M2Tech Evo - First Impressions

Interested to hear they've landed in the UK now and look forward to your reports. Have been pleased with the basic Hiface apart from occasional skips but these may have been caused by pure music.

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Doctor Jazz

Doctor, any chance for you to evaluate Evo against popular transports like CDX2-2 or HDX?

Picked my EVO up from Keith ,Saturday, trying the Lithium Ion supply (as the doctor),extremely impressed!
A significant improvement on the Hiface.

folk, any impressive tests against Naim transports?
I don't want to pay 3 $K for nServe

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Originally posted by AMA:

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Doctor Jazz

Doctor, any chance for you to evaluate Evo against popular transports like CDX2-2 or HDX?

I haven't had an opportunity to make these comparisons. I use a CDS2/XPS for CDs

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Originally posted by DHT:
Picked my EVO up from Keith ,Saturday, trying the Lithium Ion supply (as the doctor),extremely impressed!
A significant improvement on the Hiface.

I have ordered a 9v linear power supply from Maplin (The supply that Keith recommended). I will make comparisons when it arrives and report back.

quote:

Originally posted by AMA:
folk, any impressive tests against Naim transports?
I don't want to pay 3 $K for nServe

My Hiface/nDac/XPS combination compared very favourably with my CDS2/XPS. The presentation is very different but both are fine sources. The Evo is much better than the Hiface. I am yet to make direct comparison with my CD player but will get round to it this week.

£3k for nServe is a lot of money. I wouldn't want to comment further as I haven't heard it but by way of comparison, here's the outlay for my distributed system:

Asus Windows 7 (x64) laptop £399
M2Tech Evo and rechargeable lithium battery £350
2 x Samsung 1.5TB USB external drive £160
Cables £150
J.River Media Center 15 software £30

That makes a total of £1089. A lot cheaper than going the nServe route!

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My Hiface/nDac/XPS combination compared very favourably with my CDS2/XPS. The presentation is very different but both are fine sources.

Do you mean CDS2 is a bit smoother/analogue than nDAC?

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Originally posted by AMA:

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My Hiface/nDac/XPS combination compared very favourably with my CDS2/XPS. The presentation is very different but both are fine sources.

Do you mean CDS2 is a bit smoother/analogue than nDAC?

That's a good description AMA> I would say that the CDS2/XPS is more analogue although the Evo/nDAC/XPS is probably more detailed with better imaging.

I still have to make the comparison between Evo/nDAC/XPS and CDS2/XPS. I've only had the Evo a couple of days.

Hi Doctor,

A few practical questions:

Does the EVO plug straight into the USB port or do you use a cable? If cable, was it supplied with the EVO?

Did you have to install a new driver? and remove the old HiFace driver?

I am very interested to hear about your experiences. £100 for the HiFace was an easy decision. But £350, I start thinking, does it REALLY give VFM or is that money better saved for an INT202 or dedicated naim solution.

Gav.

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That's a good description AMA> I would say that the CDS2/XPS is more analogue although the Evo/nDAC/XPS is probably more detailed with better imaging.

I had the same feeling when compared USB/nDAC/XPS against CDS3/XPS (with couple of years between two tests ) but after such a big time gap I was not so sure.
I also noticed that KDS is a bit smoother than nDAC/XPS at a cost of transients and bass articulation. I'm not ready for this compromise and prefer sparkling sound of nDAC.

While my hi-res collection is growing I start repeating my tests of nDAC again and I should say that nDAC/XPS is much smoother and closer in presentation to KDS/CDS3 at hi-res.

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I still have to make the comparison between Evo/nDAC/XPS and CDS2/XPS. I've only had the Evo a couple of days.

I shall track your posts with a great interest

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I am very interested to hear about your experiences. £100 for the HiFace was an easy decision. But £350, I start thinking, does it REALLY give VFM or is that money better saved for an INT202 or dedicated naim solution.

Exactly my thoughts at the moment.

I paid £275 for my EVO, I believe you cn use it with a 9 volt battery, just a few pounds.

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Originally posted by gav111n:
Hi Doctor,

A few practical questions:

Does the EVO plug straight into the USB port or do you use a cable? If cable, was it supplied with the EVO?

Did you have to install a new driver? and remove the old HiFace driver?

I am very interested to hear about your experiences. £100 for the HiFace was an easy decision. But £350, I start thinking, does it REALLY give VFM or is that money better saved for an INT202 or dedicated naim solution.

Gav.

The Evo needs a USB A to USB B cable (Printers use these). It doesn not come supplied with the Evo but I paid just £5 for one at my local computer store.

You don't need a new driver just plug in the Evo.

Although I've had it for only a couple of days, I would say that the Evo is worth the extra outlay but you need to decide for yourself. I'm sure that keith at Purite Audio would arrange a dem for you.

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Originally posted by Doctor Jazz:
My M2Tech Evo arrived in the post this morning. I had been using a Hiface in my nDAC/XPS, NAC52/Supercap/NAP250, SBLs system and I was keen to hear what the Evo could do. Keith at Purite Audio had informed me that it offered a significant upgrade over the Hiface.

He was right! Bass is much fuller and more tuneful and stereo imaging is much better defined. Vocals also benefit. The articulation is a lot better and there is a warmth to the human voice that was not as evident on the Hiface. I invited my son to listen with me. He said that the sound of the Hiface was 'in your face' whereas the Evo was more detailed and subtle.

I opted for the rechargeable lithium battery to power my Evo. Whether or not I will stick with this I don't know. I will try a mains transformer at some point and will leave the unit powered up. The lithium battery needs charging every fourteen hours according to Keith so it is not too much of a chore ... I just have to remember to do it so that I don't run out of juice! I guess that in theory, the battery should provide a cleaner power supply but I'll try it and see. Either way, it should be a better option that taking power from the USB socket of a laptop, as I was doing with the Hiface.

Although the Evo (£350 with battery and charger)is a more expensive option than the Hiface (£110), initial impressions would indicate that the Evo justifies the extra outlay.

I'll report back in a week or so when I have had an opportunity to evaluate it more fully.

I got the same.. its bloody awesome

I have the EVO with Lithium battery. The battery holds a charge for around 10 to 12 hours and then takes about 1 hour to charge up again. If you leave it in the EVo overnight it will discharge as I found out, as the EVO remains powered up. So worth while to unplug it at the end of a session.

Initial thoughts are a significant upgrade to the Hiface. To such an extent that its made the whole listening experience so much more involving. Played a lot of Gil Scott heron live material and other rips and must say will not be upgrading my source (netbook, Ndac, Evo) for some time. No need to stream as music stored on the laptop. Very atmospheric with the drive and punchiness of the naim setup. Would recommend without a doubt.

The Canadian distributor's website is very odd. It instills no deisre in me to do business with them at all. Anybody have any other suggestions?

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Originally posted by winkyincanada:
The Canadian distributor's website is very odd. It instills no deisre in me to do business with them at all. Anybody have any other suggestions?

Talk to M2Tech directly. They are very friendly and supportive and will ship the unit directly from Italy to your place. I got my Hiface in this way.

Thanks AMA.

Does the Evo offer a significant improvement over using a simple Toslink from mac mini to nDAC?

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Originally posted by dk2:
Does the Evo offer a significant improvement over using a simple Toslink from mac mini to nDAC?

The hiFace does on a MacBook IMHO with the nDAC so the Evo should too. I've never liked the optical out on a computer and I read the Macintosh's has a very poor (high jitter) optical out so perhaps that is the reason.

You can try the Evo and get your money back if you can't hear an improvement.

IMO this kind of threads shows there are a lot of Naim users interested in a Naim computer link for the NDAC, I can't understand why Naim ignores the direct connection with PC/MAC . Many audio brands offer an standalone computer link/bridge or a built-in device in their DACs. Naim could use any of the proprietary asynchronous technologies already available... or better they could develop it on their own.

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Originally posted by goldfinch:
IMO this kind of threads shows there are a lot of Naim users interested in a Naim computer link for the NDAC, I can't understand why Naim ignores the direct connection with PC/MAC . Many audio brands offer an standalone computer link/bridge or a built-in device in their DACs. Naim could use any of the proprietary asynchronous technologies already available... or better they could develop it on their own.

Yes, but what could Naim add to a M2Tech Evo (or similar) except cost of the Naim branding?

Naim have stated (rightly or wrongly) they feel the computer interface shouldn't be in the DAC so if it's external maybe they have nothing they can bring to the existing devices, except the headache of trying to solve problems of compatibility...

eloise

I've now been using the Evo since Saturday ... a little for detail on my 'initial impressions' post ...

I am in no doubt that the Evo is a signficiant improvement over the Hiface. That's not a criticism of the Hiface but a resounding vote of confidence for the Evo. I listened to a couple of albums last night in their entirety, initially from CD on my CDS2/XPS and then from the J.River Media Center 15/Evo/nDac/XPS source. The albums were 'Greatest Hits' by Neil Young and 'Fourth' by Soft Machine. The Neil Young album is HDCD so for compaison I ripped the disc using dBpoweramp with the HDCD DSP effect active, giving me a rip in 24-Bit/44.1kHz. For both albums I used FLAC output when ripping.

When using the Hiface I was not certain whether the digital system outperformed my CDS2/XPS. It was swings and roundabouts. I felt that the Hiface/nDAC/XPS sound was more detailed than the CD, although the CDS2/XPS offered a slightly more natural sound, more characteristic of analogue. With the Evo in my system there is no doubt. It is able to outperform the CD player in just about all aspects of subjective performance. I will still use my CDS2/XPS extensively ... It's a wonderful source component. The Evo is however, a step forward. The differences were particularly evident on the track 'Teeth'. Those of you who know the Soft Machine album will be aware that 'Teeth' is a fairly demanding piece of music ... There is a lot going on. With the Evo, separation was much better and it was easy to focus on the contribution of individual instruments. With the Neil Young album, the vocal sounded more natural and once again, separation between vocal and instrumental was enhanced. Imaging was also better defined. In sonic terms, the Evo is something of a steal for the money. It really is that good!

The only negative with the Evo is the rechargeable lithium battery, although this is something of a Yin-Yang situation. The lithium battery provides 10-12 hours before it needs recharging. One forum member has already reported that he left the battery plugged in overnight to find that it was drained in the morning! I figured that I would try a 9v linear supply to power the Evo. When it arrived a powered up the Evo from the supply. It didn't sound as good as it did when used with battery power (Marco at M2Tech informed me that the feedback that they had received would confirm my perception). I also had a problem in that the power supply that I bought had interchangeable plugs and I couldn't get a good connection. The 'USB device disconnected' sound was heard with the slightest movement of the plug or cable. I have a friend who is an electronic engineer so when he is next over I will get him to look at the plug on the lithium battery and then replace the interchangeable plug on the power supply with a fixed connection. I have to speak with Keith in the near future. I will probably ask about the cost of a second lithium battery without charger so that I always have a spare charged up. I will also ask whether M2tech might develop a power supply for the Evo or whether a more convenient way of charging the battery might be an option in the future.

So to conclude ... If you are using a Hiface, try to hear the Evo. I'm sure you will be impressed!

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Originally posted by Eloise:

quote:

Originally posted by goldfinch:
IMO this kind of threads shows there are a lot of Naim users interested in a Naim computer link for the NDAC, I can't understand why Naim ignores the direct connection with PC/MAC . Many audio brands offer an standalone computer link/bridge or a built-in device in their DACs. Naim could use any of the proprietary asynchronous technologies already available... or better they could develop it on their own.

Yes, but what could Naim add to a M2Tech Evo (or similar) except cost of the Naim branding?

Naim have stated (rightly or wrongly) they feel the computer interface shouldn't be in the DAC so if it's external maybe they have nothing they can bring to the existing devices, except the headache of trying to solve problems of compatibility...

eloise

Ummmh, maybe you are right but I still feel a Naim's "Evo" would add something extra, Naim's brand would likely pay dividends for instance in build construction, drivers reliability and of course we wouldn't need to mess around with batteries and third psus?