Bricasti M1

[Bavarian05]

I'm curious which filters current owners have found to sound best? While previously auditioning the Auralic Vega DAC, it's manual suggested certain filters may sound best with certain genre's of music material. Wondering if M1 owners have found similar findings with the Bricasti.

[audio bill]

After extensive auditioning and speaking with Brian Zolner from Bricasti, here are the best performing and recommended filters. For PCM most prefer minimum phase 0, while some users also like minimum phase 1. For DSD filter 0 sounds great but it is actually unfiltered and as such it can cause problems in some systems, potentially even blowing some ribbon tweeters due to the unfiltered high frequency components from the DSD signal. So I choose to use DSD1 which is the next best sounding filter while still being safe. Hope you find this helpful, since there are so many filters to choose from!

[Ricjor1]

I went from an M1 to the Jeff Rowland Aeris DAC. This is what I hear in my system: The Aeris provides more detail, without brightness. In comparison the Bricasti is on the slightly dark side of neutral...consequently cymbals in particular have less detail on the Bricasti, but alive and real with the Aeris. Solo instruments emerge from a darker background, soundstage is wider and definitely more space between instruments. I do have an Jeff Rowland Continuum S2; therefore the results maybe because of the synergy between the Rowland components.

[Bavarian05]

Originally Posted by Ricjor1

I went from an M1 to the Jeff Rowland Aeris DAC. This is what I hear in my system: The Aeris provides more detail, without brightness. In comparison the Bricasti is on the slightly dark side of neutral...consequently cymbals in particular have less detail on the Bricasti, but alive and real with the Aeris. Solo instruments emerge from a darker background, soundstage is wider and definitely more space between instruments. I do have an Jeff Rowland Continuum S2; therefore the results maybe because of the synergy between the Rowland components.

Interesting.
I'm fond of having the filter options on my M1.
Typically flip between Minimum 0 and Minimum 1, my choice being material dependent.
Full disclosure though, I am very fond of Bricasti in general including its look and not a fan of Rowland aesthetics - purely a personal choice of course.

[Ricjor1]

Originally Posted by Bavarian05

Interesting.
I'm fond of having the filter options on my M1.
Typically flip between Minimum 0 and Minimum 1, my choice being material dependent.
Full disclosure though, I am very fond of Bricasti in general including its look and not a fan of Rowland aesthetics - purely a personal choice of course.

That's why there are so many manufacturers, to appeal to the vastly different taste. My post was to inform people of my opinion, having both DACs in the same system. Of course there are no absolutes, but I'm sort of surprised by the results.

I did hear the Bricasti system with Tidal speakers at RMAF and was disappointed. Although I prefer a sound on the slightly dark side of neutral, the aforementioned system was lifeless. I have a friend that drives his Raidho C 3.1s with Bricasti amps and he feels the sound is too laid back. Again, I submit it's not the component, but the context or system in which you put it in. It's about finding components that have synergy.

[Bavarian05]

Originally Posted by Ricjor1

I went from an M1 to the Jeff Rowland Aeris DAC. This is what I hear in my system: The Aeris provides more detail, without brightness. In comparison the Bricasti is on the slightly dark side of neutral...consequently cymbals in particular have less detail on the Bricasti, but alive and real with the Aeris. Solo instruments emerge from a darker background, soundstage is wider and definitely more space between instruments. I do have an Jeff Rowland Continuum S2; therefore the results maybe because of the synergy between the Rowland components.

I really don't understand the couple of folks who have described the Bricasti M28 as laid back. My experience has been so different. The M28 are really stunning in my experience, especially when driven directly by the M1. No argument intended. All system and perspective dependent I guess, as we all know. :-)

[audio bill]

My experience with the Bricasti M1 DAC is completely different than what Ricjor1 has described. In my system with the Luxman C-900u preamp and Rowland 625 amp driving Magnepan 3.7i speakers the sound is not at all dark or laid back. Rather it is ultra-transparent and involving with a very high degree of musicality. Different component synergies and personal preferences obviously play a large part in evaluating the highly subjective performance level of any given system.

[Bavarian05]

Originally Posted by audio bill

My experience with the Bricasti M1 DAC is completely different than what Ricjor1 has described. In my system with the Luxman C-900u preamp and Rowland 625 amp driving Magnepan 3.7i speakers the sound is not at all dark or laid back. Rather it is ultra-transparent and involving with a very high degree of musicality. Different component synergies and personal preferences obviously play a large part in evaluating the highly subjective performance level of any given system.

+1

[Ricjor1]

Wilson speakers sound totally different than Raidhos. ..I've owned Sophia 2s, 3s, and Sashas.

[Bavarian05]

Originally Posted by Ricjor1

Wilson speakers sound totally different than Raidhos. ..I've owned Sophia 2s, 3s, and Sashas.

Agreed.