In his june 2005 episode, john wrote about grace designs m902 da. Ten years ago, we launched the model 901 headphone amplifier. The xx part is a tip of the hat to massdrop, a site that specializes in group buys. Before long, the word had spread about these custom microphone preamplifier designs, which were said to outperform anything else that was commercially available. During my time with the era1s i drove them directly from the output of my moto x4 smartphone, as well as with two different headphone amplifiers. Oct 25, 2015 the analog power supply design is based on our pushpull dcdc converter developed for our m101 microphone preamplifier. The gt40 counters with its builtin phono preamp and adc.
All my favorite demo tracks, from ella fitzgerald to mahler to mary black, were rendered with remarkable clarity and continuity. Grace designs m902 impresses me as a preamplifierdac every bit as much as their 901 impressed me as a headphone amplifier, wrote jm last june. I am not really technical and i was afraid that the power amplifier would get more current or something else and that it would be very dangerous to do or it would harm the. The system features a remote control unit rcu and an analog control unit acu that connects via the included cat5 cable. Grace design m900 massdrop m9xx instructions for device. Grace design are well known for producing a range of highend pro audio. I just go straight to the sound and out of curiosity, see how stuff measures. With several ir remote control options, including the grace design remote, or the apple remote and ios android via logitech harmony, dsd128 playback, and beautiful, stable, open audio performance, the m920 will grace your system and engage you with your collection like never before. Almost all of my listening was done with an ayre acoustics c5xe mp universal player feeding a grace design m902 headphone amplifier via a balanced connection.
Compact, portable headphone amp dac preampthe m900 is a portable, desktop friendly headphone amplifier dac preamp combo designed to give audio professionals and enthusiasts musical and transparent audio playback from usb, spdif or toslink sources. The main difference first of all between the newer black version vs. Grace design m920 studio economik proaudio recording. The m902 s sample rate leds snapped into sync, illuminating the slock lamp. Not surprisingly, the grace design m905 reference monitor controller fits easily within that description. The first stage of noise suppression is provided by two highquality usb cables, which are included with the m9xx. There was much more to the m902 that captivated me beyond its looks, though. Grace design 2ch headphone amplifier with stereo unbalanced analog outputs, digital input via usb, toslink, and spdif coax, and support for 44.
Ive never been very impressed with the dac in the grace design m902. The m902 has more inputs, both analog and digital, as well as adjustable balance and a crossfeed circuit. Contact grace design for re pair and upgrade information. The rcu features a color graphical lcd display and dedicated tactile control over all functions that allows you. Perhaps the coolest aspect of the new grace m903 which replaces the older m902 is its inclusion of a ubs interface that supports up to 24bit192khz conversion windows machines will. The unit is based on an optical attenuator, the purest high fidelity gain control mechanism available, and provides gentle limiting to fairly aggressive compression while remaining neutral and. Jan 04, 2009 but its the proness of the grace m902 construction, facilities, seriousness as well as its diminutive size that make it more than a basic daccumpreamp variant. With the m902 already lauded as one of the best highend headphone amps, what. Grace has replaced my mark levinson and meridian preamps long time ago. Its ready to play back from a wide range of input sources, and supports up to 384khz32 bit pcm audio thats high quality sound. The number of commercial monitor controllers that provide all those functions at an appropriate quality level can be counted on the fingers of two hands, and most are highend, expensive products aimed primarily at mastering studios.
This feature is especially handy when dealing with ribbon microphones because it. Apr 23, 2006 in his bimonthly column, the fifth element, john marks has tried to identify proaudio components that would be of interest to audiophiles. For small daw studio setups, portable laptop editing or mixing rigs, or just pure playback enjoyment, the m900 provides the same analog and. Grace design are well known for producing a range of highend proaudio products including microphone preamps, channel strips and monitoring controllers. Though the lcdxes, like the pm1s, are reticent in the top octave, their stronger midtreble makes them more neutrally balanced than the oppos. They are available to offer you personalized product advice any time you need it. But its the proness of the grace m902 construction, facilities, seriousness as well as its diminutive size that make it more than a basic daccumpreamp variant. A 4mlong extension cable and a 18to14 adapter are included. Grace design takes pride in its products because the new iteration of the m101 is beautiful. The grace design m900 headphone amp is a portable, desktop friendly headphone amplifier dac preamp combo designed to give audio professionals and enthusiasts musical and transparent audio playback from usb, spdif or toslink sources. The unit has a substantial feel to it despite being small. After extensive research and listening to many different crossfeed circuits, we chose to licence and implement an existing crossfeed circuit design called the natural crossfeed filter which was designed by jan meier of meieraudio.
To be quite frankly, i would look for better driver than i currently have in the future, but i bet it will still stand great against any speakers. Add it to the cost of a grace m902 to expand the latters input tally, and you have one hell of a preampdac combo for 2250, a package that just happens to include one of the finest headphone. With the m920, grace design has hit the all bullseyeswhether you are mixing, mastering or simply listening the resolution, detail and immediacy that occurs with the m920 at the center of your system will help pull you out of the din and in to the music. Grace design m900 desktop dac headphone amplifie for sale. Og sa er det en god del dacer som ikke har asynkron usb, og disse bor man unnga. Btw, ive had the opporunity to speak with michael grace at grace designs in the past. Grace design m902 reference da headphone amplifier sam tellig. Grace design m902 headphone amplifier, line preamplifier, dac. The grace design m102 optical compressor takes the sonic performance characteristics from the compressor section of the grace design m103 channel strip. Grace design m903 reference headphone amplifier dac. Quite how stateside manufacturer grace design came up with the idea of a. Review and measurements of topping d50 dac page 109.
If you are curious about the quality of our gear, simply look at how we back it up. For small daw studio setups, portable laptop editing or mixing rigs, or just pure playback enjoyment, the m900 provides the same analog. Register your product here in order to activate your grace design limited warranty. Even better, its ready to play back dsd64 and dsd128 formats, which sound even better.
The best gear advice always comes from those who use it the most. Crossfeeddelen er oppdatert fra grace design m902 til m903. Dac preamp combo designed to give audio professionals transparent audio. Id look for more bass that probably would never get with tubes and aim to some better deals on grace design m902 headphone amp. The crossfeed curcuit, which is licensed from jan meier, is. Topping tp32ex class t amplifier with dac and remote control. The crossfeed curcuit, which is licensed from jan meier, is a more sophisticated design than the one in the m902. Usb class 2 operation with windows up to 384khz with free driver download from. It is on kind loan from a member and was drop shipped to me. Grace design m905 analog reference monitor controller black.
Oct 29, 2009 to be quite frankly, i would look for better driver than i currently have in the future, but i bet it will still stand great against any speakers. One could argue about which component is richer in features. I think its rather save to say that the grace m920 sounds great. But its the proness of the grace m902 construction, facilities. The m900 is a portable, desktop friendly headphone amplifier dac preamp combo designed to give audio professionals and enthusiasts musical and transparent audio playback from usb, spdif or toslink sources. I will replace the d10 with the d50s and take the d10 in the office with me to listen via headphones the m903 has an asynchronous usb dac with a custom asio driver and goes up very high in khz. A few months ago i had the opportunity to take a short tour of the grace design facility in lyons, colorado. Oct 23, 2015 ever since i laid eyes on the grace design m902 dac and headphone amplifier combo ten years ago, i wanted to own something made by grace. I consent to grace design collecting my details through this form.
Grace design m102 studio economik proaudio recording. Based on my experience with the m903 and a visit to the grace design facility, see below, the m920 was virtually a nobrainer choice for the center of. For small daw studio setups, portable laptop editing or mixing rigs, or just pure playback enjoyment, the. The black m905 analog from grace design is a reference monitor controller designed to deliver masteringquality monitoring to your home or professional studio. Based on my experience with the m903 and a visit to the grace design facility, see below, the m920 was virtually a nobrainer choice for the center of that system as well. This combination of oldworld and modern component design, both internal and external, was the only saving grace no pun intended for the m903.
Grace design m801 eightchannel preamp vintage king. In the event that your grace design m201 needs to be returned to the factory, contact us for a return authorization number. Important usb driver information for windows 10 anniversary users. When you want to hear your music exactly as its recorded, listen on the grace design m920.
Grace designs first consumer or enduser product is a desktop dac dubbed the m9xx. Feb 18, 2011 the grace design m903 reference headphone amp dac is a device that is typically used in audio production audiophile setups to take one audio source and give life to some other audio device. The productiontest procedures are focused intensely on delivering quality and reliability. Nov 04, 2011 the orange glow of my mcintosh mc275s kt88 tubes was juxtaposed with the green glow of the grace m903 power button. This unique phaselock loop circuit design is also used in grace s higherpriced flagship models the m904 and. Professional microphone preamaplifiers are extremely low noise, high gain circuits that require very quiet power supplies. Ever since i laid eyes on the grace design m902 dac and headphone amplifier combo ten years ago, i wanted to own something made by grace. The grace design m900 headphone amplifier is a compact, portable headphone amp dac preamp. Grace design m902 reference da headphone amplifier sam. The m902s sample rate leds snapped into sync, illuminating the slock lamp.
The orange glow of my mcintosh mc275s kt88 tubes was juxtaposed with the green glow of the grace m903 power button. Legacy products you can find all of the support documents for our legacy products at this page. Grace design high fidelity professional audio products. Mackie big knob chances are if youve landed on this article, youve already gone down the rabbit hole of monitor controllers for your studio, so ill spare you the nerdy tech specs for the grace design m905 monitor controller and get right to the good stuff. For small daw studio setups, portable laptop editing or mixing rigs, or just pure playback enjoyment, the grace design m900 provides the same analog and dac quality as their large monitor controllers, but in a rugged, portable and surprisingly affordable unit. Grace design m902 reference da headphone amplifier. Grace design m903 reference dac preamp headphone amp. Grace design x massdrop m9xx dacamp page 2 super best. Grace design m903 compact monitor controller and headphone. In the early 90s, michael grace began building single order custom audio products for a small, devout following of recording engineers and artists. The m903m920 product design gives maximum flexibility and usability in a compact package. Massdrop x grace design standard dac sdac audiophool. Here are a few things to note prior to reading any further.
The grace m902 was a stunning piece of gear to look at, at a time when headphonedriving gear was not often, well. I got adequate volume driving either with my fifthgeneration ipod touch, but both headphones gave a more dynamic performance when plugged into my grace design m902 headphone amplifierdac. Ive recently needed to set up another listening area. Massdrop x grace design standard dac sdac september 1, 2017 september 1, 2017 marvey. Dfu is possible using the 3 rd party usb 2 driver installed on a microsoft windows pc or with the osx dfu utility. According to grace design, noise from the computer usb port can cause jitter artifacts in the sensitive dac circuits. The grace design m903 reference headphone amp dac is a device that is typically used in audio production audiophile setups to take one audio source and give life to some other audio device. Posts about grace design m902 written by misterwireless. Grace design m900 massdrop m9xx instructions for device firmware upgrade dfu 1. With my grace design m902 preamplifier and dac you would get a hard plop sound when you turned it off before the power amplifier. To prevent this, the m9xx employs multitiered noise suppression.
We design products to perform beautifully, to be simple to use and to last a very long time. The m903 is the latest addition to their range, replacing the previous m902 model which has set the benchmark for the last six years or so. Apr 03, 2011 perhaps the coolest aspect of the new grace m903 which replaces the older m902 is its inclusion of a ubs interface that supports up to 24bit192khz conversion windows machines will require a. In my case i let it drive my hd650 headphones with stock cable. Grace design m900 desktop dac headphone amplifie for.
Today, we proudly unveil the m903, which is simply the most refined and feature rich headphone amp, dac. Devices dsl transimpedance driver capable of very high current output. While i could achieve adequate volume levels with the smartphone, both. This unique phaselock loop circuit design is also used in graces higherpriced flagship models the m904 and. The chip is a burrbrown pcm1730 and sounds pretty unremarkable to my ears i used to think it was the headphone amp but discovered that when i changed to an external dac the music started to come alive. There was a roundness of tone, especially to the midrange, that was. Furutech alpha design labs gt40 dac and headphone amplifier. Today, we proudly unveil the m903, which is simply the most refined and feature rich headphone amp, dac and compact monitor controller available. The analog power supply design is based on our pushpull dcdc converter developed for our m101 microphone preamplifier. The grace design m201 contains no user serviceable components. First, all of graces previous pro dac products have been m9 series beginning with the m901 and ending, so far, with the m920. Jamie kraphol is our engineer in charge of the magnetics design for this power supply. Sep 01, 2017 all of you guys know that i dont care for marketing, ancillary materials, or packaging. With grace you hear everything bad or good they way it was recorded.
Review and measurements of rme adi2 dac page 37 audio. If you are in the market for a competent dac that doesnt break the bank, buy this now. Jan 04, 2009 add it to the cost of a grace m902 to expand the latters input tally, and you have one hell of a preampdac combo for 2250, a package that just happens to include one of the finest headphone. Topping tp32ex class t amplifier with dac and remote. Sweetwater s sales engineers are regarded as the most experienced and knowledgeable professionals in the music industry, with extensive music backgrounds and intense training on the latest products and technologies. Ive owned the earlier grace design m903 for several years as the centerpiece of my av system.
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