M2TECH Marley Spezifikationen PDF herunterladen (Seite 3)

calls an encoder. It lets the user not only navigate the Marley's menu, but also its volume

setting. By selecting the menu option then by pushing the encoder one can chose the option on

each sub-menu. Menu choices are: balanced and unbalanced selection, the muting toggle operation, source selection (input 1 or 2), channel balance, output mode

selection (balanced or single-ended), volume display mode (decibels or steps), an auto switch-off setting, display dimmer, and firmware revision (very much like an "about"

menu selection on a website).

At the center of the front panel is its display. The multi-function LCD display glows a comforting blue and displays the volume setting during normal operation until the

encoder is pressed to assess the menu. On the far left of the front panel is a rather small silver "on/off/mute/menu escape" button. Pressing this turns the Marley's power

on, a short push engages the muting function unless one is already in the menu, which causes the menu selection to revert back to the beginning (escape) and discard any

menu choices made. All of this might seem a bit complex, but when actually using the Marley I thought it seemed fairly intuitive, that is, until I had to assess the manual to

learn that a prolonged on/off/mute/menu escape button push will cause the Marley to power down.

Although I used four different sets of headphones with the Marley, most of the time I used a set

of the top-flight Grado PS-1000 headphones. I've had them since 2012, and I've used these

dynamic headphones in a few other headphone amplifier reviews, as they are the most

transparent, full frequency models I have in-house, and since they are easy to drive they can be

used with just about any headphone amplifier on the market. Their neutrality, dynamic

capabilities, and extended frequency response improve as the quality of the headphone

amplifier improves. Another good reason for using the Grados, though, is that I use them every

day–they are the headphones that I listen to for enjoyment, not just testing equipment. I also

used the planar-magnetic Oppo LM-1 (review forthcoming) that I recently acquired, they are

also easy to drive and very transparent, but similar to different makes of loudspeakers, they also

present the music in a different way than the Grado's, or any other dynamic headphone. I

purchased my Sennheiser HD-600 headphones in the early 2000s, but have been updated by

Sennheiser USA last year; they were almost totally rebuilt, including new driver elements. Lastly

I tried the Marley with my trusty Shure E3 in-ear models that have not only been replaced with

newer models by Shure many times over, but have traveled with me half-way around the world

more than once. Cosmetically, they have seen better days, but they seem to be working fine. To

the M2Tech's credit, the Marley had no trouble with any of these models. It had more than

enough power to drive the relatively insensitive Oppo's, and was sensitive enough to drive the

in-ear ‘phones. In the past some headphone amps could not be set low enough to drive super-sensitive in-ear models, but the Marley was up to the task.

The majority of the time I used two different sources connected to one of Marley's two unbalanced RCA inputs -- an iPod loaded with full resolution (uncompressed) AIFF

files, and the tape-out of the preamplifier of my main system. On this big rig I played FLAC files from the PC based music server with its USB output connected to a

Benchmark DAC1USB, Wadia 121, or AURALiC VEGA digital-to-analog converter. And of course I played LPs: using two turntables, an Oracle MK VI with an SME V

tonearm, or a Basis V with a Tri-Planar 6 tonearm, both of which were fitted with a Lyra Kleos phono cartridge feeding a Pass Labs XP-15 phono preamplifier. During use

the Marley performed flawlessly. Lest one think that I didn't get an honest perspective when using the iPod, on it I have filled just about all of its 160 gigabyte hard-drive with

un-compressed "CD quality" or better files (*on a rare occasion a 320kbps mp3 does appear on my iPod, most likely a rare out-take or live recording that is available in no

other format). As much as I can appreciate mp3s space saving abilities, after only a short period they become annoying at best. I gladly sacrifice quantity for quality for the

sake of my sanity. I also bypass the iPod's internal audio section by attaching to the iPod's dock connector a SendStation Pocket Dock Line-out adaptor which bypasses

the iPods internal audio section. I use a 1.5 meter Kimber interconnect with a mini-plug to connect to the SendStation, and a pair of gold plated RCA plugs on its other end

to connect to the Marley's input jacks.

No, it the sound quality coming from the iPod isn't as good as the system in my dedicated listening room, but using the iPod in this way was hardly lo-fi. With a minimal

resolution of 16 bits and a sampling rate of 44.1k and bypassing the iPods audio circuitry I was able to evaluate the sound quality of the M2Tech Marley headphone

amplifier with a signal that was as unadulterated as I could come up with at the time while using a portable device. And since this is not only how I listen to headphones on

a normal day-to-day basis, but the method in which I evaluated other headphone amplifiers. My comments in regards to the sound quality of the Marley are from both from

my listening session with the system and the iPod as sources. The aggregated sound quality is also in regards to both its use in balanced and single-ended mode, as I

occasionally used the Marley with a newly acquired set of Oppo LM-1 headphones with their optional XLR terminated cable.

Internal Power

There was never any question whether the Marley's internal power amplifier was operating with

the relative inefficiency of Class A, as the byproduct of its dispersed energy was expressed as

heat. Of course lack of efficiency is not such a big deal as the amplifier "only" pumps out 4 Wpc,

but the top of the cabinet became quite hot after only a short period of time. Otherwise, my time

spent with the Marley was thankfully uneventful as far as any glitches in performance were

concerned. After switching on the power of the Marley, its screen reads "HEATING UP POWER

AMPLIFIERS" for a few seconds, and then reverts to the screen indicating the input number and

volume. Its volume control operates with an audiophile-approved smoothness, its indentations

indicating each volume character, either from 0 to 79 steps or from OFF then 78 to 0 decibels.

At its asking price the Marley is placing itself within a community with others to perhaps not be

the best headphone amplifier on the planet, but certainly at the upper end of what audiophiles

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