Meitner i upgrades

I’m no 1 in the queue for the ma3i upgrade. I’ll take the plunge. If folks are interested I’ll report my findings but it won’t be a side by side comparison. Folks on WBT have who have upgraded their EMM DA2 dacs to i status are impressed. They have reported better sense of space, more dynamic, and lower nose floor.

I got my upgraded MA3i last Friday and let it burn in for 96 hours, which is what the dealer recommended.  By the way, Rick Brown of Hi-Fi One handled the upgrade and he was great.  He took care of everything, kept me up to date, and coordinated with the factory to keep the turnaround time short.  Great service.

I’m very pleased I upgraded.  The noise floor is lower.  I can hear quiet passages, such as during a Mahler symphony, more clearly.  Micro dynamics are better.  It’s easier to hear subtle slight changes in volume.  Tone and timbre is better.  Instruments sound more like the real thing.  Horns have more brass, nylon strings more nylon, etc.

I can’t hear any downside to these improvements.  The new i doesn’t sound brighter, hi-fi, or analytical.  It’s still smooth.  There’s less fatigue because the music is more intelligible.  I noticed and categorized the improvements over the first few days, now I don’t focus on them much.  If you like the character of the original MA3 and want it to sound a bit closer to the real thing, I highly recommend it.

I use it as a streamer/pre/dac into a pair of AGD Duets. By the way, some folks at What’s Best report that the streamer is very good and was also upgraded as part of the i package. 

No new impressions. Still very pleased with the upgrade

Safe travels for your dac. Please let me know what you think. Don’t be put off by my lack of additional info. I think the new unit is noticeably better and a bargain. I’ve never been one to think the sound of components changes significantly over a long time. Been doing this a while and I know what I like sonically and can tell within a few days at most if I like a new component or set up.