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Opinions about Daniel Hertz

Have anyone heard Daniel Hertz’s Maria intergrated amps with Eva or Amber speakers? Stephen Huff gave them one of the best reviews ever but is it all marketing and hype? Mark Levinson claims to solve the problems of digital reproduction with his master class software which can turn any digital recording into original master tape quality.  
 

But ML had a questionable past such as rebranding Chinese products as his own and marking up the price. Others said he can’t design anything but hires good talent while he works on marketing. His series of business ventures and contentious business relationships would give one pause, but I only care about the sound. What do others think? Did he in fact made a revolutionary breakthrough in digital playback. Or is it all hype? Bottom line is how do his systems sound?

eylai777
yyzsantabarbara
4,538 posts
 

I asked Daniel Hertz and the US dealer if the Maria was similar to the PeachTree GAN1 but they did not go into much detail on that. Other than the A2D conversion for analog sources on the Maria what makes the Maria different from the GAN1. I know there are some differences but there are also similarities. These 2 amps are unique.

Since my modded GAN1 is so good, and I did not get a good understanding of how the Maria is different from the GAN1, I lost interest. I needed more power out of the GAN1 so it is now used as a headphone amp (amazing). My 2-channel speakers need more power than the GAN1 delivers.

The Maria can also use a remote control.

 

mikelavigne
2,151 posts
 

"if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all"

audioman58's avatar
audioman58
3,882 posts
 

I put little faith in huffs reliability in reviewing imo 

he maybe right on somethings,but technically he is not that knowledgeable .

let’s see testing and popping thetop for the quality inside where it counts .

that’s where many reviewers fail.

eylai777 OP
20 posts
 

I haven't independently verified claims that ML re-branded Chinese equipment and jacked up the price. However, it is all over the internet message boards. 

Hopefully, someone who have heard the DH system will chime in. 

wolf_garcia
6,628 posts
 

I thought Huff’s take on the plastic case for the Hertz amp was pretty funny...as if plastic was a breakthrough material. 12 thousand euros for the smaller amp...it might be somewhat water resistant, or it floats. Doesn’t Levinson live on a houseboat somewhere?

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