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Author Topic: Audio-GD Master 7 vs PWD2 Showdown (OR5 i2s)  (Read 13952 times)

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Maxvla

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Re: Audio-GD Master 7 vs PWD2 Showdown (OR5 i2s)
« Reply #30 on: September 15, 2013, 04:26:03 PM »

Mike has my address ;)
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Marvey

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Re: Audio-GD Master 7 vs PWD2 Showdown (OR5 i2s)
« Reply #31 on: September 15, 2013, 06:32:16 PM »

Will try to send one your way. I am scared of shipping the darn thing though. The X-Sabre is very built. Soup's unit from Prepo had screws loose on the bottom. The M7 is heavy, has thick panels, but there are a lot of pieces that fit and screw together. And I mean a lot.
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SoupRKnowva

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Re: Audio-GD Master 7 vs PWD2 Showdown (OR5 i2s)
« Reply #32 on: September 15, 2013, 06:35:32 PM »

Will try to send one your way. I am scared of shipping the darn thing though. The X-Sabre is very built. Soup's unit from Prepo had screws loose on the bottom. The M7 is heavy, has thick panels, but there are a lot of pieces that fit and screw together. And I mean a lot.

 :-00 screws loose? Ill assume you were a pal and tightened those bad boys right up  :)
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Marvey

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Re: Audio-GD Master 7 vs PWD2 Showdown (OR5 i2s)
« Reply #33 on: September 15, 2013, 06:46:17 PM »

Of course! I really did wish the AGD stuff came in more of a "uni-body" construction.
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SoupRKnowva

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Re: Audio-GD Master 7 vs PWD2 Showdown (OR5 i2s)
« Reply #34 on: September 15, 2013, 06:55:25 PM »

Of course! I really did wish the AGD stuff came in more of a "uni-body" construction.

Definitely, and considering basically all of his stuff shares like 2 different chassis sizes, you would think that getting a decent chassis made would be easy to do, though maybe a bit more money up front, it would be worth it in the long run for sure
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Maxvla

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Re: Audio-GD Master 7 vs PWD2 Showdown (OR5 i2s)
« Reply #35 on: September 16, 2013, 12:56:57 AM »

Soup will you get your M7 back by the 29th for Dallas? Would be convenient. Wouldn't be with the OR5, but at least I'd be using coaxial on my rig, not USB.
« Last Edit: September 16, 2013, 01:07:06 AM by Maxvla »
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SoupRKnowva

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Re: Audio-GD Master 7 vs PWD2 Showdown (OR5 i2s)
« Reply #36 on: September 16, 2013, 03:21:04 AM »

Soup will you get your M7 back by the 29th for Dallas? Would be convenient. Wouldn't be with the OR5, but at least I'd be using coaxial on my rig, not USB.

Unfortunately I wasn't planning on getting it back till after I got back to Dayton on the 3rd of October. I guess it's not completely out of the question, but I wouldn't want to rush anyone else on the list...

I will have the Neko D100 mk2 DAC for the meet though, and my A-GD NFB 1.32 -_-
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SoupRKnowva

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Re: Audio-GD Master 7 vs PWD2 Showdown (OR5 i2s)
« Reply #37 on: September 19, 2013, 02:12:18 AM »

Hey Analixus, you form any impressions of the Master 7 yet? I can't imagine I'm the only one interested in what you think of it  :)
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Anaxilus.

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Re: Audio-GD Master 7 vs PWD2 Showdown (OR5 i2s)
« Reply #38 on: September 20, 2013, 05:22:27 AM »

Hey Analixus, you form any impressions of the Master 7 yet? I can't imagine I'm the only one interested in what you think of it  :)

Will do, just been quite busy.  Will have more thorough musings next week.  I can tell you from my preliminary listen off purrin's speaker rig, the vocals were quite seductive.  As a vocal lover, I could be in some trouble.  If it checks all the other boxes that matter to me, I will definitely be in trouble. 
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Anaxilus.

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Re: Audio-GD Master 7 vs PWD2 Showdown (OR5 i2s)
« Reply #39 on: September 24, 2013, 12:17:32 PM »

Impressions via Denon CDT/coax

Hard some initial sparkle static with coax.  Went away after a combination of plugging/unplugging cables. 

PWD still wins for me via Coax.  Blacker, better tone dynamics and differentiation between instruments, bigger midbass bloom when called for and punchier upper mids, better sense of air.  M7 has more pleasing analog sound, best of any DAC I've heard so far but still a bit too much.  I know because crashes and cymbals are too soft and rounded when they should shimmer harsher like a real cymbal or crash.  Absolutely superb low bass extension (best perhaps I've heard in a DAC), clarity and resolution down low in the M7.  Tighter, faster, more accurate imaging.

So far, w/o I2S or AES to compare, PWD is more honest and preserves more of the actual recording leaving me to tweak upstream at the amp or headphone.  M7 is the set it and forget it DAC.  Pleasing and capable when you just want to enjoy the music w/o being distracted by accentuated digital anomalies.  PWD trades pleasing for engaging and more tonally exciting sound that sounds more 'there' at the price of what the M7 does better.

I think they are equally resolving in different ways.  M7 is sharper, tighter in painting the music.  PWD is blacker with more air and transient harmonic richness and tone color.  How I hear it so far.
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