Ok, i've put about 200 hours through these amps and am comfie they have largely settled down. They are awesome!
i am going to have to disagree with Bo1972. The M8 pre is much more transparent and detailed than the Pass XP20 I listened to and have gone back to since. My experience has been that after listening to these M8 series amps and then the Pass I feel as if there is a thin veil in front of the music with the Pass set up. The Pass is a touch warmer at the expense of lost information. TheM8 also gives better separation in space of instruments and performers. One of my audiophile friends commented last night while listening to some 24/96 material that he brought over that he was amazed by how much detail came through. But to be clear, we do not find these amps cold or mechanical, just very transparent. Of course this makes them utterly unforgiving of poor recordings.
The M8700 monos command absolute authority over my Vivid Giya 2s. they sound detailed, clean, and clear at soft volume levels and just keep sounding as transparent and unruffled right up to limits of how lound I am willing to go, generally up to 95db or so for me. i find myself creeping up to these high SP levels because with these amps i experience absolutely no edgginess or fatigue.
my only criticism is that the M8 pre's soundstage is a bit confined and certainly not as expansive as the Audio Research 5se, for example.
Some may want more warmth or other euphonics built into their equipment. Others with deeper pockets than me may want the absolute transparency of say the Boulder gear. But, for those who want to still excellent clarity and transparency with the power to deliver tremendous detail without distortion at just about any bearable volume level, these M8 series amps get as close a wire with gain as is possible without paying sums that would otherwise buy a small house or an S-class Mercedes.
I love them!
i am going to have to disagree with Bo1972. The M8 pre is much more transparent and detailed than the Pass XP20 I listened to and have gone back to since. My experience has been that after listening to these M8 series amps and then the Pass I feel as if there is a thin veil in front of the music with the Pass set up. The Pass is a touch warmer at the expense of lost information. TheM8 also gives better separation in space of instruments and performers. One of my audiophile friends commented last night while listening to some 24/96 material that he brought over that he was amazed by how much detail came through. But to be clear, we do not find these amps cold or mechanical, just very transparent. Of course this makes them utterly unforgiving of poor recordings.
The M8700 monos command absolute authority over my Vivid Giya 2s. they sound detailed, clean, and clear at soft volume levels and just keep sounding as transparent and unruffled right up to limits of how lound I am willing to go, generally up to 95db or so for me. i find myself creeping up to these high SP levels because with these amps i experience absolutely no edgginess or fatigue.
my only criticism is that the M8 pre's soundstage is a bit confined and certainly not as expansive as the Audio Research 5se, for example.
Some may want more warmth or other euphonics built into their equipment. Others with deeper pockets than me may want the absolute transparency of say the Boulder gear. But, for those who want to still excellent clarity and transparency with the power to deliver tremendous detail without distortion at just about any bearable volume level, these M8 series amps get as close a wire with gain as is possible without paying sums that would otherwise buy a small house or an S-class Mercedes.
I love them!