Bricasti M3 In the house

I've had the M3 for awhile now...it's pretty awesome!! Currently running Aes/Ebu out of an Auralic Aries G1 to the M3! I'd say it sounds pretty good... actually really good!!🎸🎸

The M3 is a game changer for me;
I compared extensively USB to ETH; Result:
No more USB; In general, I have been up and down the USB link for 2 years. I dislike USB as an interface for high end digital audio--way too much involved to make it sound right; Just my opinion, please don’t shoot me, lol;

Bricasti’s Ethernet renderer implementation is superb. Not one dropout or issue as a Roon endpoint, or via its native UPnP streamer option (which I have been using a ton for direct streaming from Qobuz);
I have it down stream on the "B" side of an EtherREGEN and the rest of the network on the "A" side;

I ran a test and with a live Qobuz stream (44.1/16bit): I disconnected the Ethernet cable and music played for 43 seconds perfectly. Makes for nice network elasticity to buffer this deep; Also renders upstream buffers that may be in other servers and streamers a bit overkill.

The DAC is very enchanting and has immense musicality- the top end detail, extension, and sheer refinement is exceptional; I am hearing new information. Amazing amount of musical sophistication and performance in one very compact and beautiful chassis. Case work is topnotch, milled from AL stock for very low vibration. The mounting feet they deployed are quite substantial too;
Coming off the Chord TT2 the M3 portrays a noticeably wider soundstage, and significantly more space to the musical "throw"; It seems spherically bigger, IOW. The inner dynamics and subtle shadings are incredible. It is very natural and real sounding. Voices are pure and transparent. I could go on and on but i’m cutting it short. I’m just head over heels for this thing.
Mega respect to the Bricasti team on this product!

I tried a few different power cords with it, and wound up with an Audience AU24SE-HP; Just a wonderful synergy. Other cables: Triode Wire Labs American Digital, Nordost Brahma, IsoTek Optimum, Shunyata Venom NC-10;

Supporting cast:
Preamplifier: Luxman C-900
Power amplifier: Luxman M-900
Loudspeakers: Dynaudio Confidence 50
Speaker cables: Triode Wire Labs American
Power cord amp: TWL Obsession
Power cord pre: Nordost Brahma

System Pics:
https://imgur.com/a/OV8bIJ7

@dpac996  great looking room!
Question for you. Have you heard the other Bricasti dacs compared to M3? Like the M1SE or M12 or even the M21? In 2019 I heard all 4 at Axpona and even though they all are musical and have that clean full Bricasti sound the M21 was the best sounding IMHO. 

Hey Guys,

I have in-house the M3 for review for the Stereo Times and find it superlative in its performance.  The one sent to me has the latest board, I'm assuming that dpac996 also purchased one with this upgrade, it's a great combination of terrific pure timbres/tonality and overall dynamics that make the music become more lifelike as it flows into the room with an ease very much like analog displays in a system.  Bricasti Design's build quality is beyond reproach and another killer part of the M3 is it's analog volume control which comes very, very close to the performance of my $6,500 preamplifier.  

To answer rsf507 question regarding how close the M3 with the new board comes to M21's performance, its pretty/pretty close.  This DAC is not expensive, but how much more you would have to spend to out perform it, would be an extreme %, indeed.

@rsf507 thanks for the kind words. I was told by the dealer it has the latest upgrade to the main board; He also said that the M3 with revision surpasses the M1se and comes extremely close to M21, But I have not heard any other Bricasti DACs so I’ll take his word for it; Honestly, I can’t imagine whatever gains there are left to render that would allow me to appreciate the music more than this piece does now. I’m equally blown away by the sound quality and being able to leave USB behind.