M2tech Young Driver For Mac
You might know that some OS X audiophiles moving up to Mavericks witnessed an unpleasant side effect of the OS upgrade: M2Tech’s HiFace v1 driver no longer worked. M2Tech promised to write a new one quick smart but six months down the line they have yet to deliver on that promise. That’s frustrating for anyone with the original HiFace USB converter or anyone using a DAC with an OEM HiFace USB inside.
One such company affected by this minor fiasco is Cees Rujtenberg’s Metrum Acoustics. Both his and DACs shipped with M2Tech’s OEM USB tech. However, it seems Rujtenberg has grown sick of waiting for M2Tech to come through so he’s introducing a second generation USB implementation for both the Hex and Octave MKII: “Up until now both the Octave MKII and Hex DACs Metrum Acoustics used an OEM USB implementation made by M2tech. Since the launch of the Mavericks OS, however, the driver supplied by M2tech was instantly outdated. Although M2tech has undertaken the task to develop a new driver that would work with Mavericks, after several months with no news it was too risky to wait even longer. Metrum Acoustics recently decided to develop a new USB interface.
Given that both the Octave MKII and Hex DACs were designed to work in conjunction with the M2tech OEM board, finding a solid replacement was not an easy process. A solution was found by using Anamero technology with some additional glue logic to get all necessary data for both Octave MKII and Hex DACs. Also, the form was adapted in such a way so that the new board is directly applicable for the existing hardware.”, explains Rujtenberg. He continues: “In contrast to the existing two layer designs from both M2tech and Anamero a four level multilayer is used. Two layers are assigned for data handling. The chosen approach will give lower induction due to shorter traces and gives less radiation. A third layer is used as ground plane while the fourth layer is dedicated for power.
A power breakout is realized for implementing passive power filtering as used in the Octave MKII or the ability to use a separate power source instead of using USB power as used in the Hex DAC. In addition, very high quality clock oscillators are used to get Jitter at the lowest possible level. Furthermore, no driver is required for both Mavericks or Linux. For Windows XP, 7 or 8 a driver is available.” I asked if existing Mavericks-frustrated Metrum users could get some of this new Anamero USB action?
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. On the M2Tech website they say: 'Young is a high performance, very high value-for-money D/A converter capable of handling up to 384kHz sampling rate and 32 bits resolution (USB input). It features a high speed asynchronous USB input based on the hiFace technology, further developed to allow for higher sampling rates.' M2TECH Vaughan DAC. Highest quality digital-to-analog converter up to 384kHz/32bit from your PC or MAC, and from USB, I2S S/PDIF and AES/EBU. Ultra low jitter oscillators and proprietary drivers. Time shift driving of multiple DAC IC's for improved sound quality. Fully automated battery power supply.
“That information will follow as I need the correct production price of the production plant. Especially those who purchased this DAC recently will have the opportunity to upgrade for a special price. It should be more easy as both interfaces were on the same quality level then it was a matter of swapping but as mentioned we put a lot of effort to the design to bring it on a higher level.”, was the reply.
The second generation USB interface is currently in production and will be available late April / early May. Further information.
For most of the evaluation period the Young was connected to my Mac Pro desktop computer via an AudioQuest Carbon 1m USB cable. The Young also received a S/PDIF signal from other USB adapters, including the Empirical Audio Off-Ramp 4 and Musical Fidelity’s V-Link, as well as TosLink directly from the Mac Pro’s digital output. The Young’s analog output level was controlled via the volume control in the April Music Eximus DP1 DAC/PRE by routing the Young’s output into the Eximus DP1’s analog inputs. Using the Eximus as a signal selector and analog volume control also made it possible to compare the Young’s DAC section with other DACs such as the Wyred4Sound DAC2 in matched-level A/B tests. All the USB DACs were connected to the high-speed USB 2.0 ports. The port configurations were confirmed through Apple’s “About This Mac” control panels. When comparing USB interfaces and DACs, it’s important to confirm that the units being compared are receiving their datastreams over identical paths, so the evaluations are made on a level playing field in terms of data-stream capabilities.
M2tech Young Driver For Mac Pro
The Sound With no user-adjustable filters or other ways to change the overall character of the Young’s sonic personality, what you hear initially is what you will get. Sure, a couple of days of run-in time seemed to remove a slight amount of midrange sheen, but burn-in didn’t result in a radical change of the Young’s harmonic balance or resolving capabilities.
Using its proprietary USB driver, the Young has very little in the way of a unique sonic personality. The overall sound is clean with a pervasively silent background. The harmonic balance erred ever so slightly on the lean side of neutral. This wasn’t the result of a lack of harmonic richness or complexity, but more a function of the evenness of overall resolution.
M2tech Young Driver Mac
Unlike many DACs, which seem to have a bit less resolution in the lower midrange and upper bass frequencies than they do in the middle and upper treble, the Young ’s resolution levels remain intact well into its midbass.