This review page is supported in part by the sponsors whose ad banners are displayed below

The first thing is proper computer setup. It is important that the computer output is not upsampled but identical to the file we play. Next is the file player. When Marcin Ostapowicz visited me as one of the JPlay developers, he presented me with various playback modes for the Young. In those comparisons to foobar2000 the Young factored as DAC and each change was clearly audible. This confirmed its splendid resolution. That’s why it’s so worthwhile considering each detail. This M2Tech DAC will show it immediately by being an exceptional—really exceptional—DAC that opens up our horizons for what is to come tomorrow by handling almost everything we have today (almost - there is still the undiscovered world of DSD files). It’s also a small well put together unit with a splendid interface. Bravo!

Review conditions. The Young was compared to the Ancient Audio Lektor Air V-edition and Soulution 745. I also used the converter stage of the Soulution 540 and the Wyred4Sound DAC 2. For the S/PDIF connection I used the Acrolink Mexcel 7N-DA5100 digital cable and for USB the Acoustic Revive USB 5.0PL. The computer was a dual-core HP Pavilion dv7 laptop (320GB HDD, Windows Vista). The software players were primarily JPlay but also foobar2000. The legacy CD players were placed on the Acoustic Revive RAF-48 anti-vibration platform, the DACs on the equivalent Acoustic Revive RHB-20 Hickory platform. During playback the laptop was disconnected from the mains to run on battery power. For comparison I also used the M2Tech hiFace EVO (32/384) and Halide Design Bridge (24/96) USB-S/PDIF converters.

Description. The Young is a small device. Its chassis is a thick aluminium extrusion with the PCB assembly inserted into it. In the front we have an arc-shaped perforated black mesh screen hiding an incredibly big red LED display. The displayed text is scrollable and super legible. The overall cosmetics are splendid.

The inputs and outputs are on the back. All sockets are of the highest quality. We have USB 2.0, AES/EBU, optical, coaxial and BNC digital inputs. The analog stereo outputs are unbalanced. On the far right side there is a small socket for the external power supply. This socket is similar to those used in mobile phones and I frankly would prefer to see a better one. The external power supply is medium sized and resembles a laptop brick. It would be ideal to have a battery power supply like the hiFace EVO has but the power requirements of the Young might have negated that option.

The outer aluminum shell covers an inner steel molding to which are bolted the PCB, inputs and display. The circuitry can be divided into three sections: USB, digital inputs and DAC. At the USB input there is a large Cypress Semiconductor microprocessor housing the M2Tech software to handle the USB signal. Next to it are two eight-channel digital isolators providing galvanic separation of the digital inputs from the rest of the circuitry. But this is not the only isolation. The digital inputs are also coupled to digital impedance-matching transformers.

The even bigger Xilinx Spartan processor works as a digital filter wherein the incoming signal is upsampled to 786kHz. This digital filters seem to be the most important part of this device. Next we see the Burr-Brown PCM1795 DAC. This is a new chip with 32/192 parameters and good dynamics. I/V conversion is handled by the Analog Devices 8674 which is highly respected by DIYers. In the output there is a TI OPA2211 buffer amp accompanied by nice Wima polypropylene caps. All other parts are surface mounted but also of very good quality. Each section features its own sophisticated power supply with stabilizers and filters. The digital section is exceptional. The relatively low cost of the Young is determined by its analog section which is fairly simple despite using good parts.



Technical data (according to manufacturer):
Dimensions: 200x 50x 200mm WxHxD
Weight: 1kg
Sampling frequencies (kHz): 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192, 352.8, 384
Resolution: 16-24 bits (S/PDIF, AES/EBU, optical), 16-32 bits (USB)
Frequency response: 10-20kHz, +0.1/-0.5 dB (fs = 44.1kHz); 10-90kHz, +0.1/-0.1 dB (fs=384kHz)
SNR: 121dB (weighted A, 192kHz, 24 bits, up to 20kHz)
THD+N: 0.0003% (192kHz, 24bits)...

... Inputs: 2 x S/PDIF (RCA & 75Ω BNC), 1x AES/EBU (XLR), 1x optical (Toslink), 1x USB (USB type B)
Outputs: stereo RCA
Output voltage: 2.65Vrms (7.5 Vpp/0dBFS)
Power supply voltage: 15V-18V DC
Power: 240mA/15V
opinia @ highfidelity.pl
M2Tech website