I'm curious which filters current owners have found to sound best? While previously auditioning the Auralic Vega DAC, it's manual suggested certain filters may sound best with certain genre's of music material. Wondering if M1 owners have found similar findings with the Bricasti.

After extensive auditioning and speaking with Brian Zolner from Bricasti, here are the best performing and recommended filters. For PCM most prefer minimum phase 0, while some users also like minimum phase 1. For DSD filter 0 sounds great but it is actually unfiltered and as such it can cause problems in some systems, potentially even blowing some ribbon tweeters due to the unfiltered high frequency components from the DSD signal. So I choose to use DSD1 which is the next best sounding filter while still being safe. Hope you find this helpful, since there are so many filters to choose from!

I went from an M1 to the Jeff Rowland Aeris DAC. This is what I hear in my system: The Aeris provides more detail, without brightness. In comparison the Bricasti is on the slightly dark side of neutral...consequently cymbals in particular have less detail on the Bricasti, but alive and real with the Aeris. Solo instruments emerge from a darker background, soundstage is wider and definitely more space between instruments. I do have an Jeff Rowland Continuum S2; therefore the results maybe because of the synergy between the Rowland components.

Interesting.
I'm fond of having the filter options on my M1.
Typically flip between Minimum 0 and Minimum 1, my choice being material dependent.
Full disclosure though, I am very fond of Bricasti in general including its look and not a fan of Rowland aesthetics - purely a personal choice of course.

That's why there are so many manufacturers, to appeal to the vastly different taste. My post was to inform people of my opinion, having both DACs in the same system. Of course there are no absolutes, but I'm sort of surprised by the results.

I did hear the Bricasti system with Tidal speakers at RMAF and was disappointed. Although I prefer a sound on the slightly dark side of neutral, the aforementioned system was lifeless. I have a friend that drives his Raidho C 3.1s with Bricasti amps and he feels the sound is too laid back. Again, I submit it's not the component, but the context or system in which you put it in. It's about finding components that have synergy.

My experience with the Bricasti M1 DAC is completely different than what Ricjor1 has described. In my system with the Luxman C-900u preamp and Rowland 625 amp driving Magnepan 3.7i speakers the sound is not at all dark or laid back. Rather it is ultra-transparent and involving with a very high degree of musicality. Different component synergies and personal preferences obviously play a large part in evaluating the highly subjective performance level of any given system.

+1

I really don't understand the couple of folks who have described the Bricasti M28 as laid back. My experience has been so different. The M28 are really stunning in my experience, especially when driven directly by the M1. No argument intended. All system and perspective dependent I guess, as we all know. :-)

Wilson speakers sound totally different than Raidhos. ..I've owned Sophia 2s, 3s, and Sashas.

Agreed.

Have only heard both speakers at the NY Audio Show a couple of years ago. So this should be taken with a huge grain of salt. But to my old ears, the Raidho was superior. Both were overly analytical IMHO but the Raidho came closer to what real music sounds like.

Probably shouldn't even be posting this given the circumstances but just my 2¢.

For what it is worth, the Sabrina is a new Wilson Audio speaker released around 5 months ago. My experience was very similar to yours previously. Never cared for Wilson speakers until I heard the Sabrina. They are also the only floor stander small enough to work well in my relatively small listening room. The Sabrina is warmer and an overall big picture sound rather than the hair pin specificity I had always heard in the past. None of the Raidho I have heard have impressed me, though I strongly dislike the Magico sound too, which I think puts me in the minority. Just my taste and experience of course.

Your comments sum up why we view the M1 differently. I've owned several Wilson speakers and listened to the Sabrinas at RMAF. Raidho's have a warm sound, much warmer than any Wilson speaker that I've ever heard. I hope you enjoy your Sabrinas.

Thanks. Everything is subjective in this hobby. :-)
Looking forward to receiving the Sabrina.

Congrats on the Sabrina's! The Bricasti gear should match very well with them.

The M1 is a great DAC, and really pushed the performance limits.

Not sure if people have experimented with unbalanced vs balanced but Brian recommends using the balanced outputs to minimize components in the signal path. The new Bricasti M28 power amplifier is a fully balanced design from input to output, so the two compliment each other perfectly. (I hope to hear that combination in the near future)

I adore this combo. Paired together the M1 and M28 is really nice.
Bricasti Design makes incredible gear. Brian is always a treat to speak with as well. :-)

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

WOW!


I hope to have the same setup sometime soon too.

And yes, Brian is one of the nicest guys I've ever met and so very generous with his time.

I had the pleasure of dining with him earlier this week and chatted for hours about all facets of the M1 and M28 design and build, and I can't wait to hear the combo.

Not only are both components designed to push theoretical limits, both were subject to endless hours of circuit tuning in order to achieve the most compelling and engaging experience for the end listener.

Bricasti is one company for which I have the greatest respect.

Agreed. The M28 are beyond impressive when heard with the M1 DAC.
What are you located? Brian was out of the country for a bit doing some shows recently.

Sydney, Aust.

Yes, that's right, he was in Asia for shows and dropped into Melbourne and Sydney to meet with the local distributors and a few valued customers.

Update on above...

I'll have my Bricasti M1 this week, with latest firmware installed and look forward to comparing it with my other DACs. It will likely take center stage in my system for a while.

I hope to get the M28's within the next few months.

Looking forward to your reports.

Congratulations!
Will look forward to your impressions.

Well, it's now installed into the system and I've only had a brief audition, but long enough to get a grip on the new sound.

It's perhaps an understatement to say, but thus far I'm very impressed. It's such a neutral sounding DAC - in a very good way. There's no part of the spectrum that's out of place and there's a top-to-bottom coherence that one usually associates with pure analog, and which is a quality that belongs only to dac's of the very highest echelon.

I've had a Auralic Vega in the system for several weeks prior and the Bricasti M1 easily matches the level of resolution and delineation of complex ensembles, but it brings a new level of realism to the table. It's more open as well as liquid at the top, more three dimensional and presents a more natural attack and decay of transients. Oh, and although I'm generally very lenient when it comes to shortcomings in the bass, I need to say that the Bricasti's bass really stunned me; not because it stands out in any way but because it's simply so damn perfect. My attention was drawn to the very lack of artificial fatness and bloom, and that all-to-rare rare combination of speed and extension.

I should point out that I've previously heard the Bricasti in other people's systems, but now hearing it in my own confirms my thoughts about this DAC. It's definitely the best delta-sigma based dac I've heard and it even rivals or bests some of the best R2R dac's out there.

If the Bricasti M1 has shortcomings, and it surely does, they're barely detectable and mostly subtractive rather than additive in nature. In another system several months ago I was able to compare the M1 with a dCS Rossini and a MSB Diamond DAC, and yes I can report that both DAC's raise the bar in certain respects, but IMO only when the Rossini was used with the optional master clock was it clearly superior.

What the Bricasti M1 mostly lacks is the very last vestige of sweetness that the Rossini was able to deliver, and I suspect that that's only possible when all digital artifacts are eliminated; but boy it gets close; really close.

From my POV, the Bricasti M1 is the only DAC under $10k that's up to playing in the big league, so until I can bring myself to part with the cash required for a Rossini + clock this DAC is my new reference.

Note:
FTR, my music source is pc server based - but the pc is 100% silent / fan-less, all SSD and powered by a low noise linear supply, and uses a dedicated jcat usb PCIe card which is powered by its own dedicated linear / low noise series regulator followed by a discrete shunt regulator - which also powers the Bricasti's USB receiver.

Hi!

My M1 is updated. I wonder what the Syncwide/Syncfine setting is doing. And what users hear from it...

Anyone?

Best regards Wilhelm

Soundstage focus is increased considerably. Not in a forced forward fashion however. Seems to really snap things into focus, which is really strange to say as I never found it lacking in any department before. The SyncFine setting is a really nice upgrade.

A friend of mine has just sent his M1 off be upgraded, and we'll be having a shoot-out between his and mine when his returns.

Mine hasn't been upgraded but I've performed a minor modification to the analogue output stage so that the 4 op-amps per channel are biased into class A operation, which has given performance a nice lift.

I got my M1 SE on May 1. I did not even know about the fine vs the wide setting. I find the fine setting to be a major improvement. It makes the dac much more transparent from top to bottom. I feel the bass is tighter and the dac now speaks with one voice. I can see in a lean system one probably would choose the wide setting. I am using Wireworld's best usb cable going into a Regen into the dac. I tried the Intona, but it does not work with the Bricasti. Brian said the M1 already had Galvanic isolation, boy they sure do their home work.

Since yesterday I'm just another happy owner of M1 SE.I suppose that this is the first one in Poland.
Before it I had in my system:Ayon Stratos,TAD C2000,Aesthetix Pandora,Jeff Rowland Aeris,Auralic Vega and DCS Debussy.
After 20 hours of working it keeps me in the state of euphoria!
There was no problem for Brian to make a custom version for me.
I can only say: thanks a lot!

Congrats!

I have mine in getting the SE upgrade this week. Unfortunately my system is in storage while I remodel - so it'll be 6 weeks before I get to hear it.

Looks like an M1 on top of a 650 or 750 dac. How does the M1 compare to the Sim Audio?

Dear lostinla, to be frank i want Sim 650D with the behemoth external ps 820S super-seeds M1. but in reality M1 really challenge sim650D with almost every angel. even 650D satisfy me with most cd’s but M1 do magic with rock, rock metal cds with extreme precision and elegancy where 650D sounds bit vialed yet super tidy. SIMS sound some times felt very peaceful silent black background but bit clinical or slightly artificial in terms of harmonics. where M1 is wild with higher noise floor with extended realistic analog sounding on the other hand sim is with extreme silent ground floor but sometimes will give you a hint of non-naturalness, sometimes.

cables plays very vital role on 650D than M1. M1 gets better and better then excellent performance with your preferred taste of cables and program, but with 650D sound felt digital edgy with in appropriate cable when you will not enjoy it if hookup carelessly.

setup(now)
( i prefer RCA over XLR )
M1
IC Siltech queen RCA
AC power cord WW Platinum Electra7
Digital WW Platinum Starlight7 AES XLR
Cardas Clear SPDIF/RCA

SIM 650D with 820S
IC Cardas Clear refection XLR
AC Siltech Ruby HILL2
Digital Siltech Golden Eagle 75 spdif/RCA

Transport MBL 1621A
Ac power cord Siltech Ruby hil 2

wall receptacle :- oyaide R1
All ac connection made directly with wall.

The above setup are made me happy with both dac. yet i always go with M1 when i listen rock mainly. and classical to pop rock and good cd recording always took place with sim650D. Paul Mauriat Golden concert cd plays so well with SIM 650D is unbelievable richness and accuracy which M1 can’t through. SIM plays most programs with higher authority, but some cases M1 plays with more soul. recently i switch the IC of both dac, with Siltech queen 650D played less energetic yet extreme precision, where as with cardas golden reference SIM 650D try to open more and plays more loudly and extended. with M1 Cardas Clear reflection lays beyond limit yet slightly uncontrolled highs observed on Santana Super natural cd, as soon i put Siltech queen RCA m1 got under control and i listen speechlessly for first 30 min that how M1 been muzzled with Siltech and make it produce cleaner sound.

i tried to stay with synergy side, all siltech, all cardas, no mixing of cables but i failed, if you have cables in hand do switch, you might find surprises, for example cardas Clear ac power cord with sim 650D make it perform clean yet muffled and vailed, where as if you put WW silver electra you will keep on smiling, but Platinum electra will made me disappointed and agitated uninvoling with Sim 650D.

So… looks like i have to keep bricasti M1, and sim both. which ones better? simply can’t tell if i leave with all siltech on 650D, M1 clearly wins with reasonable gap. so with other cables like Nordost, Zensati, JPS lab or kabula Sonsa, we never know. I am very reluctant to say any component bad as cable almost change their top 25% performance. i wish there are no cables at all.

Wow - thanks for the informational reply Bengal Finch. I contemplated a 650d as I have a 740p and 860a (pre & power). I have played with some cable changes and settled on transparent audio. One of the biggest changes with how the M1 sounded was changing my tweaked Mac mini for an Aurender. It really surprised me how much quieter and fuller sounding my system became. I also changed out my usb cable to a more basic gold usb instead of the WW platinum which I found too detailed and not as full sounding. I may start trying some different use cables such as the Totaldac D1. I recently had my M1 upgraded to the SE, but it's still in the box as we are mid- remodeling our house and my system is stored away. Probably only another 4-5 weeks and I'll be able to set it up again.

I also found the wireworld cable to be thin sounding. I changed to the Purist Audio Design 30th anniversary USB cable and was blown away. It has a full sound and is so musical.

I had the pleasure of listening to a Bricast M12 and M28s paired with Martin Logan CLX Art speakers and Martin Logan dual Balanced Force 212 subs. It was in Milwaukee. Flew up to listen as I was in the market for the CLX.

Was by far the best 2 channel I've ever heard. Ever. Bar none.

So I left with a deal in place for the CLX and it now has my attention on the Bricasti M1SE with network card.

I felt the DAC which I believe the M1-SE shares with the M28 was natural and resolving.

I already have an excellent Tube pre (mac c1100) so the M1 could be the ticket.

Curious about peoples’ setups.

Do you prefer running your M1 direct to amp or through a preamp? Currently running mine direct to M28’s but as always, wondering if there’s some benefit to be had by inserting a quality pre in the middle. I only use the network input of the M1SE fed by a Roon Server.

I've been running mine into a BMC DAC/Pre then into BMC M1 monos. In this instance, the BMC combo employs a gain management technique whereby the gain is increased in the amp, rather than attenuated, and this produced a slightly improved sound to the M1 running direct into the amps.

I'm selling the BMC combo, and receiving shipment on a Bricasti M25 in the coming week, and looking forward to running direct. Prior combinations of the M1 running direct to M28's bested multiple preamp combos I have heard.

I'll provide an update after everything is up, running and broken in.

Looking forward to your impressions. I’m currently considering M15 to match with my M12 as I continue to develop my “end game” system over the next couple of years.