Matt's system

[Jwg1749]

Yes, a fascinating summary. I guess it is not surprising that an amp designed for the rather unusual loads of an ESL should perform so well. What does surprise me are the comments re "bass oomph" as the Montis bass driver's have their own amplifier, so what is actually happening here? Maybe a more favourable balance overall? (BTW by "surprise" I am not doubting your findings Matt, by the way. The number of times I've auditioned kit and been "surprised" by the results, is many, certainly a very high percentage.)

Your findings also say a lot about the Audiolab as a DAC. (Although it's what you don't need to write here that is particularly interesting!) I listened to many DAC / pre-amp / amp combinations before settling on a Devialet, with DACs up to about £2000. The only one that I liked as much as the Devialet was the Chord codex streamer. I never tried an Audiolab, probably because it was below price range! It looks like the M-Dac "Toy" mod is a bit of a giant killer! (and quite a nice looking bit of kit too) Were you using the Audiolab as a pre-amp also?

I think it's great when auditions work really well, it's so easy to start with high hopes but end up disappointed. Enjoy!

I share your surprise about the bass. I'd heard a similar report from someone on a. n. other hi-fi forum: the Devialet didn't produce much bass weight through ML hybrids. My initial response was sceptical, for precisely the reason you give. Then again, the power amp is still producing a bass output voltage for the Class D amp in the speaker's bass cabinet to work with, so perhaps there's a real effect here.

The modded M-DAC is a decent piece of kit. In the New Year it'll be going back to the Czech Rep for a further upgrade, as follows:

* Dual ES9018 Sabre32 DACs, one dedicated chip per channel for true dual mono operation.
* Brand new discrete Class A analog stage design.
* Redesigned on-board power supply circuitry guaranteeing optimal performance using the stock AC adaptor.
* High Speed USB 2.0 controller for asynchronous USB Audio Class 2.0 with 32 bit resolution and up to 768 kHz sampling rates. Driverless operation under MacOS X and Linux as well as Windows with UAC 1.0 fallback (up to 96 kHz). Optional open-source ASIO driver for Windows to support UAC 2.0 capabilities.
* DSD 64Fs supported via USB as well as S/PDIF with DSD 128Fs and higher available via USB (DoD standard).
* FPGA on board, opening the doors to limitless customization and further improvements delivered via software updates. Ability to bypass all internal processing in the Sabre32 and replace it with custom LakeWest developments down to the noise shaper.
* RAM buffer for memory play without ASRC for S/PDIF sources.
* Asynchronous USB and transport ClockLock interface ASRC free playback or optionally S/PDIF playback with ASRC without memory buffer induced latencies.
* Passive AV bypass unbalanced inputs allowing coexistence of analog preamplifier / surround processor with the DAC’s own digital preamplifier.
* 4W XLR Female on the rear panel for balanced headphone connection.
* Made in EU, each unit tested and qualified personally by JW

As well as (possibly) improving SQ, this will turn the M-DAC into a fully featured audio toolbox, with its own onboard DSP room correction.

Matt