Italy may be better known for high-performance automobiles than high-performance audio, but that doesn’t stop Marco Manunta, owner and designer of the Italian audio firm M2Tech, from creating cutting-edge digital devices. His first commercial product was a DAC for North Star Design in 1998. But the M2Tech breakout product was the HiFace USB adapter. The HiFace delivered acceptable USB sonics when most manufacturers were still struggling with basic USB interface methodology, and established M2Tech as a serious player in the evolving computer-audio universe. Now M2Tech has a stand-alone DAC, the $1499 Young, as well as a matching accessory battery power supply, the Palmer ($1100). The Young attempts to build on the advances of the HiFace USB interface, but with additional inputs, greater resolution capabilities, and its own built-in digital to analog converter.
The Young Basics
The Young DAC supports up to 384kHz/32-bit digital files via its proprietary USB driver, 192kHz via AES/EBU, S/PDIF, and 96kHz through its TosLink input. For outputs the Young has one pair of fixed-level, single-ended RCA analog. The Young front panel has only two buttons. The left-hand one turns the unit on and off, while the right-hand button selects the input. There is no remote.
The entire Young DAC is housed in a one-piece half-sized ¼”-thick aluminum outer case. The front panel consists of a metal screen with regularly spaced circular holes. An LED display, tucked behind the front-panel’s center section, tells you which input has been selected and the bit-rate from that input. The LED display is available with either red or blue LEDs (the blue version costs $100 more.)
The Young can be powered via its supplied 15-volt one-amp wall-wart or the optional Palmer battery power supply. The Palmer is housed in a chassis identical to that of the Young but without an LED display. The left-hand button powers up the Palmer, while the right-hand button enables the Palmer’s output. The Palmer will support two M2Tech devices requiring a 15-volt supply.
The Young uses a Burr-Brown DAC chip, but unlike most implementations, M2Tech uses only part of the chip. All the filtering and oversampling is performed by an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) integrated circuit. This circuit contains a collection of logic gates programmed with M2Tech’s proprietary algorithms, which, according to its designer, is “a faster and cheaper” way to realize signal processing compared with dedicated chips.
The Young’s 32-bit processing theoretically allows for up to a 195dB signal-to-noise ratio; however, the DAC itself only supports up to 123dB signal-to-noise. The DAC’s limiting factor is thermal noise rather than sampling noise. M2Tech’s filters “bury” sampling and computational noise under the sampling noise, which M2Tech says makes the sampling noise “inaudible.”
The optional Palmer power supply uses a LI-Po battery coupled with fast-charge circuit, a 15-volt post-regulator, and a pre-regulator. It is spec’d to supply a maximum output of one amp peak current delivery. M2Tech claims the supply is good for a minimum of 500 charge cycles, and its 4400mAh capacity allows for 9000 hours of battery operation before it will need replacement.
Installation and Setup
Getting the Young DAC up and running is simple as long as you have an Internet connection. To get the latest USB driver for either Mac or PC you must go to the M2Tech Web site and download it. Once the driver was downloaded and installed (which took only a couple of mouse clicks), my Mac Pro desktop immediately recognized the Young, and it was added to the list of output devices in my selection box. Once it was selected I went to Apple’s MIDI control program to see what output rates were supported by the Young. As promised, the Young can handle everything from 44.1 to 384kHz at up to 32-bits via USB.
For most of the evaluation period the Young was connected to my Mac Pro desktop computer via an AudioQuest Carbon 1m USB cable. The Young also received a S/PDIF signal from other USB adapters, including the Empirical Audio Off-Ramp 4 and Musical Fidelity’s V-Link, as well as TosLink directly from the Mac Pro’s digital output. The Young’s analog output level was controlled via the volume control in the April Music Eximus DP1 DAC/PRE by routing the Young’s output into the Eximus DP1’s analog inputs. Using the Eximus as a signal selector and analog volume control also made it possible to compare the Young’s DAC section with other DACs such as the Wyred4Sound DAC2 in matched-level A/B tests.
All the USB DACs were connected to the high-speed USB 2.0 ports. The port configurations were confirmed through Apple’s “About This Mac” control panels. When comparing USB interfaces and DACs, it’s important to confirm that the units being compared are receiving their datastreams over identical paths, so the evaluations are made on a level playing field in terms of data-stream capabilities.
The Sound
With no user-adjustable filters or other ways to change the overall character of the Young’s sonic personality, what you hear initially is what you will get. Sure, a couple of days of run-in time seemed to remove a slight amount of midrange sheen, but burn-in didn’t result in a radical change of the Young’s harmonic balance or resolving capabilities.
Using its proprietary USB driver, the Young has very little in the way of a unique sonic personality. The overall sound is clean with a pervasively silent background. The harmonic balance erred ever so slightly on the lean side of neutral. This wasn’t the result of a lack of harmonic richness or complexity, but more a function of the evenness of overall resolution. Unlike many DACs, which seem to have a bit less resolution in the lower midrange and upper bass frequencies than they do in the middle and upper treble, the Young ’s resolution levels remain intact well into its midbass.
Lateral imaging specificity through the Young was quite impressive. While the overall soundstage size wasn’t greater than that of other premium DACs, such as the Weiss DAC 202, the Young displayed a consistent ability to render each instrument in its own unique and well-anchored position. Also image edges were well delineated, and almost as clearly defined as through the Weiss DAC 202. The Weiss still managed to separate the instruments in a more definitive manner, but the improvement was subtle.
Three-dimensionality through the Young’s DAC section varied from good to excellent, depending on the input source. The best imaging came when I used the Empirical Audio Off- Ramp 4 as a USB converter and sent its output via RCA S/PDIF to the Young DAC. This combination resulted in a virtual dead heat with the April Music Eximus DP1 using its own USB interface. Only the Weiss DAC 202 or the Eximus DP1 tethered to the Off-Ramp 4 bettered the Young DAC in depth and dimensionality. To clearly hear these differences I needed to use a high-resolution (at least 96/24) music file of my own recordings. With most commercially available CDs these depth differences were far more difficult to discern.
I mentioned resolution briefly earlier, but low-level resolution is certainly one of the Young’s strong suits. On some recordings, such as Andrea Wittgen’s In The Skyline, which I have listened to countless times, it was easier to hear deep into the mix. Third and fourth-tier background vocals were better differentiated through the Young. In this performance parameter the Young coupled to the Off-Ramp 4 rivaled even the Weiss DAC 202.
Upper frequencies through the Young combined openness and extension with a lack of edginess. On the well-recorded home-studio album Spoons of Honey by Alex Harte, the tune “Please Come Out” features delicate high-frequency background effects that come and go throughout the song. The Young preserved the high-frequency transients and the delicate air around each cricket chirp and synth tail.
Midrange clarity, aided in part by the Young’s image specificity, made it seem as if I were listening through rather than to the Young. I have a set of my own recordings stored at various resolution files that I’ve been using to see how different DACs perform and sound with high-resolution material. As I worked my way up the resolution ladder from 44.1 to 96 to 192kHz, the primary difference was image solidity and dimensionality. On my 192/24 recording of The Deadly Gentlemen playing a live version of “Sober Cure,” the midrange is so noise- and grain-free that when the dog barks from the back of the schoolroom I whip my head around every time looking for that darned dog over my right shoulder.
With so many places in the signal chain to add or subtract bass, I look for bass quality rather than quantity. The Young’s bass definition is exemplary and should give you enough clean low frequencies to do with what you wish. I used the very-easy-to-dial-in Velodyne DD10+ subwoofer for a good part of the review, and being able to reach down from my seat and adjust the subwoofer levels was fun. I could be my own Fletcher-Munson curve.
Compared to What?
Since the Young is, in essence a DAC coupled to a USB converter, I spent quite a bit of the review period comparing its USB converter to other USB solutions I had on hand. The M2Tech USB driver ranked just behind the Empirical Audio Off-Ramp 4, but well ahead of other USB converters I tried. The Off-Ramp 4 produced slightly better dimensionality, image specificity, and inner detail than the M2Tech. The original Musical Fidelity V-Link (now superseded by the V-Link II) didn’t match the M2Tech in inner detail or definition. Compared to the M2Tech the V-link sounded slightly “foggy” with the spaces between the instruments lacking the absolute blackness and silence of the M2Tech.
Since the Young has S/PDIF connections I was able to use the Empirical Audio Off-Ramp 4 to supply both the Young and another DAC with an identical digital feed. With this arrangement I could perform A/B comparisons between the Young’s DAC section and the other DAC. First, I compared the Young with the April Music Eximus DP1 DAC/PRE.
If you look at the Young’s specifications you’ll notice that its output is 2.65 volts. That’s hotter than the standard 2.0 volts I usually see from DACs. During A/B tests I had to compensate for the Young’s higher volume level. But once I got the knobturn- differential down, I could switch from the Young to the Eximus DP1 in five seconds or less. In matched-level listening tests the differences between the two DACs were miniscule. The DP1 had a slightly deeper soundstage, but in all other performance parameters, I couldn’t discern any differences.
To compare the Young with the Wyred4Sound DAC2 I used the Empirical Audio Off-Ramp 4 to feed both the Young and the DAC2 with identical signals, and then I took the analog outputs from the Young and the DAC2 and connected them to the two analog inputs on the Eximus DP-1. It took a little while to accurately compensate for the volume-level variations, but once I had, the two DACs sounded far more similar than different. The Young had slightly better dimensionality and image edge-definition, but harmonic balance and dynamic range were identical.
Feeding the Young from different USB converters made more of a sonic impact than what I heard from any of the different DACs fed by the same USB converter. Going from a Matrix 96/24 USB converter ($60 on eBay) to the Empirical Audio Off-Ramp 4 was a lot like going from a 320kbs MP3 to an uncompressed 96/24 file. Although the $60 Matrix produced passable (no, I’d even call it good) sound, with the Off-Ramp the sound was there.
And the Palmer? What did the $1100 power supply bring to the party? Without the Palmer, the Young produced a less dimensional image and suffered a slight loss in transparency. Switching from the Palmer to the AC wall-wart, the differences were harder to discern than when I went from the wall-wart back to the Palmer. After that changeover the soundstage was deeper, easier to hear into, and minute details were more readily apparent.
The Young and The Reckless
Priced at $1499 with a wall-wart power supply or $2599 with the Palmer battery power supply, the Young DAC falls into the low-to-middle price range for high-resolution DACs. And while no digital device is future-proof, the Young’s ability to handle up to 384/32 files, accept outboard USB converters, and switch bitrates means it should easily stay current for quite a while. With multiple inputs, the Young makes an ideal digital hub and D/A converter for anyone who already owns a great analog preamp. For headache-free computer audio you can couple the Young to a Mac Mini running Pure Music or Amarra, and you have the makings of a great-sounding, low-drama computer audio system that will amaze and delight.
SPECS & PRICING
Sampling frequencies (kHz): 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192, 352.8, 384 (frequencies above 96kHz not available on TosLink; 352.8kHz and 384kHz on USB only)
Resolution: 16- up to 24-bit (S/PDIF, AES /EBU, optical), 16- to 32-bit (USB)
Inputs: Two S/PDIF (RC A and 75-ohms BNC), one AES /EBU (XLR), one optical (TosLink),one USB (USB female Type B)
Output: Unbalanced on RC A jacks
Output voltage: 2.65V RMS
Dimensions: 5″ x 2″ x 5″
Weight: 2 lbs.
Price: $1499 with red LEDs, $1599 with blue LEDs; Palmer Power Station, $1100
TEAC America
(U.S.Distributor)
7733 Telegraph Road
Montebello, CA 90640
teac.com
Associated Equipment
Source Devices: MacPro model 1.1 Intel Xeon 2.66 GHz computer with 16 GB of memory with OS 10.6.7, running iTunes 10.5.3 and Amarra 2.1.1 music playing software, Pure Music 2.0 music playing software, Audirana music playing software.
DACS: Weiss DAC 202, Empirical Audio Off-Ramp 4, Wyred4Sound Dac2, April Music Eximus DP1 DAC/PRE.
Amplifiers: Parasound A23, April Music Eximus S1, Accuphase P-300 power amplifier, Perreaux E110 amplifier, Krell S-150 monoblock amplifiers.
Loudspeakers: Aerial Acoustics 5Bs, ATC SC M7s, Silverline Minuet Supremes, Quad 11Ls, Role Audio Canoes, PSI A-14s, Earthquake Supernova mk IV 10 subwoofer, Velodyne DD+ 10 subwoofer, JL Acoustics F112 subwoofers.
Headphones: Sennheiser HD 580, Grado RS-1, Ultimate Ears Reference Monitor, AKG K701s
Cables and Accessories: Wireworld USB cable, AudioQuest Carbon USB cable, PS Audio Quintet, AudioQuest CV 4.2 speaker cable, Synergistic Designer’s Reference speaker cable, AudioQuest Colorado interconnect, Cardas Clear interconnect, Crystal Cable Piccolo interconnect, and Audioprism Ground Controls
By Steven Stone
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