M2tech Hi-Face vs. M2tech Evo

[Lizard_King]

Hello all,

 

I love my M2tech Hi face (BNC)interface and I want to inquire with those who have gone from the Hi-Face to the Evo.

 

Please tell me what the upgrade in sound quality is like. What type of power supply are you using? Can it be used with a battery supply?

 

Does is work with the standard hi-face drivers?

 

Is is worth the price in terms of the upgrade?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

[seta]

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/Just-upgraded-Hiface-EVO

 

[Part-Time Audiophile]

I liked the EVO far better than the HiFace -- SQ of my system was better in every way with the EVO over the HiFace. I have no problem recommending it, especially if you have an older Mac.

 

Now, I had some challenges with the drivers (my old Mac was a G5), but I suspect that my difficulties were specific to me. YMMV. With the 30-day return policy from Tweek Geek, there's no harm in giving it a try.

 

Note that the drivers for the EVO and the HiFace are the same.

 

I used the Tweek Geek wall wart, which was not only fine, it was quite good. Use it with good power conditioning and I expect you'll be very happy. I think the battery approach is unnecessary, but if you do decide to explore and go DIY, the investment is relatively low.

 

I have to say, however, that the Legato from Analog Research Technologies is still in my system for a very simple reason: it's excellent (and it works flawlessly).

 

I have a lot of comments on my blog about my experiences with the EVO, so feel free to follow up if you have more questions.

 

[Purite Audio]

Scot you only play ripped cd's, and you never tried a battery supply with the EVO, it makes a worthwhile improvement the cheap linear we tried was poor, extremely noisy compared to the Lithium.

Keith.

 

[Part-Time Audiophile]

Keith, you are quite right, I didn't try it. Honestly, I didn't feel the need to -- the audio quality was just fine, where 'fine' = 'almost as good as my Legato', which is extremely high praise.

 

Of course, the strip that the LPSU was plugged into was a heavily modified Alan Maher integrated magic box, so my experiences might not be a good baseline. Regardless, I felt that the box acquitted itself quite well.

 

Sadly for me, I had driver issues, so back it had to go. Again, I am not claiming that my experiences were typical and I fully expect that YMMV.

 

[MartinC700]

Keith's correct - a good PS works far better than a cheap linear PS 'wall wart', though even with the wall wart, the Evo is far better than the Hiface.

 

Regards

 

[Lizard_King]

Hi Keith,

 

 

I actually have been hoping to reach out to you as I have read in forums about a Lithium 9V battery that you supply when people buy the EVO from you. Can you please tel me about the battery as i am very interested?

 

Hope to hear from you soon.

 

Liz

 

 

[Purite Audio]

Liz Hi, it's nothing particulary special, when Marco announced the EVO it struck me that we would be selling a product that essentially you couldn't use ,without providing a power supply.

I conferred with Marco he thought a battery might be good we sent the specs to a UK battery specialist they recommended Lithium Ion rechargeable, they made us up a battery pack and charger, specifically for the EVO.

It plays for at least 12 hours between charges, takes about an hour to fully recharge, and wesell them at cost plus tax to EVO customers.

I haven't heard Paul Hynes PS yet, but the Lithium is better than the cheap unregulated supplies we have tested.

Keith.

 

[Lizard_King]

Hi Keith,

 

Thanks so much for your response. Is that battery and charger available for purchase? Also, how do you make the physical connection from the Battery to the EVO? Is there an adapter that connects the battery to the DC in port?

 

Liz

 

 

 

[Purite Audio]

Liz Hi, we just asked the battery people to put the correct connector on the battery pack, and the 'female' half of the connector on the charger so it is all very straightforward.

I can send you one no problem you might need a transformer though?

Keith.

 

[kortex]

Do you guys use the HiFace even if your computer has optical S/PDIF out?

 

[Lizard_King]

Kortex,

 

The M2tech Hi-face and Evo are superior due to the low jitter Oscillators and asynchronous communication.

 

Paul

 

[Lizard_King]

Keith,

 

Thank you so much for your reply. I am likely to get EVO soon. Please provide the details about your battery / charger. I would like to know the specs, size, weight, cost, etc.

 

Thanks so much.

 

Liz

 

[Audio_newb]

Not to open up a whole new can of worms, but what's the story on the Young, Keith? Saw your post elsewhere and started getting excited for it. Or was until the $1800 sticker price popped up on tweakgeek. When it looked like it might be closer to the 1K mark I was in, but that's a little steep for me. Especially if (as the pictures seem to suggest) they are sticking with a wall wart. Not that I don't enjoy the options of an upgraded supply/ battery source.

 

[Purite Audio]

Newb I stupidly quoted the price of the Young excluding VAT! RRP is Euros 1100 which includes tax, I can only apologise.

Keith.

 

[Audio_newb]

That's ok. I certainly can't afford every component I have an interest in. Although I'm still a bit surprised they didn't try to keep it down at least below $1500 for the American market. That would put it in contention with Wyred4sound and the likely soon to be released HRT streamer HD. Have you seen (or heard) one of these mythical beasts yet?

 

[audiozorro]

Halide Design Bridge.

 

http://enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/1110/m2tech_hiface_evo_dac.htm

 

1) I have no interest in the Halide or the Legato since they are limited to 24/96.

 

2) The battery power options for the Hiface or Evo seem bleeding edge to me. I'll wait until the best and easy to use option emerges.

 

Until 1) provides 24/192 or 2) provides the superior and convenient battery option, I am happy with my stock Hiface, which is very good sounding, highly capable and extremely affordable. As with most things you won't feel that you're missing anything until you try something better.

 

 

[Purite Audio]

$1500 would be in line with the European rrp, I was quite excited by the spec of the W4S ,I think like every component you need to hear it in your own system, try and collect three or four 'possibles' to evaluate at the same time.

Keith.

 

[Lizard_King]

Keith,

 

The eVo is on the way! Can you please tell me all about the battery/charger you have?

 

Liz

 

[juliocat]

I'm interested too, Keith i hope you have a 110 volt version

 

[Lizard_King]

The EVO has arrived as is in the HT system. Does this unit need time to settle in (Burn in)? I have the linear wall wart yet I believe a good battery will sound better.

 

Can anyone suggest which one to use?

 

[Encore]

I didn't experience any improvement with break-in. Or more correctly, the improvements from getting a good power solution far outweighs any break-in improvements.

 

[Lizard_King]

Thank You. I will using a 9 volt battery once I receive the adapter. There will be a super PSU coming soon!

 

[Guest Analoganimal]

http://www.amazon.com/Sanyo-Pedal-Rechargeable-Mobile-Booster/dp/B003U4O644/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=musical-instruments&qid=1293040587&sr=8-1

 

This is the ideal power supply for the M2Tech Hiface EVO which is a HUGE improvement over the normal Hiface (dongle).

 

Just be aware that with the standard cord supplied gives center minus, and not center plus like the Hiface Evo requires (luckily the EVO is well designed so it is not harmed by connecting wrong polarity, but it will NOT work and the LED does not light up).

 

Fortunately the Sanyo Eneloop Pedal Juice Rechargeable 9v Power Supply comes with a short adapter cord that reverses phase to center plus, and suddenly the M2Tech Hiface EVO comes to life.

 

I personally have absolutely WONDERFUL sound with my Macbook Pro 2010 model with i7 2.66 processor run in 64 bit kernel mode, now 8GB of RAM, and the excellent Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC. I am using Audirvana and AyreWave players.

 

[Lizard_King]

AnalogAnimal,

 

Thank you so much for your response. I would really like to hear more from you about this device. How would you compare it to the EVO with the wall wart linear PSU that is supplied with the EVO?

 

How would you describe the improvements by using this supply?

 

Do you have to do anything special to get this to work? Can the Power supply from the wall wart work with it to charge the battery?

 

Liz