I found this interesting document from ESS that lists the characteristics of the built-in filters.
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If your current product needs repairs and it’s the same price to fix as it is to BUY SU-9 then buy SU-9, you’ll get a new product with a better design likely for the same cost as fixing what I understand is a “defective” M500
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Nice right up! I had someone offer to send me this for review and I imediately thought two things, 1. Reviewing a Dac is a tough thing, 2. The SU8 V2. Was the worst sounding DAC I have ever heard. It sounds like from your review your ears are still intact and not bleeding 
so that is a good sign 
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DAC reviews aren’t difficult I find them a bit easier as it’s more nuance in the time domain but a lot of that “nuance” is stuff that stands out to me
Still it’s what I’d call a “typical” ESS Sabre sound, a lot of DACs with these chipsets come across a bit harder more “aggressive” than what’s normal or natural
I will say the very best ESS Sabre implementation I’ve heard is from the now discontinued company LH Labs, their Geek Out V2 has a set of filters that REALLY bring out the best from that chipset. I’ve also heard the Matrix X-Sabre Pro is another amazing implementation of the ESS Sabre Chips
Still SU-9 as is, I felt was a more refined implementation within the typical “standard” that a lot of companies settle on. It’s got quite a few filters actually that help tweak it a bit.
Something that is complimentary to like a Koss ESP 95X or even LCD 2Classic Open but not to much to the HD 600, not gonna lie tho Electrostats have in my experience exacerbated differences in DACs more so than Planar-magnetics or Dynamics
Still yea I know some folks find that added aggression to be VERY offensive, and I thank you for the compliment
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Sounds like they made some improvements, but kept some of the as you described typical ESS Sabre sound that wasn’t as enjoyable as say an AKM or Multibit. Thanks again, seriously great write up!
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