Sound for Small Spaces
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FEATURE M2TECH hiFace Two Text and Photos by John Darko Since then, the hiFace’s exis- wised up to the inherent weak- The original hiFace’s wide user tence has been more than justified. nesses of more-vanilla USB re- base can likely be attributed to its The Scene The sonic performance of most ceiver chips and are now employ- agreeable retail price. But clock- budget USB DACs doesn’t even ing M2TECH’s USB technology in ing devices are as important as Sound for Small Spaces come close to that of the hiFace, their newer models. Meanwhile, the DAC itself, particularly at the : when feeding it a steady S/PDIF the number of USB-to-S/PDIF budget end of the DAC market, lot can happen in two years in the world of digital audio. diet. A comparison between many converters coming to market has where sophisticated jitter-rejection models offering a direct USB con- circuits (found at the high-end) are Back in early 2010, USB-to-S/PDIF converters for the expanded considerably in the past nection and the hiFace will unmask two years: Anedio, April Music, precluded by the manufacturer’s masses were a bleeding-edge concern. Italy’s M2TECH the direct USB as relatively life- Bel Canto, Channel Islands Au- intended street price. Adding a less and anemic. This is often the dio, Halide Design, Human Audio, $1,500 USB converter to a $500 changed all that when it introduced the hiFace, a reason that newcomers to digital KingRex, Lindemann, Musical DAC might not make intuitive sense $185 digital-audio interface not much larger than a standard USB thumb audio complain that their incoming Fidelity, Quad, SOtM and Wave- to many people—adding a $200 A computer rig doesn’t compete with length Audio now all offer models device does. drive. This nifty little device transforms one’s computer into a digital-audio their outgoing CD player. We call around the $500 mark. M2TECH USB-to-S/PDIF converters transport by giving users a simple and seamless way to deliver high- this jitter: timing errors in the digi- itself also offers an Evo version MACRO don’t just convert one digital-trans- tal data flow that, in this instance, of the hiFace ($499) that can be fer protocol to another. They seek resolution music files from their computer to their playback system. With aren’t corrected by the USB DAC— tricked out with optional battery to better clock the data and thus sometimes the USB DAC itself is the advent of the original hiFace, M2TECH effectively brought the benefits PSU ($499) and master clock minimize jitter. Some take an axe what introduces these timing errors. ($499)—but purchasing all three of to the detrimental effects of EMI/ of USB data clocking out from the cold and into hands of computer A few DAC manufacturers, in- those units puts you in the financial RFI by deploying improved power- audiophiles everywhere. cluding Lenehan Audio, Metrum territory of Empirical Audio’s beast- supply regulation and galvanic iso- Acoustics, Eastern Electric, have ly $1,299 Off-Ramp USB DAC. lation. (continued) 148 TONE AUDIO NO.49 October 2012 149 FEATURE FEATURE As 2010 tipped over into 2011, The Setup through Leonard Cohen’s much- underrated 2001 “comeback” album, I recall the audible improvements The thumb-drive sized unit is 10 cm Ten New Songs, a sense of player brought by the original hiFace as be- long and suspends somewhat precari- space is more apparent with the new ing small: a shade more definition ously when plugged into a vertically M2TECH device than without. Better here, a little more soundstage focus situated USB port on the back of a clocking (i.e. less jitter) takes the there. It wasn’t until Ireland’s John Mac mini. The connection to a Mac- Kenny infused the hiFace with bat- Book Air’s horizontal USB port allows listener deeper into the music. Even at tery power that this reviewer really sat one’s shelf or desk to better support this less-expensive end of the USB- up and took notice. Exposure to the the hiFace Two’s 50-gram weight (as converter market, improvements can Audiophilleo1 and Audiophilleo2 drove well as the additional weight of the be heard in terms of micro-dynamics the need for a USB converter home, coaxial cable). That said, neither host and vitality—Cohen’s aging croak took it inside and made it a nice cup computer dropped audio due to physi- simply sounds more human. of tea. cal conditions. Even the Mac mini held Switching to something of an edg- Another annoyance with the origi- fast during the review period. ier ’80s mastering job with R.E.M.’s nal hiFace was its need for proprie- Green exposed an over-enthusiastic tary drivers, which introduced a small The Sound lower treble in brighter systems. This lag into the audio-playback chain that Experience has taught me that one was easily dialed back, thanks to meant video would run slightly out of of the key signs of jitter minimization Hannes Fricke’s adjustable tweeter sync with audio and dialogue running is bass propulsion and definition. Ton- gain on his WLM La Scala floorstand- through the hiFace. This was a deal- ally, if a straight USB feed into the ers, but the titanium dome tweeter in breaker for some users. Audio-gd NFB-2.1 is a watercolor and a pair of (vintage) Celestion Ditton 11 required a more creative solution. M2TECH has eliminated this issue the Audiophilleo is a portrait in oil, the with the hiFace Two. Based around hiFace Two paints somewhere be- The Splitter Cable and the an XMOS receiver chip, it complies tween the two. That’s commensurate Battery with USB Audio Class 2.0 (UAC2) and with its pricing, as it’ll run you less Sound for Small Spaces therefore works with native-mode than half the cost of the Audiophilleo2 Elijah Audio’s $105 BPM (battery- : USB audio drivers. This allows plug- ($579). You get what you pay for and powered module) splits the input to and-play operation for Windows, OS you pay for what you get. any USB device such that data and X and Linux operating systems. (As Listening to this new model is power are fed independently. The it’s not UAC2-compliant, Windows reminiscent of spending a week or BPM cable nixes the 5-volt host com- requires additional drivers to handle two with Musical Fidelity’s original puter feed and only allows the data to anything above 24/96.) Like its pre- V-LINK: a small improvement over reach the piggybacking hiFace. For decessor, the new hiFace Two parses the USB implementation found in the this review, I hooked the BPM’s 20- data up to 24/192 with each sample Peachtree iNova, but not as musi- cm tail into KingRex’s rechargeable U rate family—44.1/88.2/176.4 and cally emphatic or engaging as Philip Power Li-on battery module ($189). 48/96/192—which is handled by its Gruebel’s little grey box. The Au- Sonically, this amended hiFace own oscillator. diophilleo also scores another point MACRO setup took the music a step back- over all the competition by negating For the hiFace Two, M2TECH has wards into a pool of warm water, the need for (and expense of) a moved the shell cover from white to eradicating that lower-treble glare. In digital coaxial cable. black, held the recommended retail the context of digital-audio tweaks, price at $185 (dropping the price of Once you accept the halfway- this one rated as substantial—so the original unit to $150) and made house nature of the hiFace Two much so that I had a friend stop by to coaxial and BNC models available. solution, the fun begins. Meandering corroborate my findings. (continued) 150 TONE AUDIO NO.49 October 2012 151 FEATURE FEATURE He agreed that the BPM/U Power Two reasons: Linux compatibility and appendage massaged the tense audio lag. The former will be of keen shoulders from VCMG’s bleepy interest to Squeezebox Touch users Aftermaths EP and Depeche Mode’s who have installed the Enhanced Violator. Digital Output app, which it turns the USB input on the rear into a digital- The Wrap audio output. But that’s a story for Hearing the benefits of adding another day… battery power to the hiFace Two, it’s For the cash-strapped computer easy to see how John Kenny arrived audiophile the hiFace Two is a at doing the same for his all-in-one suitably priced intermediary that will solution. So, with the cost of these wipe away some jitter between your modifications running past the $400 PC/Mac and budget DAC. l mark, why wouldn’t you just opt for www.m2tech.biz his roughly $420 JKSPDIF USB-to-S/ PDIF battery-powered converter? 152 TONE AUDIO NO.49 October 2012 153.