I don’t have the patience for 27 minutes, when S.P. COULD have written it down and saved each of his followers 20 minutes. (I just don't "get" video reviews.)
AND I think "shoot-outs" are stupid. People have preferences. They are not absolutes.
BUT I have direct experience. I tried the M5 in my system for about a week and compared it to the Auralic Aries G1. I could not hear a difference. The Aries has many more features, and I could trade in my old one, so I bought that. The M5 has other virtues, one being a domestic manufacturer who (by all accounts) offers outstanding support.
Just one point of reference, with one set of ears, for the M5
AND I think "shoot-outs" are stupid. People have preferences. They are not absolutes.
BUT I have direct experience. I tried the M5 in my system for about a week and compared it to the Auralic Aries G1. I could not hear a difference. The Aries has many more features, and I could trade in my old one, so I bought that. The M5 has other virtues, one being a domestic manufacturer who (by all accounts) offers outstanding support.
Just one point of reference, with one set of ears, for the M5