I’m pretty excited to have the Bricasti M3h in for a long term review. After hearing it numerous times at shows I figured I’d want a long listen in home to see if it would prove a true all encompassing end game solution for my home systems!
For my tastes the sound quality alone is exceptional, moving up from my ADi2 I found it maintains a neutral tonality and timbre but provides better micro detail, a more realsitic envelope with deeper more cohesive staging and imaging.
There was also a added sense of SLAM and impact alongside an extra touch of resolve at the quietest lowest point of that trailing edge just before silence. For me this nuance added a palipalable life like sense of realism to the system as a whole!
An while I appreciate the full body presentation of Chord’s FPGA’s and DACs like the Yggdrasil, I’ve never been able to simply disconnect from those systems and just fall into the music like I can and do with M3.
The differance tho I feel isn’t just the topology of the DAC it self but more specifically the Networked direct stream implimentation that partners with it. With USB, optical and even SPDIF there’s still amazing detail, tonality and presentation and transparency. However moving out of Windows & Android entirely and running completely off just Network with M3 serving as both a streamer and DAC gives me a sense of transparency and realisim unlike anything else I’ve heard. Truely life like, enough that I can simply fall into the music and disconnect.
Even better is the overall ease of use! I had no qualms getting the Networked Direct Stream function up and running for music with both jRiver and Bubble UpnP.
Bubble UPnP gives me access to the music on my Google Drive and allows me to do full lossless Qobuz streaming! Thru ethernet into M3 and wifi on my cell for control thru Bubble UPnP.
My existing copy of jRiver Music integrated with M3h perfectly all thru my existing LAN Network. I didn’t need any drivers installed, I simply configured jRiver to use M3 as a streamer and auto-populated it into my playback menu after a single post setup power-cycle.
I also use my PC for a lot of multi media content as well, so I take advantage of the SPIDF Input allowing me to still have a truely life like referance quality system while watching movies and videos, editing my own content for upload or just browing the web on my Desktop machine.
M3h has native plug n play support with Android via USB and I can run Optical output thru my monitor into M3h for gaming support as well.
Day after day I continue to find my self impressed with M3h both as a DAC but also as an all in one solid state headphone amplifier as well!
To quote my brief comparisons from the L30 Review;
Plenty of systems capture and recreate detail, but each struggles with impact differently. Even with M3 as a DAC L30, SP 200 and Atom all failed to present enough force on the attack and a clean enough transition thru the envelope and sustain to recreate that kick drum in a truly realistic way. While none of them sounded “fake” they all lacked about a half second on the release, and this lack of resolved force on the tail end of the kick drum is what makes it genuinely REAL for me! With amplification that can allow the driver to fully recreate that wave form as M3h does, the PreFazor LCD 2 proves it’s worth and provides a realistic immersive low end response.
As a whole, each of the budget amps lacked the cohesion and overall level of micro-detail and discernment M3h brought. There were many occasions where M3h resolved just an extra few moments of sound on the tail end of both vocalists, drum kits, brass instruments and more. The presence of these added final moments are the kind of nuance top of the line amplification brings to most quality transducers or headphones.
I’ll be adding in a more detaied review of M3h here to this thread here shortly. But for now I wanted to introduce the product to you guys here and discuss what I’ve been enjoying about it as well as see what features you guys may have questions about it that I’ve not considered!