Musical Fidelity M1 DAC and V-Link USB Adapter (TAS 213)

I know the cynics in the audience may have a hard time believing this, but sometimes when I receive a component for review I don’t know its price. In the case of the Musical Fidelity M1 DAC and V-Link USB adapter, time had erased their price-point from my memory banks. When I finally discovered how little they cost—$699 and $169, respectively—I was more than pleasantly surprised. Practically anyone who can afford a Mac Mini can probably also spring for a M1 DAC and V-Link, creating a playback system that will enthrall all who give it a listen. According to Musical Fidelity, “the M1 and V-series offers state-of-the-art performance for a low price. It is done by solid commercial principles and state-of-the-art circuit/PCB design. The V-series has no extraneous anything. It is state-of-the-art circuitry laid out to perfection with no trimmings, packaged in a simple low-cost housing made in large numbers.” How well does Musical Fidelity succeed at bringing the state of digital art to the masses? Well enough to elicit a gentle tugging at purse strings.

Fidelity Ain’t Cheap

Musical Fidelity has a blue-chip reputation that comes from making A-grade audio components for over two decades. Headed by designer Anthony Michaelson, Musical Fidelity specializes in electronics, and was among the first companies to make a high-end digital-to-analog converter (DAC). The V Series components were a big leap for Musical Fidelity, from the rarefied heights of “If you have to ask what it costs you can’t afford it” to “I’ll take one for each room.” Historically, few audio companies have succeeded in covering such a wide price range without shortchanging some parts of their lines. But Musical Fidelity has managed to consolidate its position at the über-high end with products such as its Titan Class A power amplifier, while simultaneously creating the new M1 and V Series budget lines.

Technically, what differentiates the M1 DAC from its competition are its extremely low-distortion circuits (with overall distortion of less than 0.005% across the entire frequency band). The M1 DAC also uses a Class A analog output circuit that generates 2.25V RMS via its RCA single-ended outs and 4.5V RMS from its balanced XLR outputs. In addition, the M1 employs a special choke-filtration system that acts like a power conditioner for its entire power supply.

Physically, the M1 DAC is an exercise in simplicity. The front panel is all black except for a tiny inset silver nameplate. The rest of the faceplate is empty save for the small white printing and tiny LED condition lights. There are only two control buttons on the front panel—one for on/off and the other for selecting the active input source. Small LED confidence lights show the incoming sample rate, input source, and whether the M1 is properly upsampling the signal to 192/24. The M1 DAC doesn’t have a remote or an adjustable output level. It supports every sample rate from 32kHz to 192kHz and has inputs for coaxial S/PDIF, TosLink, AES/EBU, and USB.

The just-released V-Link USB-to-S/PDIF/TosLink converter box takes a USB 1.1/2.0 input and outputs a S/PDIF signal via either TosLink or S/PDIF RCA connectors. The V-Link supports up to 96kHz/24-bit sample-rates. Its digital heart is the USB receiver TI TAS 1021chipset from Texas Instruments. Additionally the V-LINK uses a discrete crystal-oscillator for its clock reference and a discrete output chipset. The TAS1021 has been used by both dCS and Wavelength in their highly regarded USB DACs. Both wrote their own proprietary software for the TI TAS 1021 that enables asynchronous operation. Musical Fidelity also developed its own asynchronous USB-protocol interface software for the TI TAS 1021.

Why did Musical Fidelity create the V-Link if its M1 DAC already had a USB input? The simple answer is that product cycles are much shorter with computer gear, and in the 1½ years since the M1’s USB input was developed, Musical Fidelity has had time to develop a much better USB application that uses the latest asynchronous-data-acquisition methodology. The engineering and sonic differences between the M1 DAC’s USB and the V-Link’s USB input circuit implementation are not subtle.

For most of my review the V-Link and M1 DAC were tethered to my desktop system (see the review equipment list), and I connected the M1 DAC’s balanced outputs directly to a pair of PSI Audio A 14M powered/active monitor speakers. I adjusted levels via the speakers’ individual volume controls. This allowed me to hear the M1 DAC without the sonic limitations of a preamp and an extra run of cables. I also used the M1 DAC via its single-ended RCA outputs connected to my Accuphase P-300, which has its own volume controls so I could go preamp-less. Using either signal chain I could easily replace the M1 DAC with one of my other reference DAC/preamps for A/B comparisons.

Before comparisons let me talk about the sound of the M1 DAC by itself. First, forget about the USB input. It’s an ancient (by computer-time standards) USB implementation that sounds quite flat, both dimensionally and dynamically, when compared to the M-1’s other inputs. Pretend it doesn’t exist. After all, you’ve still got three other inputs—RCA S/PDIF, TosLink, and AES/EBU. If you require a USB input add the V-Link and you’ll be on a level playing field vis-a-vis the sonic capabilities of the other inputs.

While on the subject of USB and the V-Link, I can almost without reservations recommend it to anyone with a high-end DAC that lacks USB capabilities. It renders USB almost as well as the Empirical Audio Labs Off-Ramp 3 USB converter box. To compare the V-Link to Empirical I used the V-link’s coaxial output and the Empirical’s AES/EBU output connected to the M1. This allowed for virtually instantaneous A/B switching via the M1’s front panel and the Audio Midi Setup when I used iTunes. Using Pure Music and Amarra was slightly more complicated. I needed to change the output device in Sound Preferences as well as in the program’s individual preference pane and then reboot the playback program. Still, with a bit of practice I got to the point where I could switch from A to B in less than 15 seconds.

In matched-level A/B tests the V-Link falls short of the Empirical Audio Off-Ramp 3, primarily because it’s slightly less three-dimensional than the Off-Ramp. However, in resolution and dynamics the V-Link was indistinguishable from the Off-Ramp. I spent some time listening to that old audiophile chestnut, from Rickie Lee Jones’ Pop Pop, “My One and Only Love,” and can’t say I’ve ever heard freer or more independent dynamics from each of the instruments. Rickie Lee’s voice, the acoustic guitar, acoustic bass, and accordion all displayed a dynamic autonomy I rarely hear in a recording but often experience at a live performance. These continuous micro-dynamic adjustments that musicians make throughout a concert came through transparently and effortlessly.

With computer audio there’s usually more than one way to get a musical file from storage to transducer. The more computer audio gear I review, the more ways I’ve found to hook that gear up. I started the review with the V-Link attached to the M1 running into the PSI A 14M speakers. But since the M1 has only fixed-level outputs, I couldn’t control the subwoofer volume level except by adjusting the subwoofer’s input-level controls separately. This is easy if your subwoofer is within arm’s reach, as mine is, but for most folks it isn’t practical.

After a month I inserted the Bel Canto DAC 3.5 into the system. This opened up quite a few new routing options for comparison, since the DAC 3.5 has a volume control, two analog outputs, and an analog bypass. This way I could compare the Musical Fidelity M1 DAC’s analog output to the Bel Canto DAC. Also the Bel Canto 3.5 VB allowed me to hook up the V-Link to both the M1 and DAC 3.5, and to use the Empirical Audio Off-Ramp 3 with both DACs. This permitted quick A/B switching between DACs, USB converters, and various DAC inputs. Later I also substituted the Wyred4Sound DAC-2 and the Weiss DAC202 for the Bel Canto 3.5 VB.

As I mentioned earlier, the V-Link is a wonderful way to get a 96/24 USB signal into any DAC that lacks USB inputs such as the Weiss DAC 202. Using the V-Link into the Weiss’ S/PDIF input produced results that were very close to the Weiss’ FireWire input. The FireWire input was still superior—it had better depth rendition and more of a three-dimensional presentation overall. But in other sonic respects the V-Link held its own. I was especially impressed with the V-Link’s ability to retain all the dynamic subtlety I experienced through the FireWire input. I also re-compared the V-Link to the Empirical Audio Off-Ramp converter. Through the Weiss, differences between the V-Link and the Empirical Audio Off-Ramp 3 were magnified. Once more the Off-Ramp revealed more dimensional information, but it also had greater dimensional solidity and more precise imaging, especially in defining the edges of each instrument in space.

Getting back to the Musical Fidelity M1 DAC. When I used it directly attached to an active speaker or an amplifier with an adjustable input-level control, it was noticeably more revealing and delivered a higher level of fidelity than when I inserted a preamp into the signal chain. Even when I used the most expensive RCA cables I had available—a pair of $1840 Cardas Clear 1-meter interconnects—the overall sound was still compromised compared to a direct-to-the-amp connection. By the end of the review period I fervently wished the M1 was available with adjustable level controls so that it could be used without additional devices and cabling in the signal path. That way everyone could hear how good this DAC is in “stand-alone” mode.

When compared to a far more expensive DAC, such as the Weiss DAC 202, the M1 proved to be remarkably close in performance when it was connected directly into the PSI A 14M speakers. Sure, the Weiss was still superior, but overall the similarities between the two DACs were striking. Both produced equally large soundstages, solid palpable images, fast transient attacks, and wonderfully compelling listening experiences. Yes, if I could only chose one I’d go for the Weiss, but after a few minutes with the Musical Fidelity M1 it was difficult to focus on its deficiencies, such as they were, because its overall performance was so solid and musical.

Raising The Bar

Robert Harley recently sent all TAS reviewers a letter [published in this issue’s Letters section] from reader Bob Anselmo. Anselmo wrote, “It’s time to raise the bar on lower-cost equipment. We should expect lower-priced stuff to sound better than it did in the past.” I completely agree.

The Musical Fidelity V-Link and M1 DAC certainly changed my opinion of what level of performance can be expected from a budget DAC and converter box. I won’t claim they equaled the performance of far more expensive electronics such as the Weiss DAC 202, but unless you plan to conduct tightly controlled A/B tests, you will be hard-pressed to hear the Musical Fidelity M1’s shortcomings. Unlike budget components of yore, where pleasant “grayish” sound was the best you could reasonably expect, the M1 is musical, arresting, and involving in the way a good audio component should be, regardless of price. Even if you can afford to pay more, maybe even a lot more, I strongly advise you to listen to and live with the Musical Fidelity M1 DAC and V-Link converter for a week in your system. Consider the bar raised.

Specs & Pricing

Musical Fidelity M1 DAC

Line-level outputs: One pair RCA (phono), one pair XLR (balanced)
Digital inputs: One XLR AES balanced digital input; one RCA coaxial connector S/PDIF 32–192kHz (16–24-bit stereo PCM); one TosLink optical connector 32–96kHz (16–24-bit stereo PCM); one USB type “B” connector for computer/PDA 32–48kHz
DAC circuit: 24-bit Delta-Sigma (bitstream) dual differential oversampling to 192kHz
Total correlated jitter: <12 picoseconds peak to peak
Signal to noise: >119dBA
Weight unboxed: 3.4 kg (71/2 lbs.)
Dimensions: 8-2⁄3″ x 4″ x 12″
Price: Black Finish $699, Silver $769

Musical Fidelity V-Link Asynchronous USB-to-S/PDIF Converter  

Sampling Rates: 32–96kHz
Bit depths: 16–24 bits
Dimensions: 3-3/4″ x 1-2/3″ x 6-2/3″
Price: $169

TEMPO (U.S. Distributor)

P.O. Box 541443
Waltham, MA 02454
(617) 314-9296
www.tempohighfidelity.com  

ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT

Source Devices: MacPro model 1.1 Intel Xeon 2.66 GHz computer with 12 GB of memory with OS 10.6.5.1, running iTunes 10.1.1 and Amarra 2.1, Decibel, and Pure Music 1.7 music playing software
DACs: Empirical Audio Off-Ramp 3, Weiss DAC 202, Wyred4Sound Dac 2, Bel Canto 3.5VB
Preamps: Reference Line Preeminence One B passive controller
Amplifiers: Bel Canto S-300 stereo amplifier, Edge Electronics AV-6, Accuphase P-300 power amplifier, Modified Dyna St-70 amplifier
Speakers: PSI A 14Ms, Silverline Minuet Supremes, ATC SCM7s, Paradigm S1s, Aerial Acoustics 5Bs, Role Audio Kayaks, Earthquake Supernova mk IV 10 subwoofer
Cables and Accessories: Locus Design Polestar USB cable, Locus Design Nucleus USB cable, PS Audio Quintet, AudioQuest CV 4.2 speaker