DSD support goes up to DSD256 via DoP and native DSD512. The S/PDIF inputs accept stereo PCM sample rates up to 192 kHz / 24 bit and include full MQA support!
The M6x DAC In Brief
- DAC Circuit: 32 bit Hyperstream II
- DAC Chip: 2x ES9038Q2M (dual differential)
- 16-core XMOS and CPLD MAX II Altera processors
- USB: up to 32bit/768kHz
- USB: DSD 256 (stereo DoP), DSD512 (stereo native)
- SPDIF: up to 24bit/192kHHz
- Advanced Reclocking on all inputs
- Switchable Upsampling with Oversampling Bypass
- Super Silent Power Transformer
- Balanced and RCA output
- Built-in Headphone Amplifier
- Full Hardware MQA Decoding
- Roon Tested
Put into action, it delivers amazing insight, imaging and detail
EISA 2022